 CEO Matt Schwartz Matt Schwartz has spent most of his professional life in Executive Recruiting. After stints at Gundersen Partners and then Heidrick and Struggles, he went on to start MJS Executive Search in 2003. “We specialize in placing transformational talent,” Schwartz told us. By that he means, finding “skill sets that are not necessarily organic to our clients’ businesses.” According to Schwartz, companies today are looking for people to come in and build new businesses. He cites as an example a recent job he placed for Pepsico. “We found a person from Xbox Connect to lead Pepsico’s vending machine business. It was truly a transformational hire. Imagine a vending machine as a giant touch screen with facial recognition, connected to the internet and part of the whole supply chain logistics.”
“Social media has leveled the playing field in this business,” Schwartz mentioned. “Everyone has Linked-In. So, in effect, we all share the same database which puts the onus on us to differentiate ourselves by being more strategic.” Another factor which has had a significant impact on the search business is the economy. Given that it’s a buyer’s market, Schwartz sees less of the “traditional” searches insofar as firms can find those type of prospects on their own. Today, Schwartz finds that “the searches we conduct are a lot more unique as opposed to plain vanilla,” citing that there are “fewer of them, but they are a lot more difficult. It puts the burden on us to keep current on marketing trends and technology trends.” In terms of the much publicized – and recently economically-challenged – Baby Boomer Generation, Schwartz suggests, “Stay relevant, stay current and stay on top of the latest trends. Be savvy about trends in social media and technology.” MJS Executive Search works with a bevy of high profile corporate clients including Pepsico, Pitney-Bowes, Honeywell and American Express, among others. |
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