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The quality of our senior
management team and consultants is the key to the excellent service
we provide. Our staff is highly informed and many of us have first-hand
experience in the industries and markets which we serve. We work
in global teams, so our clients benefit from the collective knowledge
of the entire firm.
STEVE
GUNDERSEN sgg@gpllc.com
Steve
is the founder of Gundersen Partners and a recognized leader and
industry expert in the world of marketing, advertising, and marketing
services. He leads the company's international advertising and marketing
services practice as well as being involved in a broad range of
senior executive placements across the industry spectrum. Steve
generally deals with C-level searches, including CEO and General
Management placements that require core marketing skills. His clients
include some of the largest and smallest agency groups in the world
as well as leading Fortune 500 firms. His placements have been made
around the world, as he has built a truly global firm. As such,
he regularly spends time not only in the New York headquarters,
but also in London, Madrid, Toronto, Sydney, San Francisco, and
Detroit to meet the needs of his clients.
Steve
has led the expansion of Gundersen Partners' capabilities into value-added
services to augment our search capabilities and benefit his remarkable
network of contacts. This includes a very successful M&A practice
in the marketing services arena. Under his guidance, the firm has
provided core business and strategic planning for key clients as
well as organization design.
An
entrepreneur who built Gundersen Partners from the ground up, Steve
is often quoted in the business and marketing/advertising industry
press. He has been a frequent speaker with the Promotion Marketing
Association of America, Fulcrum, and the Association of Promotional
Marketing Agencies Worldwide, among other industry-related conferences
and seminars.
Prior
to founding Gundersen Partners, Steve was an executive search consultant
with Judd-Falk, a retainer search firm specializing in marketing
and marketing services. Within three years in the search business,
Steve became a key member of the Judd-Falk organization and began
to build the long-term client relationships and successful track
record which became the impetus for his departure to start Gundersen
Partners in 1984.
Steve
has one son. He is an avid skier and bike rider. A former Marine,
Steve attended the University of Colorado. He currenty resides
in New York City.
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ED
TAZZIA edtazzia@gpllc.com
Ed has been with Gundersen Partners since 1997. He works out of our Midwest office in Detroit and specializes in corporate marketing search and consulting assignments. He is our most experienced marketing executive having spent nearly twenty-five years in client-side roles from entry to executive with some of the best known firms in the world. His clients have included companies like SABMiller, International Paper, Express Scripts, ICI-Glidden, IBM, American Greetings, Oreck, Wal-Mart, Pfizer and Tate & Lyle.
Ed’s professional experience includes marketing and general management positions in packaged goods and high-tech, retail and sports marketing. He started his career at Procter & Gamble spending ten years in brand management roles, including seven in new products. Later, he was the Vice President of Marketing for the North American Soccer League, the professional soccer league that brought Pele to North America.
Ed returned to consumer packaged goods with Vlasic Foods, a subsidiary of Campbell’s Soup Company, eventually being named Vice President of Marketing. His time there included a stint as General Manager of Campbell’s U.S. Hispanic Business Unit where he led a team marketing Hispanic cuisine to both Hispanics and to the general market.
In 1991, Ed was named Vice President - Marketing for Silo Electronics Stores, the U.S. subsidiary of the Dixon’s Stores Group, the world’s largest electronics retailer. The combination of classic packaged goods and electronics retailing led to his recruitment by IBM where he was eventually named the global marketing executive on the IBM commercial PC business, a worldwide $5B business. Other responsibilities at IBM included a major cross-divisional program (IBM SystemXtra), exploration of handheld mobile computing as a business, and the Aptiva Consumer Division products.
Ed is a regular contributor to Brand Week, has been published in AdAge and other trade journals and has spoken at both industry conferences and colleges including Wharton, Columbia, Northwestern and Michigan State. He is the co-coordinator of the US Marketing Communications College for the US Department of State as well as an instructor in the MBA program at Michigan State. He also serves as the Chairman of the Board of the 13,000 member, global P&G Alumni Network and as Chairman of the Alumni Marketing Board for the Broad College of Business at Michigan State.
Ed is a graduate of Michigan State University with a BA in Advertising. He is married with two daughters and lives in Michigan.
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PETER
FITZPATRICK peterf@gpllc.com
Peter
is the leader of our highly successful and growing International
Division. He specializes in global management, financial services,
E - commerce and insurance, but is also deeply involved in our advertising
and marketing services assignments around the world. Peter has direct
management responsibility for our international offices and divides
his time between New York, London and Madrid, as well as managing
our affiliate relationships with regular trips to Asia/Pacific.
