Membership
Lindauer Announces Promotions for Three Senior Executives
As Lindauer continues to evolve to serve organizations throughout the nonprofit sector, the firm has elevated three senior executives to new roles.
With roles spanning the full breadth of the firm—from client services to business operations —Libby Roberts, Devin O’Leary, and Faith Montgomery have been integral to the pursuit and activation of Lindauer’s mission: to ensure the world’s great causes have the greatest possible impact. As of this month, Roberts serves as Senior Executive Vice President, O’Leary as Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, and Montgomery as Senior Vice President.
“In their own unique and indelible ways, Libby, Devin, and Faith have all shaped Lindauer’s strategic trajectory as an executive search firm, and I am grateful that they will continue to guide us forward,” said Lindauer CEO Deb Taft. “Honoring our past while building the future, Libby, Devin, and Faith have provided indispensable leadership as we have reinforced Lindauer’s long-held strengths in fundraising and advancement and expanded recruitment services into a range of executive leadership roles that fuel nonprofit missions.”
Founded in 1997, Lindauer has historic roots in conducting rigorous national searches in fundraising and advancement, for which it still holds the top market share in the United States. In recent years, the firm has broadened its scope of services to include a variety of C-Suite roles while deepening its offerings in six core practices: Higher Education; Independent Schools; Healthcare and Science; Advocacy, Policy, and Social Enterprise; Arts and Culture; and Faith-Based organizations.
Today, Lindauer serves clients across the United States and on six continents. Drawing on the cross-functional expertise and the extensive experience of its growing team, Lindauer responds to increasing demand for top nonprofit leaders and talent solutions that unlock the potential of people and organizations around the world.
Libby Roberts, Senior Executive Vice President
A paragon of relationship-building, Libby Roberts forges strong client partnerships by deriving clear, actionable insights from open and honest dialogue. Roberts’s expert guidance, rooted in a deep understanding of nonprofits, makes her an essential partner for organizations navigating the complexities of succession planning and executive recruitment.
“For Libby, partner is an active verb that defines her entire approach to client services,” said Taft. “Libby listens to her client partners, challenges them, and guides them toward successful outcomes that position people and organizations to maximize their impact. Renowned for her bold leadership and collegial truth-telling, Libby has earned the trust and admiration of executives across sectors and industries. She is a foundational part of the firm, and I am thrilled that she will serve in an expanded capacity to support our clients and promote the advancement of the entire nonprofit sector.”
Roberts excels at guiding boards and leaders through the many stages of a search, collaborating with stakeholders while surfacing the core goals, priorities, and aspirations that unite an organization.
“Our Lindauer team, led by Libby Roberts, were exceptional partners in the search process,” said Tom Capizzi, Vice President and Chief People Officer for the Children’s Hospital of Orange County. “They provided excellent counsel and support to our search committee, which led to us successfully finding our new leader for the CHOC Foundation.”
Roberts’s distinguished roster of client engagements and broader community involvement reflect her extraordinary global network as well as her commitment to service. Her work has ranged across arts and culture, healthcare, higher education, and advocacy, as well as faith-based hospitals, universities, and other organizations.
Roberts has had the privilege of partnering with leading national and global mission-based organizations, including the American Enterprise Institute, Ann and Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago, Boston Public Library, Boy Scouts of America Greater New York and Greater Los Angeles, Brookings Institution, Children’s Hospital of Orange County, Cranbrook Educational Community, Deerfield Academy, Emerson College, Endeavor Health, Fund for Teachers, Habitat for Humanity Greater San Francisco, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Phillips Exeter Academy, Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, Sydney Children’s Hospitals Foundation, Sierra Club, University of the Arctic, University of Pennsylvania, and UWC Atlantic.
Through her extensive volunteer work, Roberts gives back to her community and contributes to the development of the field of philanthropy. She has served on many boards, including the Association of Fundraising Professionals, Boston Trinity Episcopal Church, the Nelson Rockefeller Center, and The Boston House. She brings a wealth of global experience through her travel, international education, and work with Habitat for Humanity. She maintains her connection with her alma mater, Dartmouth, where she has been deeply involved since matriculation.
