Building IT Leadership Teams
...One Search at a Time
​
ABOUT
SENIOR PARTNER,
KEN FERGUSON
Since his early days at IBM, Ken’s life’s work has been helping IT Executives at the intersection of business, technology, and leadership build the teams they need to meet the challenges of the digital age. Over four decades of acquiring the best possible IT management and technical leaders for companies with revenues ranging from $100M to $28B across a wide range of industries, Ken has built a legacy of win-win hires and long-lasting relationships. With his dogged persistence, inexhaustible work ethic, and laser-focus on successfully completing every search, he becomes an extension of his client’s team as he works full-time on their search and only their search. Ensuring consistent delivery of the opportunity message and application of the selection criteria by personally executing every step from discovery to hire, Ken never fails to bring forth a slate of candidates who can deliver the business outcomes his clients need. But Ken is more than just your search partner. Ken’s passion for being a trusted advisor to CIOs leads him to be a keen student of current business and technology trends, which is reflected in his deep understanding of the challenges impacting modern CIOs and the market dynamics for the talent they seek. In a time of exponentially accelerating change, Ken is constantly evolving his process and tools to attract and secure the leaders his clients need to thrive. His well-honed insights and judgement for "fit" ensure clients have an exceptional pool of candidates to select from, each aligned with their unique needs. The unwavering integrity and deep-seated need to exceed expectations that informs all Ken’s dealings with clients and candidates are rooted in the values instilled by his small-town upbringing in the frozen north of Canada where playing hockey was life… morning, noon and night. Ken is more than a search partner; he's a catalyst for your IT leadership excellence.
Contact Ken today and experience the difference of partnering with a true servant leader in the IT executive search landscape.
Don’t settle for best available
when you need best possible
What I Do
I help companies build the high-performing technology leadership teams that enable them to thrive in the digital age. Partnering with hiring managers on one bespoke search at a time, my value promise is to identify and secure senior IT executives equipped with the precise blend of technical proficiency, business acumen, leadership skills, strategic foresight, and innovation mindset needed to drive tangible business results. By handpicking and connecting my clients with top-tier talent that aligns with their strategic corporate objectives, I enable their business advantag in an ever-evolving landscape of technology.
Who I Serve
I partner exclusively with visionary leaders and decision-makers at the helm of Information Technology in private and public companies across the United States and Canada. In collaboration with the hiring manager, I conduct searches across the spectrum of technology leadership roles including impactful C-suite executives such as CIOs, CDOs, CISOs, or CTOs, or building robust teams comprising VPs, Directors, Managers, Architects, and Technical Leads. Beyond my specialization in IT leadership search, my practice is industry and size agnostic. With clients ranging from high-growth startups to global giants, I have expertise delivering exceptional talent to organizations of all sizes and industries. Regardless of role, organization size, or industry sector, my focus is on the unique requirements of my clients. Note: While my search practice caters to a wide array of industries, including non-profits, I do not engage in public sector assignments.
Why I Do It
It’s been my passion and mission for over 40 years to orchestrate a symphony of success with win-win matches between companies and exceptional IT management and technical leaders. Through my meticulous and exhaustive search processes, my clients secure talent that doesn’t just meet their requirements, but surpasses their expectations and enables them to build high-performing teams crucial for driving digital transformation without compromise. For the IT leaders I recruit, I am committed to presenting opportunities that resonate with both their career aspirations and personal goals, guiding them to the next challenge where they can thrive and grow. Witnessing the mutual success of both parties is the true magic of my work. It's about igniting possibilities for both clients and candidates alike, and that's what fuels my fire and dedication.
