About
AESC Staff
AESC Values
The following AESC values are the foundation of AESC culture, determining the vision and intent of how we operate globally. AESC and all AESC staff are devoted to:
Integrity
Adhere to professionalism, ethics and personal responsibility at all times, honoring the trust of all AESC stakeholders.
Member Centricity
Serve as a dedicated steward, providing our members with the tools, resources and insights to help them operate successfully and with the highest standards.
Collaboration
Cultivate a culture of teamwork that respects and builds on the expertise of our staff and members within an environment of innovation.
Operational Excellence
Deliver the best outcomes and service. We believe that the way we do things matters.
Global Leadership Team
Karen Greenbaum
CEO
Martha Clement Rochford
Chief Marketing Officer
Kulsoom Gul
Managing Director, BlueSteps & Executive Career Services
Clare Mahon
Managing Director, Europe, Middle East & Africa
Karen Greenbaum
+1 212 398 9556 | LinkedIn | Twitter | Forbes
Karen Greenbaum is CEO of the Association of Executive Search and Leadership Consultants (AESC), the global association representing the nearly $20b profession worldwide. AESC is dedicated to strengthening leadership worldwide. AESC’s rigorous Code of Professional Practice guides its members, spanning nearly 1,400+ offices in 70+ countries and beyond, to serve as strategic advisors on behalf of their clients. AESC members are best positioned to provide companies with a competitive advantage—the ability to find, attract and develop the best talent in the world and ensure that executives are successfully integrated.
Kulsoom Gul
+1 212 398 9556 | LinkedIn
Kulsoom Gul is Managing Director for BlueSteps. Her responsibilities encompass strategy, production, product development and management, and P&L performance of the business. Kulsoom is a strategic initiatives and product executive with 15+ years of experience who has led multi-million-dollar rollouts for Amazon, Chubb, Deutsche Bank and Citigroup. She has vast experience as a digital product manager with direct experience building B2C and B2B platforms.
Clare Mahon
+322 652 25 78 | LinkedIn | Twitter
Clare Mahon is Managing Director for Europe, Middle East & Africa at the Association of Executive Search and Leadership Consultants (AESC). Clare is an experienced business leader in the non-profit sector, wiht a proven background in membership development and engagement, strategic business-planning, enabling transformation, product development and financial growth.
Clare brings over fifteen years’ experience in Finance, Human Resources, Strategic Planning, Customer Service and Operational Management with a unique ability to achieve people optimization through buy-in to vision and change strategies.
Sarah Mortimer
Managing Director, APAC
Lynne Murphy-Rivera
Managing Director, Americas
Frank Petruzzo
Chief Financial Officer
Sarah Mortimer
+1 212 398 9556 | LinkedIn
Sarah Mortimer is Regional Managing Director for APAC at the Association of Executive Search and Leadership Consultants (AESC). She is an experienced business leader and prior to joining AESC, served clients as a Senior Director Professional Services APAC with Miller Heiman, a leading sales and service enablement firm, and then as the APAC Head of Client Success and Advocacy for Korn Ferry Digital after their acquisition of Miller Heiman.
Lynne Murphy-Rivera
+1 212 398 9556 | LinkedIn
Lynne is Managing Director for the Americas at the Association of Executive Search and Leadership Consultants (AESC). Lynne is a business executive with 20+ years of demonstrated experience driving business growth across the public and private sectors. She has vast experience in the non-profit and professional services industries with a proven track record of building and strategically managing relationships with Fortune 500 and Am Law 100 firms.
Frank Petruzzo
+1 212 398 9556 | LinkedIn
Frank is Chief Financial Officer at the AESC. In this role he is responsible for the oversight of AESC’s financial operations, reporting, planning and analysis as well as facilitating operations and human resources.
Frank plays a key role in the design and implementation of AESC’s budgeting and forecasting processes as well as the execution of its strategic plan. Frank provides valuable insight and business decision support to key stakeholders within the organization. In addition, Frank serves as the staff liaison to AESC’s Audit, Risk, and Financial Oversight Committee.