Devin O’Leary, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer
Devin O’Leary is the primary architect of a robust infrastructure supporting Lindauer searches. Leading all administrative, IT/IS, and operational functions, O’Leary ensures that Lindauer team members have the latest strategies, cutting-edge technology, and necessary resources to partner effectively with clients, candidates, and colleagues.
“Overseeing the high-level strategy and the day-to-day of our business operations, Devin has built a foundation that has enabled Lindauer to scale up and operate more efficiently without compromising our singular focus on providing custom search solutions for our clients,” said Deb Taft. “In addition to being a valued leader, Devin is also an exceptional colleague. The same partnership ethos our consultants bring to client engagements, Devin brings to his work with Lindauer team members. He is as collegial as he is productive, and he’s played an integral role creating a rigorous yet positive culture here at Lindauer.”
Since joining Lindauer in 2012, O’Leary has held progressively senior roles with a substantial impact on the growth and evolution of the firm. In recent years, he has overseen the development and integration of systems, processes, and approaches that are the engine for Lindauer’s national and now global reach, the expert engagement with clients and candidates, and the effective performance of a fully remote team.
As O’Leary’s impact on Lindauer has deepened, so has his scope of responsibility. O’Leary now oversees significant aspects of Lindauer’s financial and fiscal operations, management reporting, and search operations, including management of the firm’s administrative search structure. He also has executive oversight of Lindauer’s expert marketing, business development, research, and client services functions.
Faith Montgomery, Senior Vice President
As Senior Vice President, Faith Montgomery joins a cohort of Lindauer SVPs that includes Paula Fazli, Bob Giannino, and Jackie Sullivan. In this role, Montgomery will continue to partner with clients in search of exceptional leaders while pursuing new opportunities to support organizations in their cause-related work.
With a focus on executive search, talent management, and equitable hiring, Montgomery’s client work spans a range of sectors, including education, healthcare, the arts, social justice, and public policy.
“Faith’s versatility as a consultant and extensive background in nonprofit leadership have fueled Lindauer’s strategic growth in recent years, and we are fortunate that she is part of the senior leadership team steering the firm toward an energizing future of client success,” said Taft. “On every search, Faith partners expertly with organizational leaders to create a shared reality of opportunities, challenges, and aspirations. She embodies our mission by providing vital support and guidance that prepares clients for new leadership eras and actualizes their missions, visions, and values.”
In high demand for her strategic expertise and knowledge of equitable hiring practices, Montgomery has successfully engaged executive-level searches for such unique organizations as the Executive Leadership Council, Cooperative Economic Empowerment Movement, Measures for Justice, and Eastern Bank Foundation, as well as health leaders Boston Children’s Hospital, Duke Health, MD Anderson, and Fenway Health. Her signature education clients include the University of Southern California, Johns Hopkins University, Rice University, Princeton University, Stanford University, Howard University, Xavier, University of Minnesota, University of Washington, and numerous units across the University of Texas, as well as many K-12 partners such as The Lovett School, Durham Academy, Harvard Westlake, Polytechnic School, Phillips Andover, Sidwell Friends, and St. Paul’s School.
“In order to truly diversify and strengthen our organization, we knew we needed to grow representation at all levels,” said Robert Burgett, Senior Vice President of Development with the University of Minnesota Foundation. “In our interview with Lindauer and Faith Montgomery, we were convinced that they had the expertise and network to help us identify and recruit under-represented people for senior-level positions. They have great expertise and a bona fide network of excellent advancement professionals, and we had a very successful outcome.”
Prior to joining Lindauer in 2014, Montgomery held senior leadership positions across the nonprofit sector. She currently serves on the national Board of the African American Development Officer’s Network, the Boston Chapter Board of Jack and Jill, and is a member of Women of Color in Fundraising and Philanthropy (WOC) and The Giving Institute.
