Diversified Search Joins Forces with Koya Leadership Partners

Diversified Search and Koya Leadership Partners have joined forces, effective June 10th.

With the combination of revenues and resources, Diversified Search and Koya will represent one of the largest nonprofit and higher education practices in the executive search industry. The firm will also be one of the largest executive search firms in the U.S. marketplace, with combined projected annual revenue in excess of $80 million. Katie Bouton, Koya’s CEO and Founder, will assume the role of President of Diversified Search, joining Diversified’s leadership team of Founder and Chair Judith M. von Seldeneck and Chief Executive Officer Dale E. Jones. Under the agreement, Koya, which has its headquarters in Boston, will retain its own name and branding and will operate within the portfolio of Diversified Search companies.

“Culture fit has always been and remains a top priority as we continue on an aggressive growth strategy within our key sectors,” said von Seldeneck. “We believe that with Koya alongside us, we have a rare opportunity to build a unique model in today’s competitive environment.”

Koya’s specialization in mission-driven search, primarily with nonprofit and higher education clients, complements Diversified’s own major Education, Nonprofit, and Arts and Culture practice, as well as the firm’s Healthcare Services, Board of Directors, Life Sciences, Industrial, and Digital, Media, Entertainment, and Sports practices. Koya’s strong track record of placing transformational leaders, leveraging cutting-edge capabilities in social media strategy and technology, and its unique understanding of the growing Millennial workforce also complement Diversified Search’s expertise. “We see Koya as a great partner to our existing business and, just as importantly, our culture,” said von Seldeneck.

Both Diversified and Koya, founded by women, are recognized leaders in the areas of diversity and inclusion, and are known for their strong track records placing women and people of color in executive positions. Both Diversified Search and Koya Leadership Partners are ranked among the top executive search firms in the nation for 2019 by Forbes magazine. The firms reflect one another in shared corporate values of respect, impact, innovation, and goodwill.

“We are thrilled to join with Diversified to re-imagine the impact a leading mission-driven executive search firm can have on our world. In addition to sharing a passion for client service, Diversified’s culture and values mirror Koya’s,” said Bouton. “Joining our firms will enable us to offer our clients deeper and broader services that meet the needs of today’s employers and workforce. We are excited about the opportunity to expand our client service in the mission-driven field.”

“We believe that Diversified and Koya together will create new and exciting models and opportunities in the higher education and nonprofit sectors,” added Diversified Search CEO Jones. “We look forward to building a highly productive and innovative partnership.”

This is the second time in three years that Diversified Search has undertaken such an arrangement. Diversified Search partnered with life sciences executive search firm BioQuest, based in San Francisco, in 2016.