EXECUTIVE PROFILE

Elaine Erickson

Elaine Erickson joined Preston | Reffett as Managing Director of Consumer Practice in Fall 2008. Elaine’s 30-year history in executive search, along with her business background, enables her to offer clients an exceptional level of expertise and service. Most recently, she was the President of Kenzer Corp., a national search firm specializing in retail, wholesale, and manufacturing executive search. Before taking the role of President with Kenzer, Elaine ran the company’s Dallas and Atlanta offices. Prior to her career in executive search, Elaine held various management positions with Bamberger's – a division of Macy's.

Over the course of her executive search career, Elaine has developed strong relationships with numerous retailers and manufacturers; these companies range from startups to Fortune 100 companies. She has placed candidates in VP-level through C-level positions. Elaine emphasizes personalized service and adapts her search practice to address the particular needs of her clients. Elaine’s service-oriented approach and strong client relationships over the years have positioned her as a reliable source and as the “go to” search professional for top-talent; a role she takes great pride in having achieved.

Elaine is a graduate of Rutgers University and holds a BA in Sociology. Elaine resides with her husband in New York City and Lake Como, New Jersey.

EXECUTIVE PROFILE

Jennifer McCorey

Jennifer McCorey joined Preston | Reffett in April of 2008 as the Director of Specialty Retail following a successful career in human resources. Prior to joining the firm, Jennifer led the overall recruiting effort for a national brand-name electronics retailer as Director of Talent. She brings more than 15 years of experience as a human resources professional in the retail, insurance and banking industries to her position with Preston | Reffett.

Jennifer’s depth of experience includes talent acquisition, rewards and recognition program development, and associate relations. During her professional career, Jennifer has focused her efforts around building world-class recruiting programs for organizations. Jennifer has built a strong reputation for her innate ability to recognize and assess executive talent.

Jennifer is actively involved in a number of non-profit organizations supporting children in the Richmond, Virginia area. She earned her M.S. in Industrial Organizational Psychology from the University of Baltimore and her B.S. in Psychology from James Madison University.

EXECUTIVE PROFILE

Nancy Hoffmann

Nancy Hoffmann joined Reffett & Associates as an executive search associate in 1998, following a 25-year corporate executive management career in textiles, apparel, home furnishings, and financial services. During her career in executive search, Nancy has focused on the supermarket, wholesale food, specialty retail, and other consumer products industries. She has recruited talented senior level executives for all disciplines, including marketing, sales, merchandising, operations, supply chain, finance, and human resources. After nearly a decade as a successful search associate and researcher, Nancy is pleased to extend her expertise as Managing Director at Preston | Reffett.

Prior to her work as an executive search associate, Nancy held key executive positions in retail with P&L responsibility for sales, marketing, merchandising, and operations in several consumer products companies.

Nancy received her Master’s degree from the University of South Carolina and her undergraduate degree from Winthrop College.

EXECUTIVE PROFILE

Ronald Flom

Ron joined Preston | Reffett in May of 2010 as Managing Director, following a distinguished career in both Government and Military service.

Most recently, Ron served as the Associate Director for Management Services, United States Office of Personnel Management (OPM), where he provided leadership over the agency’s human capital, information technology, contracting, and other administrative functions. In this capacity he served as the Chief Human Capital Officer (CHCO); Senior Procurement Executive (SPE); and as a Senior Advisor to the OPM Director. Previously, his role had been as Deputy Associate Director, Center for Contracting, Facilities, and Administrative Services since 2003.

Ron retired from the United States Army as a Colonel, after a distinguished 29 year career, where his assignments included:
• Commandant, Defense Acquisition University;
• Commander, Defense Contract Management    Agency, District East; and
• Chief, Military Acquisition Management Branch

He holds a BA in Political Science from the University of North Dakota; MS in Contracting and Acquisition Management from Florida Institute of Technology; and MS in National Resource Strategy from National Defense University.

EXECUTIVE PROFILE

Margaret Gottlieb

Margaret Gottlieb has over a decade of leadership experience in the retained executive search business. Prior to joining Preston | Reffett, Ms. Gottlieb served as the Managing Director of Foster Partners, a KPMG-affiliate, retained executive search firm. At Foster Partners, Margaret handled business development and conducted executive searches for a wide array of prominent private and public sector clients. Foster Partners was one of only a select, few firms in the USA selected to conduct search for the US Government including: the Internal Revenue Service, Office of Personel Management, Government Accounting Office, US Department of Agriculture, Federal Aviation Administration, and the US Department of Energy.