Keys to Success
My focused single-thread approach, personal application of decades of experience, knowledge of your needs and the market, business acumen, adaptive process, and track record culminate in one outcome: landing the difference-making IT star you are depending on. Achieving my 100% search completion rate hinges on two core principles: 1. Uncompromising, singular focus on just your search. Unlike large firms where yours is one search of many that can suffer from the inconsistencies caused by division of labor or de-prioritization amidst numerous projects, I am fully and exclusively committed the search and personally accountable to you throughout the hiring cycle. You will have my undivided time, talent and skills as I meticulously execute my gameplan with the massive action required to land the best talent, personally applying my understanding of the opportunity, selection criteria, candidate psychology, and market and recruiting skills through every phase of the recruiting and hiring process. 2. Deep understanding of your needs, and those of the candidates: Client Alignment - I become an extension of your team as I immerse myself in the intricacies of your culture, the complexities if the role and your vision of ideal candidate. Understanding the search parameters intimately I then tailor my search strategy accordingly. Candidate Psychology/Empathy - Every prospect approach and vetting decision I make is predicated on my goal of presenting prospects for your role with an opportunity that will ignite their passion based on a deep analysis of their career trajectory, aspirations and life goals Beyond those two core principles, my success is fueled by: Experience: Forty years of IT search has honed my instincts and judgement, built my network, refined my approach, and proven my ability to deliver. Adaptive Strategies: The market never sleeps, and neither do I. In such a dynamic market, continuous improvement and evolution of my methods is key to securing the best talent today. Unwavering Persistence: Intensive, persistent, scouring of every nook and cranny of the market in my pursuit of the best possible, not just best available, candidates is fueled by my never-quit attitude and deep personal need to exceed your expectations.
Clients
Paramount Global - Cracking the PhD Code to Grow an Elite Data Science Team Paramount Global's quest to grow an elite team of PhD data scientists wasn't for the faint of heart. Their demand for deep thinkers whose dissertation proposed new mathematical theorems, was crucial for building business decision models with billion-dollar impacts. The challenge led me on a six month journey plumbing the depths of the global academic community, meticulously assessing thousands of PhD holders worldwide. In the end, I unearthed a rare gem to add a team of exceptional minds redefining the value of data at Paramount.
YMCA of Metro Atlanta – Empowering a Non-Profit to Navigate Digital Transformation The YMCA of Metro Atlanta envisioned a bold IT restructuring and PwC had the blueprint. To bring this vision to life, they needed the right talent. Enter two Director roles, crucial for cloud migration, SaaS adoption, and digital collaboration. Navigating the non-profit landscape, tight budgets, and COVID constraints, I corralled two local, passionate leaders who embraced both the vision for IT and the YMCA's mission of childhood education, community health and service.
Gore Associates – No Bosses, No Titles - Recruiting a Character-Driven Leader Behind the world famous Gore-Tex fabric lies an employee-owned global manufacturer of hundreds of patented products that is famous for its flat organization where Associates become leaders by earning followership. I was retained to find a seasoned Business Relationship Management leader who, without any title, who could build the bridges needed to effect the transition from a decentralized, distributed IT organization in the business units to a centralized corporate service around SAP4 HANA. Understanding Gore's unique culture was critical to sourcing, vetting and selecting a slate of BRM leaders with the character traits aligned with the values that make Gore Associates an extraordinary place to work.
Illuminate - Illuminating the Path in the Early Days of Big Data The founder of this professional services firm had a vision to transform into a Big Data company offering industry-specific, data-driven "Insight Engines" for better decision making. My challenge was finding and connecting bold risk takers to this entrepreneurial opportunity, the rare operational leaders confident and passionate enough about joining a startup for equity... a VP of Operations, Senior Data Scientist, Lead Software Architect, and VP Sales & Marketing.
gWorks - Leading the Cloud Transformation of GovTech Empowered by PE funding and an ambitious aquisition plan, gWorks was ready to take its GovTech software to the cloud. The CEO’s pivotal need was for a VP of Software Engineering to be the linchpin in transforming a suite of legacy on-prem applications into a multi-module SaaS offering. The results of Incorporating my network, deep local outreach, national alumni networks, and rigorous qualification of prospect in a comprehensive search presented the CEO with a tough choice – three exceptional candidates, each capable of leading the charge into the future.
CSL – Centralizing Technical Excellence, One Expert at a Time After joining $10B global biotech CSL as VP of Infrastructure, my former client needed technical leaders for each of Networking, Storage, Disaster Recovery, Virtualization, and Linux at the global Center of Technical Excellence he was creating. Successfully competing with the Big Pharma companies around their Philadelphia Headquarters for such in-demand talent meant employing creative strategies, leveraging referrals, and many cold calls to secure all five hires to solidify CSL’s central Technology team.
