CLIENT COMMENTS

Two Ten Footwear Foundation, search for President
DRG was selected to support the search for the President of the Foundation. We selected DRG because they had a long list of impressive placements, and that they were truly ready to help us drive the process. David Cheng and his team did a fantastic job at presenting all very high quality candidates to the search committee. He then worked closely with the Committee to help us reach a decision. That's very important - DRG advised us on a decision and really helped the committee make the final decision. I will point out too that DRG represented the Foundation at a high level and engaged all candidates in a highly professional manner. I know I speak for the committee when I say that our experience with DRG matched the expectation we had when we selected them to represent the Foundation. I would engage them again to handle our executive searches.

- Jim Salzano
President, Clarks Americas
Board Chair, Two Ten International Footwear Foundation

Maine Coast Heritage Trust, search for President
I want to thank Mary Wheeler and Jill Moscowitz for the wonderful job they did with the MCHT search. They found some outstanding candidates for us. We appreciated their professionalism and their very timely manner of conducting the search and I enjoyed working with them. As you know the selected candidate was a possibility from the beginning but the committee wanted to conduct a thorough search and to have him compete for the position.

- Dawn Kidd
Chair, Search Committee

 

New York University, searches for Vice President of Development and Executive Director of Strategic Communications and Marketing
Having worked at New York University in a fundraising capacity over the past 20 years, I have had the professional pleasure of working with several executive search firms. Most recently, as Senior Vice President for Development and Alumni Relations (covering 16 colleges and schools with the University), I have worked with DRG, Inc., specifically David Cheng - one of our very own alumnus - and I am amazed and satisfied with their ability to listen and understand the needs of their clients. They truly understand the breadth and depth of our educational and fundraising mission and, as a result, have surfaced many wonderful employee candidates for us. DRG, Inc always thinks "outside the box" and delivers professional talent from many diverse sources. These DRG candidates have become viable, senior members of our department's team. I strongly endorse DRG, Inc. as our executive search vendor of choice.

- Debra LaMorte
Senior Vice President for Development and Alumni

 

Jim Joseph Foundation, search for Executive Director
As a candidate for a position for which DRG conducted the search, I found DRG to be exceptional. I was kept well informed throughout the search process, enabling me to be well prepared for each step in what eventually resulted in my securing a superb professional position. Of particular note is that DRG has continued to provide good guidance and counsel to me.

In my role as a chief executive, I have asked DRG to conduct searches for organizations which the foundation I lead funds. DRG has been great in uncovering - and attracting - talent. Their management of the search and interview processes is top notch.

- Chip Edelsberg, Ph.D
Executive Director

 

Neighborhood Coalition for Shelter, search for Executive Director
I worked extensively with Mary Wheeler of DRG in our recent search for an Executive Director at the Neighborhood Coalition for Shelter. Mary was superb at listening to our board and challenging us to think carefully about the type of leader we wanted in our organization. She also marshaled DRG resources to interview and select exceptional candidates for our review. In the end, we were extremely pleased with the candidate we selected and are grateful for Mary's hard work and expertise.

- David Oliver
Board President

 

Clark Regional Foundation for the Promotion of Health, search for CEO
I chaired the 6 member search committee that was charged with the difficult task of finding the first CEO for our newly established foundation. After interviewing several search firm we decided on DRG. We were looking for a partnership that would provide our foundation great leadership during this process. From the very start we new that David Cheng was that partner. He was engaged from day one, helping us every step of the way. After our first search ended in disappointment when the selected candidate ran into personal issues and was not able to make the transition David continued with the same level of enthusiasm.

After much hard work the foundation now has a highly qualified and experienced new CEO. It has been a delight working with David, I would recommend David and DRG's services for anyone with recruitment needs. David was the professional that our foundation absolutely had to have to find the successful candidate that we required.

- Steve McClure
Search Committee Chair

 

United Way of Western Connecticut, search for Executive Vice President for Resource Development
You did an extraordinary job understanding the nature of our organization so that you could attune the search to exactly what we were looking for (rather than just spinning the rolodex and delivering people you had waiting in the wings.)

I honestly believe that in this way DRG is different from almost any other firm I've worked with, on either side of the table.

Just thought I would pass along my comments and thank you again for the good work you did for us.