Earlier in her career, Mag specialized in federal and state legislative affairs. She has held positions as Government Affairs Director for the Direct Marketing Association, President of the Washington Area State Relations Group, and Chair of the Congressional Relations Committee, Women in Government Relations. Additionally, Margaret worked on Capitol Hill and in the Ohio House of Representatives.

Mag co-authored An Association Guide to Shaping a State Government Relations Program for the American Society of Association Executives. She had been interviewed and quoted widely in leading print and media outlets, including The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, and The Washington Post and has appeared on CNN. She received her B.A. in History from the University of Cincinnati and her J.D. from the Cleveland-Marshall College of Law, where she was an editor of the law review.

EXECUTIVE PROFILE

Cherie Thomas

Cherie joined Preston | Reffett in 2010 as Managing Director in the Healthcare and Life Sciences Practice following more than 20 years senior leadership experience in for-profit and non-profit hospitals and healthcare systems. In the health care sector she has held positions in a variety of healthcare related organizations such as VHA, Inc. and Cigna. Most recently she was a Vice President of Executive Search with a large national healthcare centered search firm.

Cherie brings a broad and deep understanding of healthcare to the practice having successfully led clinical, non-clinical and support services in various hospital settings including performance improvement, environmental care, biomedical services, surgery and anesthesia, pharmacy, facilities and construction, accreditation and regulatory compliance, respiratory care and cardiac care to name a few. As a vice president of executive search, Cherie has successfully placed hundreds of candidates in director-level through C-level roles in large, nationally recognized healthcare companies, as well as small critical access hospitals. She emphasizes personalized service and customizing the search process to meet the specific client’s needs and takes pride in her ability to “hear between the lines” fully understanding not only the qualifications required by the client, but the importance of cultural “fit.”

Cherie holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in biology from Thiel College, a Bachelor of Medical Science degree from Emory University and an MBA from the University of Kansas. She also maintains her registration as a health information administrator (RHIA) through the American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA).

EXECUTIVE PROFILE

David Whipple

David Whipple joined Preston | Reffett, LLC in September of 2009 as Managing Director, following a successful career leading human resource departments for multi-billion dollar organizations.

Prior to establishing his own executive recruitment practice in 2007, David held human resource leadership roles in food retail, food distribution, mass merchandise retail and a leading health care organization in Western New York. His experience includes:

• Senior Vice President, Human Resources Kaleida Health
• Senior Vice President, Human Resources Kmart
• Chief Human Resource Officer, US Foodservice
• Executive Vice President, Human Resources Tops Markets Inc.
• Sr. Manager Human Resources, The Kroger Co. Michigan Marketing Area

EXECUTIVE PROFILE

Maureen McGurl

Maureen McGurl joined Preston | Reffett in 2010, bringing over 30 years of human resources leadership experience in the retail and professional services sectors. Maureen has a proven track record of aligning HR and business strategy and building high-performance organizations. She is a thought leader and change agent with expertise in talent management, mergers and acquisitions and other transformational activities.

Most recently, Maureen served as EVP Human Resources, member of the Executive Committee and chair of the Ethics Committee at Stop & Shop Supermarket Company, a $16 billion, 85,000 employee division of Royal Ahold, from 2002 to 2007. Reporting to Stop & Shop’s CEO, she led the human resources function for this leading Northeast supermarket chain. Additionally, in her Ahold USA capacity, she was responsible for compensation, benefits and human resource information systems for the Dutch firm’s US companies. She served on Ahold USA’s Retirement Committee.

Maureen was SVP Human Resources at the Olsten Corporation a $5 Billion global diversified services company with leading businesses in home healthcare, specialty pharmaceutical services and temporary staffing. Olsten employed 12,000 regular associates and 700,000 temporary staff.

From 1996 to 2000, she participated in the Executive Committee and Pension Committee and led the firm’s human resources function. At Supermarkets General Corporation, a $6 billion diversified retailer engaged in supermarkets, home improvement centers and retail department stores with 50,000 employees, Maureen progressed through a variety of HR roles to become its Pathmark unit’s Vice President, Human Resources in 1979 and Corporate Vice President, Human Resources & Organizational Planning in 1984, and served as Chair of the Pension Committee and Member of the Operating Committee.