The Team
Sharon Alexander
Partnerships & Marketing Assistant, Bluesteps
Linda Backlund
Executive Assistant Membership & Events, Europe, Middle East & Africa
Sarah Boyle
Director, BlueSteps Global Marketing
Abraham Cachu
Data Analyst, BlueSteps
Sharon Alexander
+1 212 398 9556
Sharon is a dynamic professional who seamlessly juggles multiple roles, excelling as a skilled Webinar Manager with expertise in planning, managing, and executing webinar series. She's also a dedicated Partnership Program Coordinator, all while being the friendly face of our Customer Service team, ensuring exceptional client experiences.
Linda Backlund
+1 212 398 9556
Linda is the Executive Assistant Membership & Events for Europe, Middle East & Africa. Prior to joining AESC she worked as a Recruitment Consultant for an international consultancy, and as an Assistant Manager for a Brussels-based auction house. She has a Master degree in Arts and Heritage: Policy, Management and Education from Maastricht University. Having grown up in a multi-cultural home, Linda has always had a passion for languages and she is currently fluent in five: Swedish, English, Russian, French and Dutch.
Sarah Boyle
+1 212 398 9556
Connecticut bred and New York educated, Sarah is a marketer with 10+ years of experience across lifestyle editorial, outbound sales and global marketing at various organizations and startups throughout her career. Having joined BlueSteps in 2019, she focuses on marketing strategy and all that goes along with it.
A proud Manhattan College graduate, Sarah received her BA in Marketing and Communications with a minor in film. In her spare time Sarah enjoys spending time with friends and family, and exploring all of the great things NYC has to offer. She is on a lifelong mission to find the best slice of pizza in the city.
Abraham Cachu
Biography coming shortly
Christina Claus
Manager, AESC Global Marketing & Communications
Rebecca Ditchey
Senior Program Manager – Education
Don Hailer
Senior Design Manager
David Hilty
Senior Manager, CRM
Christina Claus
+1 212 398 9556
At AESC, Christina serves as the Marketing Manager, creating and coordinating digital marketing and communications initiatives across a variety of channels. Christina comes to AESC from an inbound digital marketing agency where she managed the content for several accounts across multiple industries. Prior to becoming a content marketing specialist, Christina worked at a local community newspaper company as a journalist and managing editor. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in English from Hofstra University.
Rebecca Ditchey
+1 212 398 9556
Rebecca serves as the Senior Program Manager – Education at AESC, where she drives the development and enhancement of the organization’s educational initiatives and programming. Passionate about designing innovative programs to meet the evolving needs of AESC members, she actively explores new ways to engage executive search and leadership professionals across all experience levels. Her work reflects a deep commitment to providing enriching and transformative learning experiences that empower professionals to excel in their roles and adapt to the dynamic demands of the industry.
Rebecca earned her Bachelor of Arts in History and American Studies from Lycoming College. Based in Charleston, SC, she enjoys exploring the city’s rich history and culinary scene. In her spare time, Rebecca is also an active volunteer for two women's leadership organizations.
Don Hailer
+1 212 398 9556
Don brings over 20 years’ experience in both print and digital media to his role as Senior Design Manager. With a varied career that includes technical writing, copywriting, advertising, magazine publishing, and website design and coding, Don is responsible for the design of all AESC and BlueSteps web-related content, email communications, and print material as well as overseeing both AESC and BlueSteps brand consistency.
David Hilty
+1 212 398 9556
David Hilty is a Salesforce Certified Admin with experience designing and implementing solutions for CRM databases. At the AESC he administers the Salesforce instance, contributes to data analysis projects, and also helps with the marketing automation. Before joining AESC David worked at a startup in San Francisco where, in a client facing role, he worked as a Partner Success Manager in addition to being the Salesforce Admin.
Elee Langham
Executive Assistant and Office Manager
Charlene Manuel
Director, Global Marketing & Communications
Vamsi Ponada
Product Manager, BlueSteps
Jephenie Ramos
Senior Manager, Membership & Events - Americas
Emma Smykowski
Program Associate, Education & Americas
Elee Langham
+1 212 398 9556
Elee Langham is the Executive Assistant and Office Manager, in which she supports the President & CEO and the Managing Director of Finance & Administration. Elee graduated from Columbia College Chicago with a BA in Acting, which she does in addition to her work at the AESC. She hails from Chicago where, prior to joining the AESC, she worked at a law firm as a receptionist, as well as providing additional administrative and paralegal support.