Patina Health – Revolutionizing Healthcare Access for Seniors Led by a visionary CEO dedicated to leveraging new technologies to enhance seniors’ healthcare access, Patina Health wsa still in stealth mode when they approached me to handle their need for an experienced Healthcare VP of Infrastructure and Operations. To play this pivotal role in building a technology platform to support a diverse ecosystem of telehealth and in-home healthcare providers, I sought a candidate well-versed in healthcare industry processes, privacy regulations, popular applications, vendors, and data interoperability. The prospect of making a profound impact on a crucial societal challenge was effective in enticing a slate of candidates away from large, well-established healthcare organizations.
Hillphoenix - Transforming IT for a $1 Billion Division The newly appointed CIO of Hillphoenix, a $1B division of F500 Dover Corporation, retained me to help her acquire the IT talent she needed to deliver on a strategic initiative aimed at propelling the division into a new era of technological advancement. First priority was convincing a Manager for EBS Applications to relocate and recruiting Project Managers to establish a PMO at the newly-built HQ facility.
Augusta Sportswear - Designing the Future of Activewear Augusta Sportswear, a PE-owned leading designer and manufacturer of sports team uniforms and activewear, was on a mission to standardize ERPs across acquired business units to drive efficiency and innovation in its technology landscape. My challenge was to identify a rising IT leader in this small Southern market capable of heading the Applications team in the short-term but with the potential to succeed the soon-to-retire CIO, which the hired candidate ultimately did.
American Axle - Accelerating Leadership in Auto Parts The CIO of American Axle, a $4 billion Tier One auto parts supplier critical to keeping assembly lines running at General Motors, was expanding his leadership team and seeking potential successors for the CIO role. A strategy aimed at fortifying the company's position through top-notch leadership in critical areas to better compete and position for acquisitions. I was retained and completed national searches for key hires including VPs for Infrastructure and a newly formed BRM/Governance function.
Clearwater Seafood - Navigating Global SAP Solutions Having grown into a $500M global brand, Bedford, Nova Scotia-based Clearwater Seafood was implementing SAP. The new CIO hired to do the job retained me to find a Canadian citizen with SAP implementation leadership experience willing to relocate to small town Nova Scotia to be their Director of Global SAP Business Solutions tasked with fortifying Clearwater’s SAP capabilities on a global scale. Using an inventive approach to identify and target SAP leadership talent across Canada with Maritime roots, a diverse candidate was successfully recruited and relocated.
B/E Aerospace - Unifying IT Across a Global Enterprise Referred by my network to the new CIO of this Fortune 1000 global manufacturer of aviation interiors, I was retained to help him execute his strategy roadmap for a IT Shared Services organization to consolidate heterogeneous IT functions from 20+ acquisitions. On-site day-to-day collaboration alongside the CIO resulted in an increase of 40+ IT leadership and technical talents across Applications, Security, Infrastructure, and Support, ensuring the success of the Shared Services roadmap.
Exopack - Paving the Way for Future IT Leadership As the CIO of PE-owned packaging manufacturer Exopack prepared to retire, he retained me to execute the critical task of finding his successor. With a focus on ensuring a seamless transition and maintaining the company's technological prowess, packaging industry experience and relocation to Savannah Georgia were paramount considerations for the search.
WIKA - Elevating IT Capability and Maturity Upon becoming the CIO of the U.S. unit of German industrial manufacturer WIKA, my long-time client had a mandate to upgrade IT capability and maturity to position WIKA as a technological leader in its industry. His first order of business he retained me for was securing leaders for Infrastructure and PMO, followed by Project Managers, BI experts, and Business Analyst SMEs.
KLX - Navigating IT for a $1.5 Billion Spinoff The CIO of B/E Aerospace’s $1.5 billion parts distribution spinoff, KLX, entrusted me with the mission of recruiting a Senior Director of Applications to spearhead the technological journey function for the newly formed entity. This strategic hire was instrumental in establishing a robust IT foundation for KLX's independence.
