Bridging Leadership Gaps: The Journey from Education to Executive Search
In the competitive world of executive search, professionals are drawn by the allure of connecting organizations with key leadership. Rowan Rose of Hudson Gate Partners shares her journey from education to executive recruitment, highlighting the transferable skills that drive success and the complexities of finding top talent in today’s market.
October 9, 2024 – People are often drawn to the executive search industry for a multitude of reasons. It could be due to their interest in talent acquisition and helping organizations find key leadership. For many, the opportunity to engage with diverse industries and build strong professional networks can be appealing. Also enticing is the potential for high earnings and career advancement.
Rowan Rose, senior director of infrastructure recruitment at Hudson Gate Partners, joined the firm in 2023 with over five years of experience in recruiting for both non-profit and corporate organizations. After graduating from Duke University, she joined Teach for America and taught underserved students in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area. Ms. Rose continued to serve marginalized youth in San Diego before pivoting to a career in education recruitment. Her first role was serving as a recruiter for Teach for America. Subsequently, she moved into a role where she managed school leader recruitment for a network of 22-plus charter schools across the U.S.
“I am very grateful for my experiences in the non-profit sector, as the experiences helped me gain a strong foundation in recruiting,” said Ms. Rose. “I think that within non-profits, and in particular, schools that serve students coming from low SES backgrounds, there is a big sense of urgency, as good talent is incredibly scarce. I have to give a lot of kudos to Teach for America’s recruitment team; they provided some of the best-in-class training to help teachers transition into leadership roles outside of the classroom.”
“My time recruiting in the education space taught me many of the skills I needed to be able to hit the ground running at Hudson Gate Partners,” Ms. Rose said. “I learned how to build strong, meaningful relationships, assess a person’s motivations and barriers (to finding a new job opportunity), analyze data to make informed, timely decisions, and how to effectively communicate and align folks to a common goal.”
Candidates and Clients
There was so much at stake recruiting in the education space, she said, “as our students needed excellent leaders and they needed them fast. “With recruiting in education, our kids and the goal to improve upon the education system came first,” she added.
“Though I now work within a different sector, my North Star still blends a sense of urgency with wanting to provide my clients and my candidates with the best experience possible,” said Ms. Rose. “I want my candidates to find their next home, a place to grow professionally, and I want my clients to be able to make a hire that will build upon their organization and take them into the next phase.”
Ms. Rose recently sat down with Hunt Scanlon Media to discuss her career path into executive search and some complexities in finding senior talent today.
Rowan, what led you to a career in retained executive search? To be honest, I kind of fell into it! When I was an undergraduate at Duke, I was an economics and psychology double major. Economics because I love the logistical (and sometimes non-logistical) study of markets and psychology because I find people fascinating. I was also a competitive chess player, and I think that recruiting is just one-big people puzzle. I decided to leave teaching after six years, and did not necessarily know what my next step would be at the time. Luckily, Teach for America took a chance on me as a recruitment manager, and I fell in love with the work (the people, the challenge), and have never looked back since.