Client Testimonials
“What I will say is that I am convinced that we would not have succeeded without Gary Hudepohl’s leadership, guidance, and deep industry contacts. He interacted most with the Committee and also with the Board. He was also called upon to consult with the Mayor’s office. The Board then decided to boldly combine the CEO and CIO positions (the then acting CEO retired). This pivot restarted the clock on the length of the engagement and the candidate pool available with the new Terms of Reference for the combined position. And I might interject the fact that ALL this took place at the height of the COVID epidemic.
The old phrase “worth the effort/wait” is certainly appropriate. It is now just over a year into our new CEO/CIO’s tenure and all constituents of SFERS are truly pleased at the Board’s choice. Gary deserves the credit as much as anyone. His demeanor and ability to work with disparate stakeholders was superb. Gary’s best return on investment to SFERS was his ability to deliver excellent candidates and when it came down to closing the deal he was there working side by side with the search team. SFERS really got their ideal candidate, and I am thankful for this in my new position as President.
Always available to discuss should anyone wish more information.”
~ Scott R. Heldfond, President
San Francisco Employee Retirement System
“As an elected board member of a large public employee pension system, I was appointed chair of a committee tasked with filling three of the most important positions in our organization, Executive Director, Chief Counsel, and Chief Investment Officer. It was not an easy task.
Speaking from my personal experience, Gary Hudepohl excelled at keeping board members and staff informed, met a series of tight deadlines for recruiting and vetting a deep pool of candidates, facilitated in-depth candidate interviews and employment offers, and assisted with final negotiations. In my opinion, Gary met the expectations of what at times could be a divided board expertly assisting us in completing three very qualified hires that are a great fit for our organization.”
~ Susan Lemmo, Elected Member Board of Trustees
Pennsylvania Public School Employees’ Retirement System
“The Investment Council board has retained Hudepohl three times in the last fourteen years. It speaks volumes that we had one of their SIO placements stay with us almost ten years until his retirement. We once again hired them to do a search in 2023 to replace our retiring State Investment Officer and were extremely pleased with the slate of candidates that they were able to attract for our position.
Hudepohl is excellent at understanding the specific skill set and cultural fit required. They have the contacts that allow access to qualified candidates, as well as the expertise to effectively recruit and vet targeted persons that are a fit for the position. While Hudepohl acts with the appropriate sense of urgency, they also understand the state’s requirements for the processing of applications and candidates. Our experience has been very positive, and I would strongly recommend them to others looking to conduct a SIO search.”
~ Gail Werner-Robertson, Chairwoman
Nebraska Investment Council
“The success of Gary’s placement is twofold; his process and pool of professionals to draw from. Gary was our fourth search consultant to use in seven years, so we needed to try something different. His process is unique, he came and personally interviewed each of our board members, as well as senior staff, to learn the culture, strengths, and challenges in our organization.
He then found a pool of very strong and diverse finalists that we could not have found using conventional or previously used methods. From discovery, to interviews, to contract negotiations, Gary was a professional, a pleasure to deal with, and we as an organization are most pleased with our new CEO.”
~ Neal Waner, Vice-Chair
San Bernardino County Employees’ Retirement Association
“The SERS Board has retained Hudepohl & Associates for our CEO search (twice) and several other executive positions the past 10 years. Our expectations of them are high, we expect them to advise and guide the Board through the search process and the selection of key leaders; they have always exceeded our expectations.
On our recent CEO search, Gary demonstrated his ability to bring together trustees with differing viewpoints to make the best decision, and his firm provided valuable support to the Board during the transition period. Not only is their recruitment process sound, but the quality of the recommended candidates is equally as impressive. Our Board has been very pleased with their performance and recommends them to other organizations searching for senior leadership positions.”
~ Barbra Phillips (former Board Chair) and Dan Wilson (former Board Chair)
School Employees Retirement System of Ohio
“They are just on top of it, intuitive yet strategic, people oriented, but process driven. This is why I gave them a perfect score (10) regarding total client satisfaction. Hudepohl earns their money.”
~ Peter Leslie, former Board Chair
Maine Public Employee Retirement System
“From our earliest contacts with Gary Hudepohl, it was clear that he sought a deep understanding of our culture, our organization and our board before identifying highly qualified candidates who would fit. He then worked hard to encourage the right candidates to apply. As a result, we had a superb candidate pool that gave us real strategy options. Gary’s commitment to service stayed high through every stage of the process, all the way through post-employment follow-up.”
~ Rick Fowler, Board President
Sacramento County Employees Retirement System
“Recruiting for a Pension Executive Director and Chief Investment Officer during the pandemic was of concern to us, especially since we needed to do the entire search process virtually. Hudepohl & Associates were the consummate professionals from beginning to end in their process. Gary put us at ease and gave us confidence that we would find a qualified candidate. Gary was intimately involved as he learned our culture and needs.
His methodical and detailed process provided us with a tremendous number of highly qualified applicants in a very quick timeframe. His communication skills are strong, he can read his audiences and sense where things are going. This skill allowed us to better understand candidates or gleam the best out of a virtual interview. We would strongly recommend Hudepohl and Associates for your recruitment and we would not hesitate to reach out to him in the future recruitment if we should need him.”
~ Jimmie Barrett, Chair of the Recruitment Committee and Retirement Board Trustee and Barbara Donnellan, Member Board of Trustees
Arlington County Employees’ Retirement System
“I just wanted to touch base with you and thank you for being so thorough during this process. I know I can speak for the rest of the Board when I tell you that we are all very happy to have made a selection and that your expertise has made the process as smooth as it could have been.”
~ Chris Pittman, Elected Safety Trustee
Sacramento County Employees Retirement System
“A heartfelt thank you for your help in the entire process in locating a new leader for our fund. I thoroughly enjoyed working with you on this process. I was very impressed with your tone, demeanor and approach to the entire search. During the process, it felt like you were a part of the board, a part of the fund, not as if you were a service provider we will rarely encounter (despite that being the truth).”
~ Jesus Payan, Appointed Trustee, Fort Worth Employees’ Retirement Fund
Crestline Investors, General Counsel
“Even though we had several external factors that made our search challenging, Hudepohl’s focus on process and thoroughness of his search produced a large number of very qualified candidates from all across the country.”
~ William Peacher, Chairman Board of Trustees
Teachers’ Retirement System of Oklahoma
“Hudepohl approaches search differently from the other firms I’ve worked with. They study the specific skill sets we need, source top individuals who possess those traits, and serve as matchmakers who surface candidates uniquely qualified to serve our organization.”
~ Steve Moise, State Investment Officer
State of New Mexico
“Hudepohl is my go to firm, they have a specific world view, beyond tenacious and committed…, like a long time advisor, they innately and equally know who to source, as well as they know who they are sourcing for…, this balanced insight is like mimicry between client and candidate.”
~ E. Gordon Gee, President
West Virginia University (current)
The Ohio State University (former)
“As I have noted to others, I don’t believe that I have ever seen a more appropriate and stronger slate of candidates for a position. You did an outstanding job for us, Gary. Thank you.”
~ David Hodge, President
Miami University (retired)
“Both Bowling Green and the Inter-University Council have used Hudepohl. The firm, working on behalf of the Presidents of Ohio’s public higher education institutions, managed the search for our association President. The President’s valued Hudepohl’s work building Board consensus and leading us through this critical search. I am very pleased with their work, and the quality and diversity of the candidates recommended.”
