Leadership & Hiring Trends
Leadership & Hiring Trends
Herd Freed Hartz – 25th Celebration Night Out at Mariners
This July, the full Herd Freed Hartz team and their families came together at a Seattle Mariners game to mark 25 years of helping companies find exceptional leaders. Here’s a look at the night, the milestone, and where the firm goes from here.
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Reflections on America at 250: A Front-Row Seat to the American Dream
Herd Freed Hartz was founded on July 4, 2001. As America marks its 250th birthday, co-founders Jim Herd, Paul Freed, and Kevin Hartz reflect on 25 years of executive search, the American Dream, and a heart full of gratitude.
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The One Sentence That Can Change Everything
When accomplished people hit a career transition, the hardest question is the simplest one: what is your ideal job? Partner Scott Rabinowitz shares a one-sentence exercise that defuses the fear and points leaders toward the problem they were made to solve.
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25 Strategic Interview Questions To Ask Candidates
With our firm having a front-row seat to thousands of executive interviews across industries, company stages, and economic cycles has taught us one thing: the best interview questions don’t feel like tests. They feel like conversations that unlock something real, something a polished résumé simply can’t show you.
So to mark our 25th anniversary this year, we asked our executive recruiting team to compile our favorite 25 interview questions we have found most insightful.
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After 25 Years of Executive Search: What the Algorithms Still Can’t Do
I co-founded Herd Freed Hartz as a retained executive search firm in Seattle in July 2001. LinkedIn didn’t exist. Indeed was still three years away. Twenty-five years and more than 1,000 searches later, one truth stands out: the tools have changed almost everything—except the part that matters most.
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The Hidden Costs of an Unsuccessful C-Level Search
A vacant C-suite seat is rarely just a gap on an org chart. For most companies, it starts draining value almost immediately, and the total damage tends to run far larger than whatever executive search fees leadership was hoping to avoid. Research from the Center for American Progress puts the cost of a failed executive…
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The Fractional CFO Inflection Point: Moving Beyond Interim Finance Leadership
Fractional CFO vs. Full-Time CFO: The Question Behind the Question Fractional CFO services have grown by more than 50 percent since 2022. For companies in their early stages, for businesses navigating transition periods, for organizations not yet ready to support a full-time CFO, the model makes genuine sense. The fractional CFO vs. full time CFO…
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March Madness Lessons for Executive Hiring: Why the Best Teams Win (Not Just the Flashiest Stars)
After more than two decades in broadcasting, I can’t help but still view the tournament through that lens: the storytelling, the preparation behind each performance, the small moments that reveal something bigger about a team. But now, as an executive recruiter, I also see it through a second lens—one that’s focused on how people perform, how teams are constructed, and what ultimately drives success over time.
Our 25th Anniversary Celebration!
2026 is a big milestone year: USA’s 250th anniversary, FIFA World Cup, Winter Olympics…and the 25th Anniversary celebration for Herd Freed Hartz! This year marks a defining milestone back in July 4th, 2001, when Jim Herd, Paul Freed & Kevin Hartz founded the Seattle executive search firm. Our mission when founded, and remains today, is…
Private Equity Executive Pay in 2025: What the Numbers and Deal Data Reveal
What the Data Shows: Compensation Remains Competitive In 2025, compensation trends for top executives in private equity (PE) — both at the fund level and in PE-backed companies — remains robust despite a more cautious macro and capital-markets environment. Publicly released compensation surveys and fresh data on deal activity reinforce a core reality: firms are…
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Alaska Executive Search Insight
In our experience filling many CEO, CFO, Executive Director and executive level searches for Alaska based organizations, we’ve learned a winning formula for developing a winning partnership.
There is a moment nearly every leader experiences when they begin working in Alaska—a moment when the landscape, the culture, and the responsibility of this place reset their sense of what leadership means.
CEOWORLD Names Herd Freed Hartz #1 Retained Executive Search Firm in the Northwest for 2025
For the second consecutive year, Herd Freed Hartz is proud to announce our recognition as one of America’s premier executive search firms—once again securing the #1 position in the Northwest and #39 globally on CEOWORLD Magazine’s esteemed Top 100 Executive Search Firms and Consultants Globally for 2025.
