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Our Story

Our Legacy – Changing the Landscape of Leadership

Long-standing. Purpose-driven. Women-owned.

Ellig Group recruits inclusive leaders for senior-level appointments in the C-suite and boardroom, ensuring long-term success – both for our corporate and nonprofit clients, and for the exceptional candidates whose careers we champion.

What Sets Us Apart

Our Knowledge

Access to Executive Leaders Globally

Female-Owned Search Firm:
Certified by the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC).

Ellig Group Advisory Board: Leveraging the wisdom of experienced, high-profile executives, board directors, and thought leaders.

Global Search Consortium: A member of International Independent Consultants, IIC, the world’s top 10 executive search org, with 400 consultants in 40 countries.

C-Suite/Board Network: Broad access to outstanding board and C-suite candidate sources through the Executive Leadership Council (ELC); Latino Corporate Directors Association; Ascend; 30% Club; and other professional associations and databases.

Our Experience

Extensive Experience Successfully Placing Diverse Leaders

Board Readiness Coaching Program and the Board Academy Bootcamp: Preparing executive talent for the Boardroom and to be more effective leaders in their own organizations.

Reputation: Nearly 50 years of executive search experience. Annually, 75% of our searches are with returning clients.

Market/Sector Experience: Considering both the markets you serve today and your future strategic imperatives, we tailor our searches to meet your industry needs.

Inclusive Leadership 80% of our C-Suite placements and 85% of our board placements are women and/or members of underrepresented groups.

Expedited Results: The majority of our searches are completed within three months.

Off-Limits: Minimal conflicts of interest and no internal conflicts between partners.

Our Process

Meeting Each Client's Unique Needs

Your Ambassador: We take the time to credibly market your compelling story to the best candidates.

Partner-Led: Janice Ellig interviews, assesses and presents all candidates.

Data-Driven Assessments: Hogan Assessment, The Leadership Circle, and Clifton Strengths ensure cultural fit.

100 Days of Post-Placement Support/Coaching: A certified Executive Coach partners with you and the placed candidate to facilitate smooth transition.

Experience With An Eye To The Future

Our Pillars

Outstanding, Inclusive Leaders

Research demonstrates that heterogeneous groups enhance decision making, mitigate “group think”; diverse leadership is strongly correlated with financial and reputational strength. To ensure that our clients stay ahead of the curve, we work closely with a diverse network of communities and organizations to identify new pools of leaders. We take a broad view of inclusion across a range of areas, including experience, skills, ethnicity, gender, age, religion, sexual orientation, and gender identity and expression.

Client Experience

At Ellig Group, we provide a personalized, high-touch, and hands-on approach to partnering with clients. We are our clients’ ambassadors in the market, telling their compelling stories.

Candidate Success

The true measure of our success is the long-term success of each client and candidate we serve. We go above and beyond to ensure that our candidates will excel in their new roles. We work closely with our clients and candidates before, during, and after the search to be certain the right person is in the right position at the right time. We provide 100 days of coaching to assist in the onboarding of the leader to become fully integrated. We invest in our candidates to ensure a long-term career in the organizations in which they are hired – and beyond.

How We Started

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1977

In The Beginning…

Bill Gould and Millie McCoy found NYC executive search firm Gould & McCoy.

1986

A New Partner

Susan Chadick becomes a partner in the newly renamed Gould McCoy Chadick.

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2000

Janice Joins

Janice Ellig joins as a partner after a successful corporate executive career.

2001

Hot Off The Press

Janice publishes her first bestselling book, What Every Successful Woman Knows, co-authored with Bill Morin.
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2007

Changing of the Guard

Janice and Susan become Co-CEOs, and the firm is renamed Chadick Ellig.

2007

Literary Leadership

Janice and Bill Morin publish their second book, Driving the Career Highway: 20 Road Signs You Can’t Afford to Miss.

Since 2011 to Today

In 2011, as President of the Women’s Forum of New York, Janice founded and launched the Breakfast of Corporate Champions, a biennial event honoring S&P 500 and Fortune 1000 companies and their CEOs who are leading gender parity by exceeding the national S&P 500 average of women on boards. With 50% women in the workforce in 2026, the threshold to be honored is 40%.

2017

Janice Takes the Wheel

Chadick Ellig evolves into Ellig Group as Janice takes up the mantle as sole owner and CEO.

