Success Stories

I am deeply grateful to Sara Shulman and Elyse Waterhouse for helping us land our fabulous new CFOO. They took time and care to understand a great deal about our current context - successes, challenges, and future opportunities. Their inclusive approach in working not only with me but also with our business team and other school leaders enabled them to develop a nuanced understanding of skills and qualities of our ideal candidate. The portfolio of candidates they provided were stronger across the board than I could have imagined, and I particularly appreciated the diversity of the group (gender and race/ethnicity, as well as industry backgrounds). Their guidance was instrumental in shaping a process that has not only led to our successful new hire in the role but also to our people feeling valued. They were generous in sharing what they learned about us in the process, which has also helped greatly with the transition plan for our new CFOO and our operational teams. The partnership with Sara and Elyse continues to pay off. And it was fun to work with them, too!

I enjoyed partnering with you on this one. You are a real professional. You served up a strong slate of candidates … but we couldn’t be more excited about the ultimate winner of the race.

I can say wholeheartedly that it was terrific to partner with Sara and Greg on our recent CFOO search. They are pros — they come with background in finance and advancement, attracted a very strong candidate pool, gave very good and sage advice to me throughout the process, and also engaged the board members in very thoughtful ways.

I would highly recommend them, so much so that I am now working with another Carney Sandoe consultant in our next important search. She, too, has been great with me and our internal search committee.

As a new head it was hard to trust myself. But Peter helped me learn to trust myself and work through the steps that would make it possible to hit the ground running. The work included getting clarity about my approach to leadership and what I needed to focus on at the start of my tenure.

Through conversations with Peter I was able to keep the 30,000-foot view of the school front and center and identity my priorities. I learned both the importance of balance in my work and my life and how to find it. As a new head of school, I was able to clarify my view that what matters most is focusing on the school culture and environment — creating a climate where students and adults thrive. This big-picture thinking has even distilled itself down to a simple guiding principle: “To look within and see beyond.”

Dear Art,

On behalf of my colleagues, please send our deepest thanks and congratulations to your team at Carney, Sandoe & Associates. You all accomplished so much in so short a period of time: specifically, conducting and coordinating six simultaneous searches for a school that is not scheduled to open until the fall of 2022. We’re grateful for the thoroughness, timeliness, and overall professionalism that you all exercised throughout the entire process. And Art, I want to thank you for the patience, persistence, and caring that you devoted to helping us fill each of these important founding positions with such wonderful men and women. Thanks to your team, we’re off to an outstanding start.

Sara and Greg were visionary in their approach to our search process. They brought us top candidates with a range of backgrounds and strengths, and ultimately helped us secure our first choice for the position in a timely manner. They were attentive to our needs, quickly learned and understood the context of our school and team, and were consistently available to offer insights, answer questions, and give guidance. It was a seamless and successful process, and I’m excited to work with the Carney Sandoe team on our next search.

Was a pleasure to meet you in person. I’m happy with how things are proceeding and appreciate your guidance. You also left a strong impression on the hiring committee and I’m confident we’ll be able to find the right candidate for JA.

Barry, I just wanted to send you a note to say thank you for the excellent work your firm did on the Drew principalship search. The appointee looks like an outstanding candidate, and I know the Board is pleased with the excellent end results!

We had an exceptionally strong candidate pool and a very thorough and deliberate process. We had consensus that the eight semi-finalists, all of whom have substantial experience running public, charter, and/or private schools and a demonstrated commitment to promoting diversity in education, were the best fit for the priorities outlined in the Head of School job description and reinforced by stakeholder engagement.

I am a member of the Board of Trustees at the American College of Sofia in Bulgaria and led the head of school search committee in the spring of 2021 to replace our seven-year incumbent. We interviewed three search firms and hired Art Charles and John Chandler of Carney Sandoe to help us lead the search. They educated our first-time search committee members on process, commitments, and best practices. Our situation was unique being an American school in the Balkans, but Art and John offered tailored advice to our situation. They not only fielded applications from candidates who learned of our position, but proactively reached out to their network of leaders who hadn’t heard about our search. Our ultimate hire was one of those people. Carney Sandoe helped us conduct an efficient and effective Zoom-only search process during COVID, without compromising the integrity of the process or the search’s outcome. When it came to negotiating with our finalists, Carney Sandoe were thought partners on every aspect of the proposal, including compensation package vs. cost of living, market competition, impact of accreditation findings, contract review, community outreach, and internal and external communication. Generally, their response time was two hours or less, regardless of the time difference. They were extremely kind, patient, and thorough and encouraged us to evaluate fit throughout the process. In the end we couldn’t be happier with our head of school.