Committee selects Headhunter

A seven-member committee working on the selection of a new CEO for the Terrebonne Economic Development Authority has chosen Austin, Texas-based Johnson & Associates to assist in their search.

Last Wednesday, committee members Don Hingle, Colin Seibert, Ken Jenkins, Clarence Williams, Lori Davis, Mike Voisin and Morris Hebert (who offered his opinions by e-mail) graded three executive search firms on criteria including the kind of clients they generally work with, the cost of services, work plans, qualifications and proximity to Terrebonne Parish. Each category was rated on a scale of 1 to 5. Johnson & Associates secured a perfect score with 25 total points.

Additional executive head hunters under consideration were the PACE Group with offices in Chicago and in Tupelo, Miss., which was given 21 points, and Carrington & Carrington of Chicago, which the committee offered 19 points.

Johnson & Associates was highlighted for working more with economic development agencies and offered a fee rate on a $12,000 base plus $7,000 for expenses and a cap of $19,000 per client. The other candidate companies charge on a percentage out of pocket, significantly higher base rates and focused more to large corporate executive searches.

“All are impressive with their records,” Hingle said. “Nobody was overpriced, based on my experience.”

Seibert added that Johnson & Associates was preferred because they work with niche businesses and organizations. “[Johnson] just seems to have everything we want,” he said.

Johnson & Associates executive recruiter and certified economic developer Chloe Johnson said in a telephone interview that she was “delighted to be selected” to assist in the TEDA executive search. She has headed her own firm for 25 years and prior to getting into the executive placement business she was a site locater for the state of Texas.

Johnson explained that her procedure in finding candidates for executive positions is dependent primarily on networking and her company has developed a large roster of contacts over the years.

Johnson said she plans to meet with the search committee to gain a consensus of what kind of person they want for the job. “Once I know exactly where they are, where they want to go and what they are looking for, then I begin my search,” she said.

Johnson intends to make use of her own executive newsletter with a circulation of 10,000 and other trade publications across the country to begin attracting applicants.

“After I do the advertising, I do a complete packet on each individual [that responds]. I give the finalists an opportunity to make a DVD so the board can see how they communicate and then they can see the big picture. I’m there every step of the way and the board usually uses the top three to five to interview in person in a two-day interview process,” she said.

As an executive recruiter, Johnson said that a candidate cannot be selected on paper alone and that there needs to be a personality connection that is right as well. “You cannot always tell [what you are getting] from a resume. That is one of the benefits of hiring a consultant such as myself because you can be fooled by a resume,” Johnson said. “Ninety-eight percent of the time the magic is there and they are ready to make and offer. If the magic is not there I’m the first to say, ‘Let’s go back to the drawing board.’”

Identifying candidates for the TEDA CEO position will depend on the selection committee being clear about what they expect, according to Johnson. “I find out what they want and what direction they are going. I would say the majority want someone who has had a track record of success [and] would fit in with where they are going,” Johnson said.

A right fit, according to Johnson is a matter of knowing the individual applicants or having solid relationships with someone they know or for whom they have worked that can offer credibility for the candidates.

Johnson said the process from first meeting with a search committee to making a job offer takes on average three months. TEDA, was expected to receive a 3-year extension this week on their cooperative endeavor agreement with the Terrebonne Parish Consolidated Government, with much of their support depending on how soon a CEO can be placed in a position that opened in December 2010 when then-CEO Mike Ferdinand was fired by the TEDA Board of Commissioners.

South Central Industrial Association Executive Director Jane Arnette has been working on a volunteer basis as an interim executive director for TEDA, but her agreement with the economic development agency was only made through the end of February.

Final approval for the hire of Johnson & Associated in their executive search is pending approval by the entire TEDA board.