The Challenge
In 2013, the school found itself with three key leadership vacancies within a year: the positions of President and CEO, the Vice President of Academic Affairs, and the Vice President of Development.
Having to fill one top leadership position would be difficult enough for any organization. But three searches was an extreme challenge for Glenwood, particularly since it involved the loss of the school’s President and CEO. Couple that with the loss of the school’s chief fundraiser, and the Board faced intense pressure to fill the vacancies before development efforts were impacted.
The Process
Initial efforts centered on the vacancy of the Vice President of Development, which was the first position to open up. Campbell & Company conducted a thorough search, focusing particularly on culling a diverse set of candidates.
We took the time to get to know candidates on a variety of levels before presenting our top selections to the school’s Search Committee. This upfront work saved time for both the Committee and the candidates.
For some Search Committee members, our selection process may have required them to think outside of the box when interviewing the candidates that we presented. Yet, Former Board President Craig Stern now considers this to be one of the standout moments in the process. He believes the Committee wouldn’t have brought in such strong candidates without our outside objectivity.