Linda N. Stewart, Epoch. Matchmaking for the C Suite
Thursday, 13 September 2007
EPOCH: The Next Way Work - For Those Who Don't Need To.
Meet Linda N. Stewart: Free Agent Matchmaking for the C Suites
Linda Stewart
"I'm looking for people who have minimum 20 years senior experience in the business world" Linda Stewart
We've had the opportunity to interview many really smart executives here on Total Picture Radio. Many of these visionaries, working at very successful enterprises, realize there's a market segment whose needs are not being met; an opportunity to engage an important audience with a product or service that's not being offered. A few examples: Marc Cenedella who left Hot Jobs to start The Ladders, Reid Hoffman left EVP of PayPal to start LinkedIn, Jeff Taylor, the founder of Monster, left to start Eons, a social networking site for baby boomers. Add to this list Linda N. Stewart, former acting COO of Veritude, a national recruiting, staffing and talent management organization owned by Fidelity. Linda is now president, CEO and founder of EPOCH - providing highly successful executives ("been there, solved that") on a periodic engagement, project basis.
There are 78 million baby boomers here in the U.S., (the number swells to 100 million by 2010), quite a few of these are seasoned senior executives looking for an opportunity to pick and choose new, exciting challenges while achieving a work/life balance ideal for their personal goals.
Here's the EPOCH Pitch:
"Today, just when businesses are feeling the effects of retiring baby boomers, loss of skilled executive talent and ever-tightening cost controls, EPOCH professionals provide extraordinary solutions. All the help you need, -- not just to fill an executive gap, but to handle important initiatives that don't get enough priority. Offering proven performance at the most senior levels, these executives are compelled by the opportunity to leverage their skills against challenging projects while achieving a work/life balance."
"Free Agents: From the big screen to the Board Room" 1 Minute:
Before starting EPOCH, you were acting COO of Veritude, a national recruiting, staffing and talent management organization. What made you decide to start your own firm?
We've all seen the statistics – the average rate of turnover – even at the C level – is under 3 years – for CMOs I think is around 18 months! Given your experience in the talent management industry, what do you think is contributing to this rather troubling statistic?
You've described EPOCH as "a new way to gain variable-cost, just-in-time sourcing of qualified executive talent." Can you expand on that concept?
On the candidate side of the equation, is EPOCH targeted to the baby boomer, whose perhaps tired of the 60-70 hour a week grind and interested in creating some flexibility?
I would imagine a lot of your client assignments are fill-in-the-gap – asking an experienced executive to step into a role until a permanent placement can be found? Is that correct?
How are you going about finding the kind of talent you're looking to represent through EPOCH? These folks aren’t posting their resumes on Monster.
How about confidentiality? Given the level of executives you're representing, that must be a question that is frequently asked.
Take us through a scenario – let's say I'm a CMO making 4-500k a year + bonus – lots of international experience in financial services – haven’t cut loose from the mother ship yet -- but I'm thinking about it. I want to know what kind of opportunities you would be able to tee-up for me.
Another example. I'm 65 retired. Bored out of my mind. And guess what? I'm a Sarbox wizard. Worked for one of the Big 4 accounting firms. Looking for something for 3-4 months. Somewhere warm. Can you help me?
Would I need to sign an exclusive work for hire contract with you?
How do you go about verifying my background?
Are you a 1099 agency? When I’m placed through EPOCH does the hiring company pay you and then you pay me? How much of a cut do you take?
Okay. 180 degrees. I’m a corporate client. Linda help! Our CFO just took off with his 28 year old secretary! We need someone fast! Walk me through the process.
Linda, who is working with you at EPOCH?
Do you have job listings on your site?
What didn’t I ask that people need to know about EPOCH?
Linda N. Stewart's Bio
Source: EPOCH
Jobs well done. That’s what Linda N. Stewart's career has been all about. An accomplished professional with international experience in both Fortune 500 and entrepreneurial ventures, she understands what it takes for companies – and their executives to succeed. That, in fact, is the primary mission of EPOCH, the company she founded to support accomplished professionals in introducing some work/life balance while addressing the oncoming shortage of executive skills and talent in the workforce.
Prior to EPOCH, Linda demonstrated extraordinary prowess in terms of executive leadership and strategic know-how, across sectors as diverse as financial services, technology and workforce development. Her constant focus has been on maximizing delivery of critical business services to increase market share, build revenues and enhance the value of the customer experience.
Linda's previous positions include acting COO of Veritude, a national recruiting, staffing and talent management organization, where she grew both revenue and contribution margins by more than 30% in the first year and more than 20% each of the two following years. Before that, she served as president of ActionsXchange and held key senior executive positions at National Charitable Services, Boston Coach and Fidelity Investments.
Trained and licensed as a certified public accountant, Linda is a graduate of the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania.
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