Rick Steel rejoins Stanton Chase as a Director at Stanton Chase Atlanta.
Rick Steel is an executive search professional with more experience under his belt than many professionals manage to gather in a lifetime. With over 40 years of experience in corporate human resources and executive search, Rick has encountered every possible assignment and challenge during his career, and through solving them, has honed a reputation as a problem-solver and game changer. Rick has extensive search experience in the recruitment of senior-level to C-Suite executives across a wide range of industries, including manufacturing, retail, food, consumer products, and high technology. Rick, who is no stranger to the world of leadership consulting and executive search for some of the world’s most prominent companies, is also no stranger to Stanton Chase.
After starting his career in human resources and spending roughly 20 years in positions like Vice President of Human Resources for CCC Information Services and leading the human resources function of System Software Associates (SSA), Rick made the transition to executive search, putting his exemplary people skills and ability to spot leaders to good use. He joined a boutique executive search firm in Chicago for a few years and then went on to start his own executive search firm.
But Stanton Chase was calling.
“I had been in contact with a partner at Stanton Chase for a few years. Clients were increasingly asking me about international assignments, and I knew Stanton Chase had the global reach I needed to help them,” Rick said.
“I had been in contact with a partner at Stanton Chase for a few years. Clients were increasingly asking me about international assignments, and I knew Stanton Chase had the global reach I needed to help them,” Rick said.
Rick soon found himself at Stanton Chase Chicago, where he continued to carve out a name for himself in the executive search world. When an opportunity presented itself for him to go on another adventure and spread his wings, Stanton Chase supported him in his decision to take it as he continued to build on his reputation as a prominent figure in the executive search industry. However, as is often the case with old friends (which Rick and Stanton Chase certainly are), it was only about two and a half years before their paths crossed again. This time, Daniel Casteel from Stanton Chase Nashville played a crucial role in persuading Rick to return as a Director.
“Honestly, Daniel showed me the amazing support team at Stanton Chase Nashville, and that is what convinced me to come back. As I get closer to the end of my career, a support system is something that is particularly important to me,” Rick said. “Nashville was the office that inspired me to return, but I ended up joining Stanton Chase Atlanta after getting to meet Ken Nimitz, who is a remarkable figure in the world of executive search in his own right. Really, everything just culminated to facilitate a perfect homecoming. That is what returning to Stanton Chase was for me—a homecoming.
When Rick is not busy changing the world of corporate leadership, he is spending time with his wife, visiting his three adult children and five grandchildren, traveling, or playing golf. “I have traveled extensively through Europe. One of my children lived in Germany for a while, and I saw it as an opportunity to get to know the EU. Travel is something I am quite passionate about,” Rick said. “Although executive search is my greatest passion, of course.”
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