EXECUTIVE PROFILE

Arthur E. Orlick, M.D., FACC

Dr. Orlick’s expertise in medicine and business stems from more than 30 years in the field, including academia, medical practice and managed care. He recently served as President of Lifetime Health Medical Group, one of the area’s largest medical groups employing 110 providers in eleven locations in Buffalo and Rochester, New York. Prior to being named President, he served as the organization’s Chief Operating Officer and Chief Medical Officer.

Before joining Lifetime Health, Dr. Orlick was Vice President and Chief Medical Officer for Buffalo General Hospital as well as Physician Director of Cardiovascular Services for Kaleida Health System, the largest hospital system in Western New York. In addition, he was a co-founder and managing partner of Cardiology Group of Western New York and served as Medical Director for Univera Healthcare, North AmeriCare and North American Health Plans. He has been the Director of Cardiac Care and the Non Invasive Cardiac Laboratories as well as serving as Chief of Cardiology at Millard Fillmore Hospitals in Buffalo, New York ( currently part of Kaleida Health Systems ). Dr. Orlick has held academic appointments at the State University of New York at Buffalo, where he is currently a Clinical Associate Professor of Medicine.

A native of New York City, Dr. Orlick earned his bachelors degree in Sociology from the State University of New York at Buffalo and graduated cum laude form Albany Medical College. He completed a Postdoctoral Fellowship in Cardiology at Stanford University and was awarded a competitive three grant from the American Heart Association following his graduation from Stanford.

He is a Fellow of the American College of Cardiology as well as the Council of Clinical Cardiology of the American Heart Association. He is a member of Alpha Omega Alpha, past President of the Western New York Cardiovascular Society and past co-Chair of the Medical Director’s Forum, New York State HMO Conference.

EXECUTIVE PROFILE

Marshall Reffett

Marshall comes to Preston | Reffett after having worked for Congressman Dave Reichert of the House Ways and Means Committee. He helped to position the Congressman as a leader on global health issues working with organizations such as UNICEF, Save the Children, and the U.S. Global Leadership Campaign.

Previously, Marshall served as the Director of Research for Retail-iQ, a Preston | Reffett subsidiary. Marshall has also assisted with numerous VP through C-level searches, working with clients in the retail, travel and technology industries.

Marshall is currently working towards a Master’s Degree in National Security and Strategic Studies from the US Naval War College, having recently graduated from the War College’s Fleet Seminar program and earning his Joint Professional Military Education with distinction.

Marshall was also nominated for the McGinnis Family Award For Outstanding Performance, which recognizes one student for excellence within the program.

Marshall completed his undergraduate studies at Wake Forest University and currently resides in Washington DC.

EXECUTIVE PROFILE

Erin Petty

Erin Petty joined Preston | Reffett in November of 2007 as the Research Associate. Erin’s experience includes 8+ years in office administration, advertising, and human resources support. She is an integral part of the Preston | Reffett team through her role in designing media materials, administrating the internal proprietary database, and in-depth Internet research.

Prior to joining Preston | Reffett, Erin was the Aquatics Office Manager for one of the largest Home-Owners Associations in the country. She was responsible for customer service, seasonal human resources & payroll, training, facility schedules & rentals, advertising coordination, accounts receivable, and the budget for 15 outdoor swimming pools. Erin has built a strong reputation for her passion to serve and support team members in whatever capacity is needed.

Erin earned her Bachelors of Music from the University of North Texas and is actively involved in a local church’s worship band and other ministries.

EXECUTIVE PROFILE

Debra Herbut

Debra Herbut joined Preston | Reffett as Office Manager in April, 2007. Debra’s background and experience includes 20+ years in office administration and executive support. Her role is versatile and consists of supporting the Managing Partners, contact with clients, accounts payable and receivable, purchasing, and maintaining the IT infrastructure and accounting software. Debra is an integral part of the Preston | Reffett team, ensuring the corporate office runs smoothly and efficiently.

Prior to joining Preston | Reffett, Debra was the Office Manager at a regional sales office of a national marketing company, where she was responsible for the Help Desk, the human resources department, and managing the administrative staff. Prior to that position, she provided executive administrative support to all levels of upper management in several industries, including publishing and law firms.

Debra attended Martin School of Business in Philadelphia and is proficient in QuickBooks.