BEST Group's success has evolved and grown because of their expertise in technology, as well as their ability to quickly locate and match technology professionals to precisely the right technology environment.

When Ohio's Kent State University began looking for a new Vice President and CIO for their 150+ employee Division of Information Services, they went looking for experts in technology - which is how they found and then engaged Cleveland-based BEST Group Management Consultants - to perform the search.  Kent State University is one of the mation's largest university systems with eight campuses serving more than 36,000 students.  It is one of Northeast Ohio's largest employers with more than 4,600 full- and part-time faculty and staff.

Kent President Dr. Carol A. Cartwright said, “Kent needed broad-based networking with the information technology field, so for this search we chose a technology executive search firm instead of a firm that specializes in education.   BEST representatives had a very clear sense of direction.  We had good dialogue up front to ensure the differences between a corporate and academic cluster were clear.  BEST ardently sought and listened to information from my committee and me; they clearly understood our culture and what we were looking for.”

Dr. Cartwright says she laid out the search expectations for the committee and then virtually left the picture until the candidate pool was narrowed to three finalists.  BEST searched the country, examined their internal IT candidate database, industry and education source environments, and known contacts.  They narrowed the search from over 100 qualified candidates and presented 20 to the search committee within three weeks of the initial contact signing.

Carolyn Pizzuto, Kent's VP of Human Resources, found BEST Group through discussions with Cleveland State University representatives.  BEST Group had done the search for their CIO several years earlier.  She said, “Selecting BEST Group was the easy decision in this search.  We recognized our need for efficiency in this search, and that’s exactly what BEST brought to the table.  BEST presented the 13-person search committee with a brief summary of each candidate, which helped us to determine which professionals to meet face-to-face.”

A typical CIO search can take from three and eight months, depending on the position and situation.  Kent’s mission was to move fast, and find the right person for the job.  The CIO finalist, Ed Mahon, relocated to Northeast Ohio from Columbia, Missouri, where he had been the CIO at The University of Missouri. 

Mr. Mahon said, “BEST Group’s communication was exceptional.  Dave Schenk, BEST Group’s president was the reason.  Dave was approachable in the first and every phone conversation, he asked direct, revealing questions, he ascertained my skills and career goals, and he provided an accurate portrayal of Kent, their requirements and the process steps.  Dave respected the client as well as the candidate, realizing this would be a significant career decision for any potential employee."

Dr. Cartwright said, “We believe Ed is the right leader to build on the momentum that’s been created by the Information Services team.  This division is essential to a major research university like Kent State, and sound leadership is required to stay ahead of the rapid technological changes.”