Gary Snyder

Chief Executive Officer Compass Education

Gary Snyder is the Chief Executive Officer of Compass Education, which includes Chartwells Higher Education, Chartwells K12, Gourmet Dining, and SSC Services for Education. With revenues over $3B and 50,000+ associates, the Compass Education portfolio is the premier group of specialist companies offering dining and support services solutions to clients throughout the education market.

Gary joined Compass Group in 2011 as Executive Vice President, Human Resources and was appointed Chief People Officer in 2014. Responsible for human resources, communications, and labor relations for over 250,000 associates in the United States and Canada, he successfully reengineered and led the human resources function to meet the needs of one of America’s largest employers. He was appointed CEO of Compass Education in 2017.

Previously with Bank of America, Gary was the Human Resources Executive for the Consumer and Wealth Management Businesses. He led a global team of human resources professionals supporting 140,000 associates in the U.S., Europe, and Canada. He has broad experience in architecting and delivering change, including serving in transition leadership roles for the MBNA, LaSalle, and Countrywide mergers. Gary has also held Human Resource leadership positions at USAA, Gateway Computers, and Diageo North America.

Gary received a bachelor’s degree in Business from East Carolina University and a master’s degree in Organizational Leadership from The George Washington University.

Gary resides in Charlotte, NC with his wife and three children.

Jordan Smith

Intern

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Ms. Smith has served as an Intern at accelHRate since 2019. She focuses on secondary research as well as website coding and analysis. She worked as an Assistant for Virginia Tech’s Pamplin School of Business from 2017 to 2019. Ms. Smith is pursuing her B.S. degree in Business Information Technology (BIT) with a Minor in Spanish from Virginia Tech University and is expected to graduate a full year early in May 2020. Ms. Smith’s team recently won third place in a BIT coding competition sponsored by CarMax. Ms. Smith studied in Spain with the VT Camino Study Abroad Program in 2019 and is involved with numerous community causes to include serving as a volunteer with the Girl Scouts of the USA and Friends of Homeless Animals (FOHA). She is also a member of Kappa Delta Sorority and the VT Soulstice A Capella Group where she is the Assistant Music Director.

Britney Nguyen

Intern

LinkedIn

Ms. Nguyen is a Database Intern at accelHRate where she works with cutting edge data management tools for advanced analytics. She is pursuing her B.S. degree in Business Management at George Mason University and is projected to graduate in May 2021. Ms. Nguyen is involved with several clubs and activities at George Mason and is currently serving as President of her sorority, Alpha Kappa Delta Phi.

Kim Shanahan

CEO & Founder

Ms. Shanahan brings over 25 years of business and executive search experience to accelHRate. She Co-Leads accelHRate’s Board of Directors Practice and leads our CHRO Practice. She has partnered with hundreds of clients across multiple industries and geographies to place Board of Directors and CHRO talent. Prior to Co-Founding accelHRate in 2014, she spent eight years with Korn Ferry where she led the HR Center of Expertise as a Senior Client Partner in the CEO and Board Practice. Ms. Shanahan simultaneously served as Office Managing Partner of the firm’s highly profitable Northern Virginia Region.

Prior to joining Korn Ferry in 2006, Ms. Shanahan led Wireless Corporate Strategy and Business Development for MCI, where she helped develop MCI’s next generation broadband and convergence strategy, formed and managed strategic partnerships and launched new markets across the US. Ms. Shanahan was first recruited to MCI in Human Resources to develop and lead its global executive recruiting and talent strategy. Prior to MCI, Ms. Shanahan spent four years with Heidrick & Struggles, where she focused on CEO and Board searches globally and served as lead Senior Associate for the Global Telecommunications Practice. Earlier, Ms. Shanahan spent several years in management consulting with DFI International.

Ms. Shanahan serves on the Board of National Alopecia Areata Foundation (NAAF). She also serves on multiple Advisory Boards for Virginia Tech, including the Pamplin College of Business (PAC), APEX Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, President Sands’ National Capital Region Leadership Council, The Department of Management, and The Department of Finance. She is a 2007 graduate of Leadership Fairfax’s Signature Program. She has been published and/or featured in Fortune Magazine, Human Resource Executive Magazine, HROToday, Chief Executive Magazine, SHRM, The Washington Post and has been co-host on The CEO Show on Executive Leaders Radio. She has previously been named one of Washington’s 100 Tech Titans. Ms. Shanahan holds a B.S. degree with a double major in finance and communications from Virginia Tech. She is certified in the Hogan Assessment.

Melissa Schmidt

Principal

Ms. Schmidt brings over 12 years of diverse executive search experience with both US and international firms to accelHRate. In her role as Principal, she focuses on HR and Finance searches for companies in education, ed-tech, consumer, non-profit, technology and industrial industries.

Prior to joining accelHRate, Ms. Schmidt was a Principal in Heidrick & Struggles’ Washington, D.C. office and a member of the Education, Nonprofit and Social Enterprise (ENSE) Practice. Since 2013, she has conducted national and global senior leadership recruitment for private equity-backed education entities, K-12, education technology, traditional and online universities, nonprofit organizations, and prominent international education companies.

Previously, Ms. Schmidt spent ten years living and working in Spain. She joined Heidrick & Struggles in its Madrid, Spain office, executing global, European and national searches in the consumer goods, distribution, pharmaceutical, industrial and automotive sectors. Prior to this, she worked for an international search firm headquartered in Madrid and focused on marketing and executive search in technology, banking and private equity sectors. She began her career in sales, marketing and public relations for the Reebok Sports Club, Madrid.