Winning Talent: Lessons from Cal Raleigh’s Remarkable Season
by Ross Fletcher, Partner Before making the move into the world of executive search, I had the privilege of spending a couple of decades in a broadcast booth. I developed a deep appreciation for the rhythms of sport — its quiet stretches, its sudden drama, and the rare, transcendent moments that linger long after the…
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CEOWorld Names Herd Freed Hartz top executive search firm in the Northwest
We’re thrilled Herd Freed Hartz has been recognized as one of the best executive search firms in America, #1 in the Northwest and #39 globally on CEOWORLD Magazine’s prestigious list of the Top 100 Executive Search Firms and Consultants Globally for 2024. This accolade shines a spotlight on our commitment to connecting exceptional leaders with…
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Herd Freed Hartz in the Kitchen
by Karen Bertiger, Partner This week the Herd Freed Hartz team got together at The Pantry to learn some new cooking skills from our amazing instructor, Jee Hye Kang. As a team event, I highly recommend a lesson at The Pantry, so long as you’re comfortable enough to be around coworkers wielding very large, very…
Olympic Reflections #10: Rosangela’s Tattoo
Olympic Reflections and lessons learned for recruiting I was fortunate to work at seven Olympic Games (and a few Youth Olympics) during my time in broadcasting. For the duration of Paris 2024 I’m sharing a reflection a day. I hadn’t set out to stare at somebody’s thigh just five minutes after meeting them – let…
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Olympic Reflections #9: Communications
by Ross Fletcher, DirectorHerd Freed Hartz – Executive Search Olympic Reflections and lessons learned for recruiting I was fortunate to work at seven Olympic Games (and a few Youth Olympics) during my time in broadcasting. For the duration of Paris 2024 I’m sharing a reflection a day. Great communication is a vital part of what…
Olympic Reflections #8: Bolt
by Ross Fletcher, DirectorHerd Freed Hartz – Executive Search Olympic Reflections and lessons learned for recruiting I was fortunate to work at seven Olympic Games (and a few Youth Olympics) during my time in broadcasting. For the duration of Paris 2024 I’m sharing a reflection a day. If you were looking for a great quote…
Olympics Reflections #7: Transport
by Ross Fletcher, DirectorHerd Freed Hartz – Executive Search Olympic Reflections and lessons learned for recruiting I was fortunate to work at seven Olympic Games (and a few Youth Olympics) during my time in broadcasting. For the duration of Paris 2024 I’m sharing a reflection a day. Transport headaches. At any Olympic event, they’re inevitable. …
Olympic Reflections #6: Meeting Matthew
Olympic Reflections and lessons learned for recruiting
I was fortunate to work at seven Olympic Games (and a few Youth Olympics) during my time in broadcasting. For the duration of Paris 2024 I’m sharing a reflection a day.
One of the best bits about creating content at the Olympics was the opportunity to tell stories that you never set out to.
Olympic Reflections #5: Fun
by Ross Fletcher, DirectorHerd Freed Hartz – Executive Search Olympic Reflections and lessons learned for recruiting I was fortunate to work at seven Olympic Games (and a few Youth Olympics) during my time in broadcasting. For the duration of Paris 2024 I’m sharing a reflection a day. Working at an Olympic Games was exhausting. But…
Olympic Reflections #4: Resilience
by Ross Fletcher, DirectorHerd Freed Hartz – Executive Search Olympic Reflections and lessons learned for recruiting I was fortunate to work at seven Olympic Games (and a few Youth Olympics) during my time in broadcasting. For the duration of Paris 2024 I’m sharing a reflection a day. Working at an Olympic Games was always a…
Olympic Reflections #3: Across Sectors
by Ross Fletcher, DirectorHerd Freed Hartz – Executive Search Olympic Reflections and lessons learned for recruiting I was fortunate to work at seven Olympic Games (and a few Youth Olympics) during my time in broadcasting. For the duration of Paris 2024 I’m sharing a reflection a day. Working at 11 different Olympics events over a…
Olympic Reflections #2: Interviewing
by Ross Fletcher, DirectorHerd Freed Hartz – Executive Search Olympic Reflections and lessons learned for recruiting I was fortunate to work at seven Olympic Games (and a few Youth Olympics) during my time in broadcasting. For the duration of Paris 2024 I’m sharing a reflection a day. I’ve never kept a proper count but I’m…
Olympic Reflections #1: The People
by Ross Fletcher, DirectorHerd Freed Hartz – Executive Search Olympic Reflections and lessons learned for recruiting I was fortunate to work at seven Olympic Games (and a few Youth Olympics) during my time in broadcasting. For the duration of Paris 2024 I’m sharing a reflection a day. One of the most common questions I’m asked…
Telling Your Story & Helping You Win
Storytelling is one of the most important tools we have to help find your next top talent. Crafting a compelling narrative of your company and its specific needs is a no-brainer in attracting the right caliber of person to help you move forward.
