Our Story

 

With our niche expertise and network of industry thought leaders, our mission is to help you retain your top talent with institutional knowledge, while working with best-in-breed partners to backfill and provide experienced professionals where you might have talent gaps.

 

We want to work with innovative employers who embrace the concept and importance of acquiring and retaining talented people who do not necessarily follow linear career paths.

 

Our culture and business philosophy is based on trust, diversity, acceptance, and delivering outstanding customer service both externally and internally.

 

We are committed to perpetuating change in the marketplace, and we look forward to being a catalyst within organizations to help achieve the goal of transforming the workplace in to an environment of increased productivity and happier people while lowering costs.

 

Based on best-practices developed by leading investment banking and consulting firms, we provide comprehensive technology-enabled-managed-services specializing in giving companies direct access to exceptional professionals who are:

 

1.    Exiting the workforce (off-ramping due to personal reasons, retirement, other employment, disability);

2.    Transferring within the organization or transitioning to modified work schedule; or 

3.    Returning to the full-time workforce after an absence (on-ramping).

 

Typically comprising these three groups of professionals are people who have:

•    Departed a career for a period of time to be the primary caregiver to dependent children, parents, or family members
•    Departed a career for personal growth pursuits such as education, travel, volunteerism, or sabbatical
•    Experienced major personal set-backs such as the death of a loved one, health issues, unexpected lay-off, or relationship separation such as divorce
•    Retired, or are considering retirement (or employment detachment) but need or would like a reduced work schedule, a tapering-off process, or to be considered for future projects / part-time employment with their employer

 

Executive Management and Advisory Board:

 

 

 

Jenny Krengel, Founder & Chairwoman

 

• Career in: Enterprise sales and management selling technology solutions including client-server and web-based software, hardware, and services. Successful track record in start-up environments and taking new products into new markets with profitable results.

 

• Longest career tenure: Eight years with privately held small business as key sales leader contributing to average CAGR of 30% during tenure. Experienced employee growth from four employees to over 100, with revenue growth of  less than a half million dollars in annual sales, to over $12 million in annual sales through organic growth. 

 

• Best attributes in business: Visionary, planning, distilling problems into solutions, customer focus, communicating, motivating, executing and getting the job done with resourcefulness and creativity.

 

• Career achievement: Selling enterprise security software to Wal-Mart corporate at list price.

 

• Education: BA in Psychology with honors, University of Texas at Dallas, coursework in Ph.D. program: Organizations and Strategy - School of Management, UTD

 

• Advice to the next generation: "Have a great attitude while doing your best work with integrity; what you produce today is only preparation for the next best thing."

 

  

 Marcia Silverberg

 

• Career in: Human resources management, consulting, organizational development, leadership development; experience in healthcare, life insurance, information systems and non-profit management. 

 

• Longest career tenure: 14 years at Mutual of New York (MONY) with progressively more responsible positions in information systems and human resources leadership. While in IS, I partnered with HR on new compensation, performance management and leadership development efforts—and that led to my career in human resources.

 

• Best attributes in business: Critical thinking, aligning people strategies and processes with business goals, and “connecting the dots”. Balanced focus on process and results. Attuned to values and communications.

 

• Career achievements: Took a “leap of faith” and formed HR Directions in 1998; successfully consulted to a diverse client base. Co-led the turnaround of the HR/OD department at Seton Family of Hospitals, cutting the turnover rate by half while improving associate engagement and HR service levels.

 

• Education: BS in Sociology and Social Work from State University of New York at Albany. MSW in Organization, Planning & Administration from Syracuse University.

 

• Advice to the next generation: Find your calling and pursue it passionately.  Build relationships with people with diverse interests.

 

 

Mike Frost

 

• Career: Technology Startup Entrepreneur.  Multiple successes building high-growth technology companies in both public and private sectors.  A passionate leader with a sales and marketing background and reputation for building highly effective management teams.

 

• Longest career tenure: Twelve years as Founder and CEO of one of the cornerstone tech companies that created the Austin High Technology Boom.  Bootstrapped from a $500 initial investment, the company grew annual revenue to more than $200 million before being acquired by a public company.

 

• Best attributes in business:  High-energy executive has been in the fox-hole before and can focus and motivate in tough environment.

 

• Career achievement:  Recognized as the Ernst & Young  “Austin High Technology Entrepreneur of the Year” in 1996.

 

• Education: University of Texas, Accounting

 

• Advice to the next generation:  “Commit to something larger that yourself.”

 

Mike Frost is a veteran technology startup entrepreneur with 20 years of CEO experience. He started his first startup, TechWorks, while in his twenties and led the company to 3 Inc 500 appearances and an Ernst & Young High Tech Entrepreneur of the Year Award before being acquired by a public company.  Frost has been the CEO of 3 Austin technology startups and raised over $80 million in venture financing.  He is currently the CEO of SureGrid and Chairman of the Board of Jawdrop Development.

