DALLAS—Leaders from three pioneering executive search firms have joined forces to launch a new search platform, HealthSearch Partners, specializing in identifying and placing transformational, mission-minded CEOs and senior leaders in healthcare systems. The team will capitalize on the benefits of its collective experience as well as its unique agility to bring focused attention to clients looking for leaders who embody their mission and can execute it well.

“Health system boards now have an even better option than the customary ‘Big Four’ search firms,” says Keith Southerland, Board Chair, HealthSearch Partners. “Our experience gives us the unique ability to consistently identify the transformational leader mission-minded healthcare organizations need.”

“We have the unusual opportunity to access candidates who are off-limits to many large firms due to their wide range of clients and placements, enabling us to be even more selective when finding the right leader,” adds Barry Cesafsky, Board Vice Chair, HealthSearch Partners.

HealthSearch Partners combines the leadership of three successful search firms—Oak Brook, Illinois-based CES Executive Search and Dallas-based firms FaithSearch Partners and Southerland Partners—including Southerland, Cesafsky, Ed Fry, Neill Marshall, Laura A. Conley, and Ivan Bartolome. Collectively, the principals have managed more than 500 healthcare CEO searches.

“What sets us apart is that we have the level of experience and expertise of a large firm, but the speed, creativity and access of a small firm,” says Ed Fry, President and CEO, HealthSearch Partners. “Our clients aren’t passed on to a junior consultant after they sign. They work with senior consultants every step of the way—people who have 20 to 30 years of experience, have seen it before and can lead a search confidently.”