- Michael Johnston
Chief Executive Officer

 

Jewish Child and Family Services of Chicago, search for Chief Executive Officer
I was head of the 12 member search committee as we looked for a new CEO for our $30 MM agency. We interviewed several search firms, and David Edell and DRG were without comparison. He helped design our search process, got us a good number of qualified candidates to interview, and was always available to us throughout the process. We were not able to reach an agreement with the finalist and needed to begin again. This was a disappointment to all of us, and I'm sure to David, although he never let me know that. He was as energetic and thorough during the second round of outreach and we ultimately engaged a terrific new CEO. I can recommend David and DRG's knowledgeable staff without qualification. I was relieved and disappointed in the end of our search - we had found just what we were looking for, but that meant my working relationship with David was over for the moment. Now, one year later, I am can report that David has remained in contact with us during the CEO's first year and that our new CEO has proved to be the leader we needed as our staff and Board try to provide a high level of service during these tough financial times.

- Judy Feldman
Chair of Search Committee

 

Snug Harbor Cultural Center and Botanical Garden, search for Chief Executive Officer
DRG and its staff did an extraordinary job from our first meeting to our last in building a pool of excellent candidates, and then narrowing it down to a manageable number. The guidance we received along the way was solid and invaluable. There was never a moment when we felt DRG was not at our side as we moved the selection process. Totally professional and thorough is the best way to describe the firm and its people.

- Brian J. Laline
Board Secretary

 

Jewish Community Center of San Francisco, search for Executive Director
Months into our search for an Executive Director we had a major setback. Our finalist candidate was suddenly no longer in a position to consider our opportunity. DRG quickly marshaled the necessary resources, to ensure that we could efficiently extend our outreach while maintaining our exceptionally high standards. We considered panicking. They did not. And in the end, David Edell and Daniel Ripps, our DRG team, managed to interest several promising candidates who had been unavailable during our first go-round. Following a thorough vetting process, we made an offer and successfully filled the position with a wonderful individual. I'm not saying I would ever want to go through this again - but if I ever have to, I know whom I will call.

- Bethany Hornthal
Past President and Search Committee Chair

 

National Society of Black Engineers, NSBE, search for Chief Development Officer
As the Executive Director, I have gone through the process of trying to find a Chief Development Officer, with and without a search firm. Our results were less than desirable both ways, so the idea of hiring another search firm did not sit well with me. The executive team settled on DRG, Inc., as the search firm. Upon meeting David Cheng, I spoke openly about my apprehension, but assured him of my full participation in the search process. Bottom line, DRG and David submitted to us the absolute, hands down best slate of candidates we have ever had for ANY position in my six years with NSBE! I have a saying, "Let experts do what experts do." Every step made in this process was guided by our experts, DRG, and the journey ended with us choosing from a slate of candidates, of which we couldn't lose! Some of the best money we have ever spent…no invested!!!

- Dr. Carl B. Mack
Executive Director

 

Spence-Chapin Services to Families and Children, search for Executive Director
It was a pleasure to work with Mary Wheeler and to have at our disposal her extensive experience and knowledge. We were fortunate to have connected with her and DRG at the beginning of the process.

- Robin Dahlberg
Chair, Search Committee

 

Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Boston, search for Executive Director
As chair of a search committee seeking an Executive Director to replace an iconic figure who had been in the position for 20 years, and having never headed up a national search, I felt enormous community pressure to find an outstanding candidate. David Edell and Mark Seal really dug in and helped us articulate what we were looking for. Mark then took the lead and found us a truly remarkable group of finalists, diverse not only geographically, but in just about every other way imaginable! The search resulted in our finding an outstanding candidate who we would never have found without Mark's intelligence, sense of our organization and dogged determination. In retrospect, the most impressive part was that I believe Mark knew who the right choice was fairly early in the process, but masterfully guided us through our deliberations so that the final decision was 100% owned by our organization.

- Phil Rosenblatt
Vice President and Search Committee Chair

 

Maine Sea Coast Mission, search for Executive Director
We are very grateful for Mary Wheeler's terrific help with our search. She led us to two excellent but different choices to consider. It really challenged us to carefully re-examine our search goals--a good thing. We achieved a strong consensus on our decision and as we begin to introduce our new director within and outside of the organization, we are getting strong signals that we made the right choice.

- Jill Goldthwait
Search Chair - Board of Directors

Simon Youth Foundation, search for Chief Executive Officer and Chief Development Officer
"I have worked with DRG in the search for executives for the Simon Youth Foundation over the course of ten years. During that time, DRG has continually grown to know our needs as an organization, and has been a great partner in finding the right candidate for each period of time in our organization's life cycle. As a client, I've found that if you don't strike a balance between controlling costs and finding the right candidate, you'll waste time and money. When DRG is given the resources to meet with candidates nationwide, you will see the quality of the candidate pool increase substantially as compared to a very tight travel budget. That said, DRG is very cost conscious to its clients. Another piece of advice: maintain your partnership with DRG. After the first hire, DRG has a full understanding of your needs and can make the next search process that much easier."

- Bob Estes
Vice President of Financial Operations, Simon Property Groups