Cafe Rio Hires Randy White as SVP of IT
July 8, 2018 - Greenwich Harbor Partners recently recruited Randy White to be SVP of Information Technology for Cafe Rio Mexican Grill . Previously Randy was VP of Retail Information Technology for FOCUS Bran ds (Schlotzsky’s, Auntie Ann's, Carvel, & Cinnabon, McAlister’s Deli, and Moe’s Southwest Grill) where he managed retail technical systems for 5500+ domestic and international locations. Prior to FOCUS Brands, Randy was VP of Information Technology at McAlister's Deli. Prior to McAlister's, he was managed various technical functions at Avado Brands. Randy has exceptional technical and business skills for corporate-wide operations and guest-facing technology solutions. Randy has a Bachelors of Science in Computer Science with Mississippi State University.

Founded in 1997 and headquartered in Salt Lake City, Cafe Rio Mexican Grill is a high-growth, fast-casual Mexican restaurant company focused on serving exceptional, made-from-scratch food. Cafe Rio serves authentic dishes derived from inspired recipes and traditional cooking of Northern Mexico’s Rio Grande region, Southern Texas, and New Mexico. Central to every bite is the belief that every ingredient must be fresh and made fresh to order. The Company has won over 100 awards from the Best of City Search and the Oxnard Salsa Festival to the Inc. 500 and the Alfred P. Sloan Award.

Cafe Rio announced in September 2017 that it had been acquired by Freeman Spogli & Co, a private equity group based in Los Angeles and New York. 
Are You Driving Customer Success?
June 5, 2018 - Many companies claim to be “customer focused”, but translating that declaration into action is very difficult. Traditional silos for marketing, sales, operations, finance and human resources can impede any effort to build a customer-focused culture. But a truly customer-focused culture, backed by great systems, will drive customer success and if your customers are successful, you will be successful. Getting this right can drive huge revenue and margin growth. Customer success should be a strategic imperative.
To drive customer success, you need to engage with your customers seamlessly, whether at first inspiration, in front of a sales person, or when there are issues or complaints. The benefit of a great integrated system is that you can drive cross selling, adoption, utilization, and customer success. If your product or service helps your customers to achieve their objectives, they will be loyal and will buy more. If your service is clunky and silo-ed or customers have trouble working with your team, they will be dissatisfied and leave.
Greenwich Harbor Named One of Forbes
Best Executive Recruiters for 2018
April 9, 2018 - Who are the best executive recruiters? Forbes teamed up with market research company Statista to answer that very question by producing, for the second year, our annual ranking of America’s best recruiting firms. The list is divided into two categories: one for the top 250 executive search firms specialized in filling positions with salaries of at least $100,000 and another for the top 250 professional search firms focused on placing positions with salaries of less than $100,000. To determine the best recruiting firms, Statista surveyed 30,000 recruiters and 4,500 job candidates and human resources managers who had worked with recruitment agencies over the last three years. Respondents were asked to nominate up to 10 recruiting firms in the executive and professional search categories. Firms could not nominate themselves; last year’s findings were considered. More than 14,500 nominations were collected and firms with the most recommendations ranked highest.
Making A Career Pivot
February 12, 2018 - We often hear from senior executives thinking about making a career move. Frequently, executives are seeking to make a "pivot". In some cases, executives will say they are "open to anything" that suits their skills. But it is important to be much more strategic. What’s needed is a point of view. As you put your job search into gear, you have to think about the big trends and plan on putting yourself in the middle of fast-moving rivers of commerce. Going into a backwater and hoping a flood will come is a poor strategy.

We recommend limiting your pivot to no more than, say, 45 degrees. Plan to use 60 percent of your skills, knowledge and contacts in the next position. In addition, you must put yourself on the right side of technology trends. Develop an ideal position profile for where you'd like to work and compare it to any new opportunity. Here is a summary of our advice in the attached article on how to make a career pivot in the age of technology:
Digital Transformation concept - Compass needle pointing Digital Transformation word. 3d rendering
Hiring Digitally Savvy Leadership
The acquisition of Whole Foods Market by Amazon should be a clarion call to executives in industries that are just beginning to address the digital revolution. Attracting new leadership who can address digital transformation has become critical in almost every industry. Digital transformation will not slow down. It will not get less complicated. It will not get cheaper. What will separate winners from losers is the ability to adapt and take advantage of technology, rather than allowing others to take advantage of you. Hiring digitally savvy leadership may be the key to your future.
The Five Golden Rules for Career Advancement
This Wisdom Should be Carved in Stone Tablets.
If you want to advance your career you should print out this article, carry it with you for your next career discussion.  In short, get close to customers, become an expert, manage and develop people, take on tough projects and defend your personal brand.
The Seven Deadly Interview Sins
As executive recruiters we are often coaches of senior executives heading for potentially huge new opportunities and we get to hear client feedback within hours. S ome of this advice may be very obvious (like being on time). However we have seen senior candidates fall down on each one of these.
Greenwich Harbor Partners Opens San Francisco Office
October 10, 2017 -- Greenwich Harbor Partners has opened an office in San Francisco at 995 Market Street to expand its ability serve our client base. Customers are increasingly demanding a seamless and intuitive end-to-end experience and building this requires a mix of traditional and digital skills. Companies are looking for a blend of experience that includes digital transformation to modernize general management, marketing, sales and customer service. In addition, San Francisco Bay Area companies are searching the nation-wide talent pool for seasoned executives with industry experience who are used to managing growth at scale.