Diane Shea

I am a search consultant who, quite literally, has followed her clients and candidates from twenty years of search in the investment banking, reinsurance, private equity and hedge fund arenas to the nonprofit institutions where they are now building important philanthropic legacies. Unlike many of the search consultants I have encountered in the nonprofit space, I do not come from the administrative ranks of the institutions for which I recruit. Rather, I have a donor-centric perspective and an appreciation of business and executive search best practices as they do (and occasionally do not) relate to this uniquely nuanced sector.

The nonprofit practice at Cross Hill Partners is a direct outgrowth of my belief that the right person in the right place at the right time truly can make a difference and my commitment to helping large and small, local and global nonprofit organizations fulfill their missions.

At Cross Hill Partners:

It’s not about asking more and more and more people whether they would be interested in the opportunity at your organization…it’s about determining where and with whom the desired skills reside, and then recruiting them to your team.

It’s about scouting talent at organizations that have fomented the kind of change you need and/or succeeded in meeting the challenges you face.

It’s about engaging alumni, donors and the private sector in identifying those individuals and institutions that have lived a mission, crafted and conveyed a compelling message, built deep relationships.

It’s about asking the right questions of the right people and not fearing the responses.

It’s about referencing not to simply verify claimed accomplishments, but to determine that a finalist has the WILL (motivation to accomplish goals), REALISTIC OPTIMISM (confidence in the positive outcome of future events), RESILIENCE (ever more crucial - the capacity to face adverse or risky conditions in a sustained way) and SELF-CONFIDENCE (certainty about our own capacity to achieve the goals that have been set) to succeed.