The placements made by Peter and his team circle the globe at the
most senior levels of the clients with whom he works. They include
some of the most well known names in the business world - AIG, Ace
Insurance, Draft Worldwide, Zurich Financial Services, Kraft Foods,
Novartis, Warner Bros, amongst others.
As
with most of the Gundersen Partners' management team, Peter brings
extensive business experience to the firm from his previous lives.
In Peter's case, that includes a long international career as well.
His professional background includes human resources and operations
management in markets as diverse as Melbourne, Sydney, London and
New York.
A
native of Australia, Peter was Managing Partner of one of Australia's
foremost executive recruitment consultancies, Bailey, Shaw &
Partners. He later joined the London-based consultancy Peter Chadwick
as the Human Resources Director and Board member. He subsequently
assumed an Operations Director role with the firm. Prior to this
role, he was the Head of Recruitment and Re-Deployment for the London
Stock Exchange.
Immediately
before joining Gundersen Partners, Peter was Director of Human Resources
for the international business of American International Group,
the global insurance/financial services conglomerate that is one
of the largest firms in its industry. Based in New York City, he
was responsible for the Human Resource function of an 8,500-person,
$7 billion foreign general insurance business.
Peter is married
with one son and lives in Connecticut - a suburbanite for the first
time in his adult life. His personal interests include; 60's music,
middle distance running, impressionist art and Australian Rules Football.
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NEIL
FINK nfink@gpllc.com
Neil
is the General Manager of our West Coast office in San Francisco
following the merger of his firm, Neil Fink Associates, with Gundersen
Partners in the fall of 2003. Neil is highly regarded as an executive
search consultant in two very exciting fields -- entertainment and
technology -- and is a leader in the emerging world where those
two industries meet. Already, Neil has assisted well-established
companies such as Eastman Kodak and Sony by recruiting leaders that
have helped those companies compete in times of changing technologies
and market opportunities.
Neil
founded Neil Fink Associates in 1986. Like Gundersen Partners, the
firm combined executive search and management consulting but focused
on cross-functional executive team building. The firm serviced companies
on the leading edge of change in communications, media/new media,
software and hardware technologies including such bellwethers as
Microsoft, Disney, Tektronix, Kodak and Turner Broadcasting. Before
founding his own firm, Neil led the Broadcast Operations practice
for the Entertainment Search Company since 1983.
Importantly,
prior to entering executive serach, Neil was fully involved in the
entertainment industry he now serves. Neil was a principal in Stellar
Enterprises, a recoding artist and tour management company. He was
responsible for live and broadcast productions, concert promotion,
music company and merchandising contract negotiations as well as
radio and retail promotions. Artists were signed to labels that
included Arista, RCA Records, and Warner Brothers.
It
is because of this firsthand knowledge of the entertainment industry
and its use of technology that Neil is often asked by companies
to assist in ther areas of corporate decision making including mergers
and acquisitions, contract negotiations, organizational development,
and compensation plans.
Neil
lives in San Francisco, is married, and is raising a son. He has
worked for the American Film Institute and serves on the Board of
Directors for the Academy of Guided Imagery and the Board of Advisors
of EAT.tv and NextNet. He has been a frequent speaker for industry
associations and conferences such as Audio Engineering Society,
Computer Games Developers Conference, National Association of Music
Merchants, National Association of Broadcasters, National Academy
of Recording Arts and Sciences, American Film Institute, Macworld
Expo and MILIA. Neil is a long time rider of classic motorcycles
and gets away whenever he can.
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DWAIN
CELISTAN
dcelistan@gpllc.com
Dwain
joined the senior management
team at Gundersen in May, 2007.
He is a highly regarded executive who has held senior leadership
positions in Sales, Marketing and General Management in multinational
consumer packaged goods companies both domestically and in the United
Kingdom . His 20+ year career has included leadership roles in several
Fortune 100 companies--Procter & Gamble, Nestle, Nabisco, Alcoa,
and Sears Holdings.
Dwain
will lead our Chicago Office and specialize in both consumer packaged
goods and retail where he has extensive experience as a line executive
and consultant.
A
graduate of Loyola University in New Orleans and Atlanta University,
with a Bachelors Degree in Public Administration and MBA, respectively.
He has done post graduate work at both Cornell and Stanford Universities
He lives in the Chicago area.
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BOB
BAKER rbaker@gpllc.com
Bob
joined the senior management team at Gundersen in May, 2007. He
is a highly regarded executive who has held senior leadership positions
in Marketing and General Management in multinational consumer packaged
goods companies throughout his 30+ years in the business. His career
has included leadership roles in several Fortune 100 companies --Procter
& Gamble, Kraft General Foods, Dean Foods and ConAgra.