Building Your Executive Band: Harmonizing Different Eras of Talent
By Scott Rabinowitz, Partner @ Herd Freed Hartz – Executive Search Imagine Elvis Presley, the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll, creating a band that includes modern icons like Keith Moon, Sheryl Crow, and Marvin Gaye. This unique blend of talents from different eras and genres in one band provides a powerful metaphor for the art…
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Pivoting to Virtual Hiring
Six months ago most organizations would have shunned the idea of a completely virtual hiring process. How can you assess a candidate’s culture fit without sitting across a table from them? How can you onboard a new employee without those essential impromptu hallway conversations and company immersion? At Herd Freed Hartz we have been assisting…
Virtual Onboarding
by Karen Bertiger, Managing Director At Herd Freed Hartz our involvement doesn’t end when the candidate accepts the position. The successful onboarding of the employee into the organization will have a lasting impact on that employee’s long-term viability. Part of our responsibility is to help our clients set up new hires for success, but how…
3 Ways Unconscious Bias Impacts Your Job Descriptions
Learn how unconscious bias can affect your hiring decisions and how recognizing it can help to identify better candidates.
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Jim Herd interviewed by CNBC on companies poaching Amazon’s talent pool
Jim Herd, Managing Partner & Co-Founder of Herd Freed Hartz, was interviewed for this CNBC article about the trend of Amazon losing executives as it becomes a prime target for recruiting talent. See full CNBC article (published May 17, 2018) by Eugene Kim Amazon loses another key executive as it becomes a top target for…
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How Job Title Buzzwords Help You Attract Talent
Paul Freed, Managing Partner & Co-Founder of Herd Freed Hartz, was interviewed for a UK article around the trend with companies using new creative buzzwords to attract talent using non-traditional job titles such as “Ninja”, “Rockstar” and “Guru”. See full UK article (published March 2, 2018) HOW JOB TITLE BUZZWORDS CAN HELP YOU ATTRACT TALENT…
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How to Strike through the Competitive Talent Market in Order to Find the Right Candidate
The current competition within the job market is pretty steep, for both employees and employers. Everyone is out there looking for the best candidates, and likewise, candidates are searching among employers to see where they fit best, and fit involves everything from job title, to salary, and more recently, company culture. In many ways, employers…
Understanding Retained Search
With a more stable economy, a generational change in business leadership, and increased competition for highly experienced executives, relying on finding your next executive hire through traditional means like colleague referral or networking won’t necessarily find you the right fit, or fill your role quickly. And as the Northwest becomes a magnet for more technology,…
Create an Excellent Candidate Experience
Learn why creating a positive interview experience can strongly influence a candidate’s interest and have an impact on your overall brand.
Recruiting and Hiring Executives to Protect Your Bottom Line
Got an extra $1.5M lying around? According to Geoff Smart and Randy Street in their best selling business book Who, the average hiring mistake costs 15x an employee’s base salary in hard costs and productivity loss. So the cost of a single employee making $100,000 a year leaving your company with or without cause has…
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Hook job candidates with your “company sizzle”
(By Karen Bertiger – 2/18/17 published in The Seattle Times) Most company pitches to job candidates tend to start out the same way: either with an innocuous question (Do you want to make a difference by working for an exciting company?) or a dry statement (Company X is a $100M company in the aerospace industry).…
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5 Ways Ineffective Recruiting is Hurting Your Business
You rely on your employees to keep your business running and your customers satisfied, which makes finding the right candidates critical to your success. But let us remind you, in the U.S., managers have an average hiring success rate of only 50%. That’s far too many missed opportunities, and too many unfortunate consequences as a…
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