Charlene Manuel
+212 398 9556
At AESC, Charlene provides strategic support for both education and marketing & communications. She oversees AESC's education programs working cross-functionally to deliver exceptional learning experiences. She is also responsible for developing and executing strategies to elevate AESC's brand and increase engagement with AESC members. Passionate about amplifying mission-driven organizations, Charlene has delivered global, audience-centered strategies, initiatives, and programs for nonprofits and startups throughout her 15+ year career. Charlene holds a B.S. of Media, Culture & Communications from NYU and is pursuing her MBA at Georgia Tech where she also serves as VP of Operations for the GEMS Board; GA Tech Leadership Fellow; and DEI Council Member, Scheller School of Business. Charlene’s work has been highlighted in The New Yorker, The Guardian and Graphic Design: New Basics and she has spoken as a panelist at the UN, the Ford Foundation and the White House Innovators and Communicators Summit.
Vamsi Ponada
+1 212 398 9556
Vamsi serves as the Product Manager for BlueSteps at the AESC. Vamsi comes from an agency background and has worked in the digital marketing space for the past 5 years and has managed accounts across multiple industries. At the AESC Vamsi focuses on growing the global candidate base in the BlueSteps network through paid ads as well as through on-site optimization. He holds a Bachelor’s of Business Administration in Economics from Baruch College.
Jephenie Ramos
+1 212 398 9556
Jephenie is a dedicated and organized event planner with a wealth of experience in event creation, planning and execution for not-for-profit associations. Prior to the AESC, she worked for the International Council of Shopping Centres (ICSC), where she was responsible for managing membership and events on an international scale. In a similar role at the AESC, Jephenie oversees all membership relations and events for the Americas region. She holds a degree in Business Management from Long Island University CW Post.
Emma Smykowski
+1 212 398 9556
Emma grew up in the suburbs of Chicago and is a recent graduate from the University of Kentucky where she earned her BA in Integrated Strategic Communication with a focus on Public Relations. She is based in Lexington, Kentucky and serves as the Program Assistant for Education & Americas for AESC. Prior to this position, she worked for AESC part-time as a marketing assistant. In her spare time, Emma enjoys spending time with family, friends and her 4-year-old Great Pyrenees.
Kayla Terry
Marketing & Communications Associate, AESC & BlueSteps
Lisa Wales
Director, BlueSteps Partnerships
Simeon Wong
Director, BlueSteps Executive Career Services
Kayla Terry
+1 212 398 9556
Kayla recently graduated from the University at Buffalo and majored in Communication Studies with a focus in marketing. She is now utilizing her degree to assist AESC with their marketing objectives.
Marketing sparked Kayla’s interest while on college because it allows her to think creatively to achieve different goals. Kayla is looking forward to gaining experience and contribute her expertise to AESC.
Lisa Wales
+1 212 398 9556
Lisa leads the global BlueSteps partnership program, where she focuses on the development, activation, and engagement of BlueSteps strategic partnerships, including with global EMBA and MBA programs at the world's leading business schools.
With 8+ years of experience working with executive level candidates, Lisa also directs the widely acclaimed BlueSteps webinars series and manages BlueSteps Executive Career Services.
Based in the UK, Lisa holds a Bachelor’s degree in English and History from The University of Southampton, a Post-Graduate Certificate in International Business from The Mountbatten Institute, and a Diploma in Professional Marketing from The Chartered Institute of Marketing.
Simeon Wong
Simeon is a business leader and entrepreneur with 20+ years of global experience in Management Consulting organizations and other industries He has held senior roles in both strategy and operations in multi billion dollar companies and is a ‘trusted advisor’ to others in navigating businesses through growth and cost-reduction modes.
As an Executive Coach, Simeon focuses on mentoring, coaching and driving professionals towards a fulfilling career grounded in their unique skills and capabilities, their passion, and the maximum impact they can achieve through their work. He works with individuals and teams to challenge their assumptions and identify their development priorities. He specializes in leadership coaching, executive development, and career networking coaching and executive document preparation.