 

  

 

 

 

Linda Glass

 

• Career in: Talent management and executive coaching; key focus on high-growth, global strategies.

 

• Longest career tenure: Eleven years with Starbucks Coffee Company; From launching the Starbucks Brand in the UK to establishing the first recruiting department, Linda has been drawn to start-up opportunities.

 

• Best attributes in business: Strategic, innovative thinker who places high value on leveraging the best of talent within organizations.

 

• Career achievement: Launching innovative assessment platform for retail hiring with a proven return in the millions.

 

• Education: BA in Economics from DePauw University

 

• Advice to the next generation: "Take the time early to really understand what your strengths and talents are. Establish a path that will take every advantage of those and you’ll love what you do."

 

 

Roark Pollock

 

• Career in: Marketing and product management with a track record of delivering significant product revenue growth and bringing successful new products to market.

 

• Longest career tenure: Six years with a privately held national managed service provider. - led all product development efforts and go-to-market strategies including the successful development and launch of 20+ products, and product integration efforts as the company went through two major acquisitions within a three year period.  During his tenure the company grew from approximately $6M to $125M in annual revenues.

 

• Best attributes in business: Building, motivating and leading effective cross functional teams.

 

• Career achievement: Putting the right resources, skill sets and processes in place to drive and support significant company revenue growth (66% over 2 years in one instance, and 29% over 2 years in another).

 

• Education: BS in Mechanical Engineering from Texas A&M University in College Station, Tex.  MBA from the Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University in Evanston, Ill.

 

• Advice to the next generation: "Do something you love and you will never work a day in your life."

 

 

Pat Abrams

 

• Career in: Organization development, management and leadership development, talent management and human resources business partnering.

 

• Longest career tenure: Fourteen years at AMD with progressively more responsible positions across HR functions; managed global teams and projects in North America, Europe and Asia.

 

• Best attributes in business: Strategic and organizational agility, systems thinking, business acumen, process design and management, dealing with ambiguity.

 

• Career achievement: Member of the leadership team of a $2B wafer fab start-up in Dresden, Germany; responsible for designing and implementing world-class organization, management and talent strategies in a multi-cultural, bi-lingual environment.

 

• Education: BA in Anthropology & Sociology, Lafayette College and M.Ed. in Organization Behavior, Temple University

 

• Advice to the next generation:"Do not postpone joy. If you have joy in the work that you do you will always be successful."

 

   

 

 

 

 

Sally Pedley

 

• Career in: Technology executive recruiting with a focus on semiconductor, emerging technologies and technology product companies.

 

• Longest career tenure: Fourteen years as CEO of Pedley-Richard and Associates with over 20 years leading technology search practices, and four years as Recruiting Manager for Tandem Computers.

 

• Best attributes in business:  Customer centric, high integrity, passion for connecting opportunities with the right person.

 

• Career achievement: Building Pedley-Richard into a well-respected, successful organization with a culture that supports work-life balance.

 

• Education:  Bachelor of Arts in Economics, University of North Carolina-Asheville

 

• Advice to the next generation: "Do things that you have passion for and continue to learn. Success will follow."

 

  

Kathleen Kenney Lucente

 

• Career in: Corporate marketing and communications positioning companies for success by building and protecting worldwide brands and reputations that are well known in the marketplace – including JPMorgan Chase, IBM, Motorola, American Management Systems and more. Her 18 years of agency and corporate public relations and marketing experience covers emerging technologies, financial services, women's consumer products and services as well as Austin's entertainment and music industry.

 

• Longest career tenure: Five years with JPMorgan Chase as Vice President and Regional Head of Corporate Marketing and Communications for Asia Pacific and for LabMorgan, the firm's financial technology investment and incubator arm. Took JPMorgan from being a third rate player in Asia to being recognized worldwide as a top-tier choice for US and Asian clients by using PR to demonstrate the power of the firm's platform via weekly client results and thought-leadership programs.

 

• Best attributes in business: Creative communications strategist, a proven trusted advisor, an expert in reputation management, a swift ability to distill complicated technology or financial deals and make them tangible for reporters and the public to understand, broad vertical market experience, outstanding international experience, an ability to see the forest and the trees, impeccable execution, a team leader with natural people skills, the highest standards of ethics and propriety as well as hunger to win.

 

• Career achievement:  Managing PR and internal communications around 9-11, SARS and an anthrax scare all the while successfully raising JPMorganChase's reputation with clients.  Bringing Creative PR to new heights by position IBM Research as a star in the crown of IBM with breakthrough technology announcements that changed the way PR is done in the industry.

 

• Education: BA in English, St. Michael's College, and MA in English Literature with Honors, Boston College,

 

• Advice to the next generation:"Get your hands dirty on the way and you'll have a much better sense of your abilities, what makes you tick and how no one can define your life's ambitions but you."