One niche covered deeply: the production and credit talent that California community and regional banks are built on. Fewer searches, run well.
I place senior individual contributors, regional managers, EVPs, and C-suite talent for California community and regional banks, primarily production and credit executives. The people who originate the loans and the people who underwrite them. Two sides of one coin.
I take engagements I believe I can win and decline the ones I can't. Fewer searches done well, not more searches done poorly.
If a candidate isn't right for the seat, I'll say so. I'd rather lose a placement than burn a career I've watched develop for fifteen years.
The banks I work with call me before they have a search, not only when a seat opens. That trusted-advisor relationship is earned over years, and it's the one thing in this business that never gets commoditized.
I highly recommend Jon Ward. He maintains a wide and deep network of candidates and really articulates opportunities as if he were a commercial banker.
Jon Ward at Ward & Dean always has the whole story. If you're in commercial banking and don't know him, do yourself a favor and get to know him.
I have found Jon very knowledgeable in the California market. He knows the best candidates for the position in the market. I really enjoy working with him.
A place to share slide decks, candidate marketing pieces, and market intelligence with clients and candidates.
I connect and broker strategic conversations between senior Commercial Banking and Credit professionals and the Executive and C-Suite hiring managers who can grow both banks and banking careers. If you are a bank with a mission-critical hire, or a seasoned banker looking for expert advice on how to navigate the next five years, here's how to reach me:
