One of the region’s most prolific nonprofit executive search firms has a new CEO.
Angel Beets will succeed Tom Gilman as Gilman Partners’ chief executive officer, effective May 1.
Joining Beets to lead Gilman will be Marci Pfeifer as chief operating officer.
The promotions are the final pieces of a leadership transition that started with Beets and Pfeifer being named co-managing partners in 2021.
“I’ve been CEO since I purchased our predecessor firm in 2004,” said Gilman. “During that time, our revenues have increased five-fold and we’ve become recognized as the leading executive search firm in the region. Our GP Elevate program for emerging leaders is also widely recognized as a top leadership development offering. Today we are a majority-owned female business and have seven equity partners. Our clients are many of the leading privately held companies and nonprofit organizations in the region. For all of this, I’m very thankful.”
Gilman will remain a partner and assume the role of chairman, where he will assist with strategic matters and a few special projects. Gilman said he plans to stay active in the community and will continue serving on a number of advisory and nonprofit boards.
“It’s time to let Angel and Marci lead us to the next level,” Gilman said. “They’re both twice as talented as I am. The two of them, along with our other partners and team members, have the right values and client focus to accelerate our success. As we’ve learned working with our clients, leadership transition can be a challenge but I’m totally confident we have the right team for the future.”
Beets joined GP in 2018 after working with the firm for nearly three years as a contractor.
In addition to managing the firm’s strategic initiatives and external relationships, she will continue to lead GP Elevate, a leadership development program that prepares high-potential leaders for executive management. Since its first cohort in April 2020, more than 80 leaders have completed the program.
Pfeifer has been with Gilman since the beginning. In that time, she has served as both an executive search consultant and as COO. In her role as COO, she will join Beets in an expanded role managing day-to-day operations and will continue to lead searches for organizations across the Midwest.