MARY SAXON
Heidi Rustin
What drives you?
20 years later, I still love it. I believe retail is a window into the soul of our society. How people spend their money, where they spend it, and what they spend it on tells you everything about their lifestyles and their values. It’s unique in that it’s a little bit art and a little bit science – not quite like other industries.
Executive Search gives me the opportunity to leverage my industry experience, my intellectual curiosity, and my intuitive skills in a way that makes a difference for my clients. There’s nothing more fun for me than partnering with a Board of Director, CEO, or other senior leader, to talk about the needs of their business and the type of talent that is needed to take the business to “next”.
The work, if you truly care about it, and are committed to getting it right, is important. People’s careers shape their entire lives. And, people are at the center of every business’ success.
How did you get into search?
It was April 1995. I was the CEO of a Decorative Home Bedding Company, standing at an industry trade show. The Founder of Bed, Bath and Beyond said “Mary if we could bottle your enthusiasm for the industry we’d have a much better industry”. I felt like a total fraud – yes, I was proud of all that we’d accomplished, BUT, honestly, I didn’t really care if there was another bedspread in America. If you’re the CEO of a bedspread company that’s a problem.
I took a year sabbatical; hiking, skiing, sailing. At the end of the year, I asked myself “what’s next”. It was a frightening moment. I just didn’t see myself doing anything I had already done. Over lunch, a recruiter who had sourced me throughout the years said “you should be a recruiter” to which I replied, “I hate recruiters, except for you…”; and, I meant it. Most of the recruiters I had met were transactional, disingenuous, and only interested in me for the moment, in the moment, if I happened to fit their checklist; not my kind of people.
The recruiter I had lunch with said “you’d be different and that’s why you’d be great.” I resisted at first; but, ultimately, I came around to giving the idea some thought; in 1996, I decided to “give it a try”.
What was life before Executive Search?
My industry career includes retail, wholesale and manufacturing; starting as an Executive Trainee at Federated Department Stores and, ultimately, serving as the CEO of a Home Textiles Company with national distribution to retailers including Neimans, Bloomingdales, and Bed, Bath & Beyond.
I traded Broadway and the city streets of Manhattan for sailing on the Bay and hiking Mt. Tam in the Bay Area which is the place I ultimately came to call “home”.
20 years ago, I made the move from industry to Executive Search. In 1999, I joined Heidrick & Struggles as a Partner in the Consumer Group. In 2013, I became the Global Sector Leader for Retail.
And, in 2016, on one of those iconic chairs in Bryant Park, Heidi Rustin and I “had an idea…”
Bryant Park Search Partners.