January 27, 2014

For Parker Executive Search's industry-leading sports practice, 2013 was a year of familiarity and change. Hosting the 2013 Final Four in Atlanta gave firm leaders the opportunity to reconnect with many friends and clients as the sports world focused on Georgia in early April.

But PES also diversified its sports search portfolio in 2013, with more searches outside college sports, including assisting the United States Olympic Committee with the hiring of its chief development officer (Jon Denney from Stanford was the successful candidate), and helping the WNBA's Atlanta Dream find a new coach in Michael Cooper.

In college athletics, PES had another strong year, completing a total of 23 searches for colleges and universities. Highlights included the successful advisement of two major college conferences on commissioner searches, assisting the NCAA in its search for a Division II vice president, recruitment of nine college coaches, and helping seven universities find new athletic directors. Most recently, PES completed the search for Vanderbilt University's head football coach as the school attracted Derek Mason from Stanford.