Bob
will lead our Atlanta Office and specialize in both consumer packaged
goods where he has extensive experience as a line executive and
consultant.
A
graduate of Tuskegee University in Alabama and Columbia University,
with a Bachelors Degree in Electrical Engineering and an MBA, respectively.
He lives with his wife in the Atlanta area.
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TONY
BUCHER tbucher@gbrsearch.com
Tony
Bucher is Managing Director of Gundersen Bucher Rugman in London.
Prior to joining forces with Nigel Rugman in 1994, Tony was the
managing partner of The Caldwell Partners International for fifteen
years. His early experience was in sales and marketing in the hotel,
fast food and leisure industries, both nationally and internationally.
Tony has extensive experience filling key appointments across a
broad range of sectors. His principal areas include: Senior general
management and HR, leisure, food and retail sectors.
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HELENE
DE VRIES hdevries@gpllc.com
Helene
joined Gundersen Partners in September 2000 and is a Managing Director of
the Marketing Services division, overseeing a broad range of integrated
marketing searches for GPLLC.
Her
move to Gundersen came after eight years at Millsport, LLC, an Omnicom-owned
sports marketing agency, most recently in the role of Vice President.
While at Millsport, Helene's responsibilities evolved from managing
consumer event and customer hospitality projects to focusing on
integrated marketing, business development and brand building opportunities
for clients. Helene directed a variety of accounts during
her tenure including Pepsi-Cola, Visa, and Royal Caribbean.
She was a key relationship manager for many of the country's top
sports properties such as the NCAA, MLB, NFL, USTA, MLS , US Soccer,
and the PGA. An avid sports fan, she was fortunate to be involved
with many high-profile events both nationally and internationally.
Prior
to joining Millsport, Helene spent three years in the Media Department
of DMB&B (now MediaVest). Helene is a graduate of Union
College with a Bachelors degree in Political Science and Psychology
and lives in Westchester County , New York with her husband and
two little ones.
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STEVE
PRISCO sprisco@gpllc.com
Steve
joined Gundersen Partners as a Senior Consultant in October. He
has 7 years of executive search/management consulting experience
backed by nearly 20 years of distinguished sales and marketing leadership
at the Vice President level. Steve has worked in a variety of industries
including consumer products, manufacturing, and distribution services,
giving him a broad range of experiences. His focus at Gundersen
Partners will be in the functional areas of sales as well as the
healthcare, pharmaceutical and consumer products industries.
Most
recently, in his role as a Consultant at Michael Marion, Inc., Steve
specialized in the identification and recruitment of senior leadership
talent within Life Sciences, including both the Pharmaceutical and
Biotech industries and ranging across commercial and research &
development roles.
Steve
also has management consulting experience with Don Aux Associates
where he spent 3 years as a Practice Leader in the Sales and Marketing
Practice and Performance Services Group serving middle market and
entrepreneurial companies.
Prior
to his career in search and management consulting, Steve held a
variety of senior sales leadership roles. He spent over 10 years
in cosmetics, eventually being promoted to SVP of Sales for Sanofi
Beauty Products and, later, EVP/General Manger for the start-up
Tyra Cosmetics in Chatsworth , CA . Returning to his roots on the
East Coast, Steve became the EVP of Sales & Marketing for the
Headstrong Group where he trained and directed the field sales force
and coordinated worldwide marketing strategies for this manufacturer
of recreational safety gear. Steve also served as a Vice President
at Neopost Online. At Neopost he built the sales organization to
spearhead the launch of a new hardware/software application within
the nascent PC/internet postage industry.
Steve
is married with two grown children and lives in New Jersey with
his wife. He attended Alfred University where he earned a Masters
degree in School Psychology and received his commission as a Second
Lieutenant in the United States Army. He is a passionate lacrosse
enthusiast and currently coaches at the township recreational level.
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SUSAN
STORTS sstorts@gpllc.com
Susan
Storts joined the firm in 1999 as a Marketing Search Assistant in
our Detroit office. Now, as Senior Consultant, Susan works in the
Consumer Packaged Goods, High Tech/Industrial and Marketing Services
practice areas. In addition, she performs a wide range of middle-management
searches and is well connected in this area. Susan has extensive
experience in service industries, having worked for over eleven
years in the restaurant business while working part time in the
family’s retail business. Susan is a graduate of Walsh College
in Michigan with a BA in Business Administration.
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