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Tonie Leatherberry was at Deloitte for nearly three decades where she was the principal architect of The Board Leadership Forum and the NextGen CEO Academy, each of which has had a meaningful impact, ultimately placing more than 70 Black leaders into executive-level and board roles. As Chair Emeritus of the Executive Leadership Council, she created the Chairman’s Council of Academic Achievement to address achievement gaps for students of color in America’s educational systems, and as President of the Deloitte Foundation, the mission was to drive initiatives to develop future leaders through education. She is a passionate leader who has devoted much of her professional life to creating opportunities for women and people of color. Tonie is Lead director for Direct Digital Holdings, and a Board Director at Zoetis Inc. and American Family Insurance.

Cindie Jamison was elected Chair of the Darden Restaurants Board (NYSE: DRI) in September 2023, having served as a Director since October 2014 as part of a complete Board replacement slate through Starboard Value’s proxy fight. Since 2013, she has also served on the Office Depot Board (NASDAQ: ODP) where she Chairs the Audit Committee and is a member of the Compensation Committee. In May 2015, she joined the Big Lots, Inc (NYSE: BIG) Board, and became Chair in May 2022. In May 2023 Cindie stepped down from the Tractor Supply Company Board (NASDAQ:TSCO), a position she has held since 2002, where she was Chairman of the Board, after serving as Lead Director, and Chair of the Audit, Compensation & Corporate Governance Committees. Cindie joined the Board of Save the Children in February 2024.

David Chun, Founder and CEO, Equilar, Inc., has led Equilar since its inception to become one of the most trusted names in the corporate governance community. David has been recognized as one of the “100 Most Influential Players in Corporate Governance” by the National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD), the Disruptor Award by 2020 Women on Boards and Outstanding 50 Asian Americans in Business. David speaks publicly on corporate governance and board diversity matters, including events hosted by The Conference Board, Deloitte, EY, HR Policy Association, KPMG, NACD, NASDAQ, NYSE, The Society for Corporate Governance and Stanford’s Directors’ College. Prior to founding Equilar, David was a Vice President in the Investment Banking Division of Donaldson, Lufkin and Jenrette, a global investment bank that has since merged with Credit Suisse. Before DLJ, David was a management consultant with Bain & Company and also Kenan Systems, a telecom software developer acquired by Lucent Technologies. David serves on the boards of the Commonwealth Club of California, PGA Reach, the Silicon Valley Community Foundation (SVCF) and the Silicon Valley Leadership Group (SVLG). He is on Nasdaq’s Center for Board Excellence Advisory Board and Catalyst’s Women on Board Advisory Council. David is a member of Young Presidents’ Organization (YPO), Past Chair of the SF Bay Chapter, a founding member of the Council of Korean Americans (CKA) and a former board member of the Wharton Center for Entrepreneurship and the Asian Pacific Fund Community Foundation of San Francisco.

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Priscilla Sims Brown serves as President and CEO of Amalgamated Bank, a full-service bank, lender and investment manager with a century-long commitment to advancing positive social change. Amalgamated Financial Corp., the holding company for the Bank, is the first publicly traded (NASDAQ: AMAL) financial institution to be a public benefit corporation. Priscilla guides Amalgamated Bank in championing social responsibility through values-based banking, customer-centric services, and mission focused lending, serving individuals and organizations, including climate groups, foundations, labor unions, advocacy groups, political campaigns, and other socially responsible businesses, who care that their deposits are put to work for good. Priscilla is also dedicated to addressing environmental and social justice issues at Amalgamated Bank. More than 60% of the Bank’s lending and select balance sheet investments are high-impact through affordable housing, nonprofits, and climate solutions. Named one of the Most Powerful Women in Banking in 2023 by American Banker, Priscilla has been featured in The New York Times, TIME Magazine, PBS, and CNBC Changemakers, among others.

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Myra Biblowit is the President Emeritus of the Breast Cancer Research Foundation, the nation’s highest-rated breast cancer research organization with a mission focused exclusively on funding the world’s most promising research. Myra took the helm as BCRF President in 2001 and, after 22 years, retired in April 2023. During Myra’s tenure, BCRF funding enabled breakthroughs in breast cancer prevention, diagnosis, treatment, metastasis, and survivorship. Myra was widely recognized for leading one of the most impactful, financially efficient, and transparent nonprofits in the United States. Prior, Myra was Vice Dean for External Affairs at NYU Medical Center where she headed the Development, Alumni Relations and Public Relations departments. Previously she led the capital campaign as Senior Vice President of the American Museum of Natural History. Earlier, Myra served as Executive Vice President of the Central Park Conservancy. Myra is a member of the Board of Directors of Wyndham Hotels and Resorts, the Housewares Charity Foundation and the Historic House Trust of New York City. She is a member of the New York Women’s Forum, the Yellow for Pink National Council, Extraordinary Women on Boards and serves on the Advisory Board of Project Hope for Ovarian Cancer Research & Education.

