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DEERFIELD ASSOCIATES_________________________________________________
Executive Search, Inc.

“Deerfield Associates led our search for a director of advancement. Doug Cooney recruited excellent candidates and, ultimately, we hired a person who is a perfect fit for not only the advancement team, but for the school community as well. The timetable of our search was not typical and Doug met the challenge in stride. He was tenacious in identifying candidates and demonstrated wisdom in his counsel. Maybe the most that I can say in recommending Doug is that he will be the first person I call for my next senior administrator search.”

Regards,

Brad Hastings
Headmaster
Pomfret School
Pomfret, CT

Rocko DeLuca has been hired as the Associate Athletic Director/Director of Development for Athletics, coming to UMass from the University of Colorado. Rocco will be responsible for designing and implementing a comprehensive development program for the athletics department. The program incorporates both campaign and annual fundraising, with particular emphasis on capital, major individual, corporate, foundation and planned gifts. The newcomer to Amherst, DeLuca spent the last eight years at Colorado most recently as the Assistant Athletic Director for Major Gifts with the Buff Club. He also served as the Assistant Athletic Director for Annual Giving and Buff Club Director from 2002-07. He earned his bachelor's degree in Kinesiology from the University of Colorado in 1999. In hiring DeLuca, UMass would like to thank the executive search firm of Deerfield Associates and in particular Doug Cooney `73 for their assistance in conducting this important national search on behalf of the University.

I was very pleased with the work Deerfield Associates did in our recent search for a Chief Development Officer. Doug and his staff were very thorough and provided us with a great deal of personal attention throughout the process, and the final result was a very good one. Doug and his team did a great job in working with us to define the specific skill set and experience level that would be the ideal fit for our organization, crafting a detailed and appealing position description, identifying and reaching out to strong potential candidates, and screening applicants so that we had a pool of final candidates who met the unique needs of our organization. I would highly recommend Deerfield Associates to other schools/non-profits seeking to make a high-level hire.

Bill Corwin
President
Clarke Schools for Hearing and Speech
Northampton, Massachusetts

Doug Cooney and his team at Deerfield Associates have been instrumental to me as I created my leadership team at Ethical Culture Fieldston School in 2008. In my first few months as Head of School, I needed to search for a Director of Institutional Advancement. Doug and his team spent a tremendous amount of time meeting with various constituents of our school to learn not only about our culture and history, but to understand the needs of our community. Last year, I created a new administrative position, Chief Operating Officer, to assist the Chief Financial Officer and to help manage our two-campus operations. Doug was extremely helpful to provide advice and insights from the designing of the job description to marketing the new position. I was impressed with Doug’s professionalism and how he was able to navigate the politics at the Board and administrative level. In both searches, I was very pleased with the deep pool of candidates who possessed diverse backgrounds and strong experiences. I would hire Doug again given his strong leadership, outstanding communication skills and his attention to details that ensured two successful searches.

Mark J. Stanek
Director/Head of School
Shady Hill School
(Former, Head of School, Ethical Culture Fieldston School, New York, New York)

It was a personal and professional pleasure to work with Deerfield Associates. Throughout our search for a new Chief Financial Officer, Deerfield Associates was a standout for clarity of process, depth of candidate pool, and thoroughness of placement from start to finish. Of particular highlight was the extraordinary care taken in understanding both the significance of school culture and the match with the candidate pool. Both the candidates and the school were extremely well served by the thoughtfulness and skill of Deerfield Associates. They have my highest of recommendations.

It is a pleasure to write a recommendation for Doug Cooney and his firm Deerfield Associates with whom we have just concluded a search for a new Director of Development.

I had been given Doug's name by several colleagues who had worked with him to their great satisfaction. I am now one of his grateful clients. From the very start, Doug's approach to the search was thoughtful and thorough. He began by getting to know The Dalton School, its culture and its leadership. He then put together a position paper, describing the school, the job of Director of Development--its challenges and opportunities. Over the next several months, this description was mailed to possible candidates, those Doug already knew and several new recruits. Doug and his colleagues checked two to three references on each candidate, and Doug spent considerable time face to face with each one.

I met with many qualified candidates, ultimately selecting three to be finalists. They were all very experienced, thoughtful and personable--each would bring special qualities to the position. Doug was very helpful discussing the strengths of each individual and also was very knowledgeable about appropriate salaries and benefits.

