Two former executive recruiters with Whitney Partners have launched Greenwich, Connecticut-based Archer Search Partners to recruit investment and fundraising professionals at the senior and mid-levels.
Alexis DuFresne and Fraser Trimble plan to take on as clients mid-sized deal sponsors and family offices investing in private equity, private credit, hedge funds and secondaries. With backing from venture capitalist Ryan Cleland-Bogle, founder of London-based Tempting Ventures, DuFresne and Trimble have built a team of seven employees.
“We want to work with firms where [our recruiters can] still access the founders and the business leaders,” DuFresne told Private Equity Career News recently. “That’s where we can make the heaviest impact.”
Another hallmark of the new firm promises to be an online portal. It will let clients check on the progress of searches, rather than waiting for reports or relying on stale information, DuFresne said.
Looking ahead to the fall, Archer Search Partners would like to hire a director with private equity recruiting experience. The role would be based either in Greenwich, a location in West Palm Beach, Florida, or a new office expected to open later this year in New York City. Candidates interested in applying should reach out to the firm via email.
The Founders: Managing Partner DuFresne, also chief executive officer, and Managing Director Trimble have been recruiting executives for about 15 and 18 years, respectively. Their previous firm, New York City-based Whitney Partners, has a team of about 11 specializing in financial services executive search. DuFresne worked there from 2017 to earlier this year, including as head of U.S. alternatives search, leading searches for both distribution and portfolio management roles. Managing Director Trimble worked at Whitney Partners from 2012 to earlier this year, leading senior level searches as an executive search consultant.
The Firm: The team at Archer Search Partners includes a partner/senior consultant focused on search and human resources strategies, a head of research and a marketing and branding advisor. An advisory board member is expected to soon join as well.
The Job: Archer Search Partners seeks a director-level professional to work on executive searches. “We’re looking for somebody who’s been recruiting for at least five years,” DuFresne said. Archer Search Partners also has two internships open for the fall and winter semesters. Interns will work on project management, client reporting, pipeline reporting and candidate mapping.
––Michelle “Moe” Saxton