Truett Tate is Chairman of a number of Boards, including Reference Point, TLC Lions, Thinkably and the recently retired Chairman of QBE, NA. Truett Tate is also Director of the DEVClever board. Truett has a long and esteemed global executive history including most recently as CEO of ANZ USA, Europe, Japan, Korea and the Middle East. Immediately prior, he was Group Executive (and Board member) at Lloyds Banking Group, responsible for Wholesale & International Banking (Including Global Wealth and International Retail) across the United Kingdom, the Americas and worldwide and prior spending 27 years at Citigroup where he held a variety of senior roles including corporate banking business across each of its regional geographies. Truett’s long board history includes Virgin Group, Ten Group, the BITC, BAB Inc along with many other charitable and academic organizations. A speaker, guest lecturer, philanthropist and professional coach/mentor, Truett has seemingly bottomless energy and passionate interest in a safer, more just, more humane and more sustainable world.

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Janice Reals Ellig

Chief Executive Officer

As the head of the Ellig Group, Janice is dedicated to increasing the placement of women and diverse candidates on corporate boards and in C-suites by 2025. Janice joined the legacy firm in 2000 and became Co-Chief Executive Officer in its transition to Chadick Ellig in 2007; she assumed sole ownership of the company as the Ellig Group in 2017 with a new focus on Reimagining Search. Prior to her career in executive search, Janice spent 20 years in corporate America at Pfizer, Citi and Ambac Financial Group, an IPO from Citibank, where she was responsible for Marketing, Human Resources, and Administration.

Heralded by Bloomberg Businessweek as one of “The World’s Most Influential Headhunters,” Janice is often consulted for her expertise and her commitment to gender parity, inclusion, and diversity. She frequently appears at speaking engagements and as a media guest, and she has penned multiple articles for outlets such as Directors & Boards, Directorship, Corporate Director, The Huffington Post, and Forbes.com. Janice also co-authored two books: Driving The Career Highway and What Every Successful Woman Knows, acknowledged by Bloomberg Businessweek as “the best of its genre.”

A tirelessly active member of the industry and champion of her causes, Janice is Founder of the Women’s Forum of New York’s Corporate Board Initiative and its signature event, Breakfast of Corporate Champions. Since 2011, Janice continues to spearhead this event to honor companies committed to board diversity and to encourage CEOs to sponsor board-ready women for the Women’s Forum database. (LINK: www.womensforumny.org).

Janice is personally committed to several NFP organizations: Board Director of the National YMCA and Past Chair of the YMCA Board of Greater New York; Trustee of the Actors Fund and Committee For Economic Development (CED); Incoming Chair, University of Iowa Foundation; Women’s Forum of New York Past President and Chair of the Corporate Board Initiative; member of the Steering Committee, US 30% Club and The Economic Club of New York.

In recognition for her many philanthropic activities, Janice received the University of Iowa Distinguished Alumni Award in 2011 and the Association of Executive Search Consultants (AESC) Eleanor Raynolds Award for Volunteerism in 2008. Named one of the “21 Leaders for the 21st Century” by Women’s eNews, she was also a recipient of the Channel 21 Award In Excellence for her contribution to “Excellence in the Economic Development for Women.”

“Listening to our clients’ needs, learning their business and understanding their culture is how we present the best talent and provide  a competitive advantage. We place candidates with the character, competencies, commitment, (intellectual) curiosity and courage to make a difference. Our goal is always to go beyond the expected and deliver valuable advice, measurable results and great talent!”

– Janice Reals Ellig

  • Champion of gender parity, diversity, and inclusion
  • Industry expert, speaker, and author
  • Founder of the Women’s Forum of New York’s Corporate Board Initiative
  • Committed board and committee member and philanthropist

T: (212) 688-8671 ext. 226
E: Janice@ElligGroup.com

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