Ms. Schmidt has an MBA from Schiller International University (Madrid campus) with a concentration in international business and marketing. She graduated cum laude from Mary Washington College (now University of Mary Washington) with a B.A. degree with a double major in international business and Italian studies, both majors she created for the university. She is a member of the Association of Executive Search Consultants (AESC).

Ms. Schmidt speaks Spanish fluently.

Amanda Catanoso

Project Coordinator

Ms. Catanoso is a Project Coordinator at accelHRate ensuring the success of each executive search assignment. Ms. Catanoso uses her exceptional organization skills functioning as the key contact with clients and candidates and oversees the accuracy of all deliverables. In each assignment, she is strategically involved with the full executive search cycle from business development due diligence through placement. As the Founders have expanded the firm, Ms. Catanoso has served as a key business partner responsible for all administrative aspects including benefits design, implementation administration, facilities management, inventory and purchasing, accounts receivable and payable, training, development, performance management, recruiting, workflow management and event planning.

Prior to joining accelHRate, Ms. Catanoso was an HR Associate primarily focused on operations, HRIS and benefits. She supported the Chief Financial Officer, General Counsel and Chief Medical Officer at Vanda Pharmaceuticals. Her earlier career experience includes managing policy events and assisting the Chief Executive Officer, Former Congressman Chip Pickering, of INCOMPAS.

Ms. Catanoso holds a B.A. degree in French Literature from The Catholic University of America.

Rachel Zakhour

Associate

Ms. Zakhour is an Associate at accelHRate with over 10 years of professional experience in the executive search and technology industries. At accelHRate, she serves in a multifunctional capacity as an Associate Recruiter, Research Lead and Industry Knowledge Manager. Her specialties are identifying top talent, generating go-to market strategies and developing innovative research methods.

Before joining accelHRate, she launched her executive search career at Korn Ferry in their Reston, VA office, where she started as a Project Coordinator supporting two top Partners in the technology practice. She then transitioned into a Research Associate role where she specialized in identifying C-suite executives in a variety of industries including technology, human resources, professional services and non-profit. After one year, she was promoted to become one of three Technology Research Associates where she supported the Technology practice across North America and specialized in the software and cybersecurity markets.

Ms. Zakhour holds a B.A. degree in Communication and Public Relations from George Mason University.

Mark Mulvanerty

Managing Partner

Mr. Mulvanerty brings over two decades of executive search and coaching experience to accelHRate. He has served as a strategic business partner to corporate boards and the C-Suite leading high-profile, mission-critical search engagements across a wide aperture of industries. He is a trusted advisor to a multitude of ownership structures from the Fortune 500 to nonprofit organizations, family-owned businesses and private equity backed entities.

Mr. Mulvanerty brings experience from three top-10 executive search firms. He was inducted to the industry at Heidrick & Struggles honing his skills on C-level assignments across practices and serving as Lead Senior Associate for the Global Financial Officer Practice. He then spent over a dozen years at Korn Ferry, rising from Client Partner to Senior Client Partner as a key member of the Financial Officers Practice. Prior to joining accelHRate, he served as Managing Director at Diversified Search as leader of the Private Equity Practice and core member of their Board of Directors and Chief Financial Officer Practices.

Before joining executive search, Mr. Mulvanerty served as a professional recruiter with Systems Computer Technology Corporation and ExecuTrain Corporation. His career journey includes serving as a secondary school administrator, teacher, and coach in his native New York City. He began his career with M&M/Mars, where he managed retail sales territories and served as an on-campus recruiter.

Mr. Mulvanerty is active in the Fordham University Club of Philadelphia as well as his home parish of St. Katharine of Siena in Wayne, PA, where he currently coaches CYO basketball and serves on the board of the grammar school. The Philadelphia Business Journal selected him as one of their “40 Under 40” awardees, commending his commitment to professional excellence and community involvement. He is also a past vice chairman of the Mid-Atlantic Capital (MAC) Conference. Mr. Mulvanerty holds a M.S. degree in counseling and personnel services as well as a B.S. degree in marketing and management, both from Fordham University.

Kelly McPherson

Managing Partner & Founder

Ms. McPherson brings close to 20 years of talent acquisition, talent management and leadership experience to accelHRate. In her role, she focuses on Chief Human Resources Officers, Heads of Total Rewards and Heads of Talent roles as well as executive coaching for talent acquisition leaders. Her clients range from Fortune 500 organizations to private equity portfolio companies across a range of industries including technology, healthcare, B2B services, financial services, defense, industrial, retail and consumer products and services.

Prior to joining accelHRate, she led Talent Acquisition at National Security Partners where she built and led the enterprise-wide Talent function. She successfully steered the Talent team through five acquisitions over seven years, including the initial private equity investment. Previously, she held a variety of senior management roles, where she oversaw a portfolio of programs in the defense and commercial sectors.

Earlier in her career she served as an associate with Heidrick & Struggles supporting the International Technology Practice. Kelly began her career in pharmaceutical sales with Eli Lilly.

Ms. McPherson holds a B.S. degree in psychology from Virginia Tech. She is certified in the Hogan Assessment.

People and Culture Leads (2)
VP, Human Resources, International
Head of Leadership Strategy & Design
Head of Talent Strategy & Design
Organization & Strategy Consultants (2)
VP, Human Resources Executive Partner
Head of Global Benefits