In the end, we have chosen an excellent new Director of Development due to Doug's from start to finish. He is a hard worker and an excellent communicator with the school and the candidates. It was a pleasure working with him and I recommend him highly. The highest praise is that I would hire him again for future searches.

As a general rule of thumb, I don't write testimonials for consultants, but with Deerfield Associates, I gladly make an exception to that rule.

Over a period of four years, Mercersburg Academy secured the services of Doug Cooney and Deerfield Associates for three separate high level searches: Assistant Head of School for Finance and Operations, Senior Director of Major Gifts and Planned Giving, and Assistant Head of School for Enrollment. In every instance, I could not have been more satisfied with the attention given to and the approach taken toward these searches; the end results were excellent on all three fronts. The two things that most distinguish the firm's work, in my view, are the excellent personal attention provided both to the school and the candidates, as well as the thorough follow-up on both sides of the equation. I can recommend Deerfield Associates most enthusiastically.

Now that our search for a new Director of Institutional Advancement has been happily resolved, I want to thank you for all your help along the way. Not only have we successfully hired an outstanding candidate for this vital job at MPS, the process was supported and enhanced at every step along the way by your attention, insight, and advice on each candidate, at every juncture.

What was probably most striking and, ultimately, invaluable, was not only that you brought us appropriate and attractive candidates, but that you actively and aggressively sought them out, courted them, and convinced them to take a look at an opening that, on their own, might otherwise have been unknown or assumed uncongenial. You sold us and our opportunity so well that ensuing interviews with us began with enormous positive momentum from the onset.

Your skills and indefatigable commitment to your work and to your clients is both impressive and efficacious, Doug. Many thanks. We all wish you well and know where to turn the next time we have another major post to fill. All the best.

Sincerely,

M. Burch Tracy Ford
Head of School
Miss Porter's School
Farmington, Connecticut

When we had several senior level development positions to fill, we hired Deerfield Associates to conduct a national search for us. Doug Cooney gets it! He took the time and care necessary on the front end to truly understand the history and culture of St. Paul's School, as well as the particular needs of the development office. From there, he simply applied his natural instincts and drew on his considerable experience. In this relationship business, Doug has developed an impressive network of development professionals with whom he maintains regular contact. For two senior level leadership positions, Doug took great pains to match what he understood to be our goals with the candidates who not only possessed the skills and experience we were looking for, but shared our attitude and approach to this work. In short, I could not have asked for a better partner than Doug in shaping the future of our development team.

David J. McCusker, Jr. '84
Director of Development (former), St. Paul's School, Concord, NH 03301
Headmaster, (present) Cardigan Mountain School

Doug Cooney brought energy, focus and total commitment to our search. He listened carefully to our many iterations of what we were looking for in our Director of Development and worked tirelessly to find candidates with the right spirit and fit. Each candidate presented themselves during the interview as knowledgeable about the school and enthusiastic about the prospect of working at Milton. Clearly he briefed them thoroughly and effectively communicated our distinctive qualities and specific needs. Doug’s style is personable, courteous and relentless (many 12 AM emails attest to this!). My highest compliment was to tell him after meeting the finalists that if budget were not at issue, I would hire them all.

Gordon Sewall
Assistant Head of School for
Development & Alumni Relations
Milton Academy

“Doug Cooney is a man of sharp insight and deep integrity. He sincerely cares about his clients and the candidates he presents. He conducts himself with complete professionalism. Having been an unconventional, career changer candidate, I was impressed with how well Doug could articulate and discern the personal qualities and attributes that would lead toward a successful career in education. I trust Doug, value his judgment, and highly recommend his services.”

I wholeheartedly recommend Doug Cooney as an executive search consultant. I've known Doug for over twelve years and I've had the pleasure of working with him on two different searches. He cared deeply about me as the prospective hire, sharing appropriate information so I was knowledgeable about the position and the political landscape at the institution. Doug also understands the need for confidential conversations in order to move forward in your career. One search in particular was lengthy in duration and I feel I was supported by Doug during the entire process. His follow up and attention to detail is flawless.

Deerfield Associates is one of the most professional and conscientious search firms that I have worked with. They are thoughtful, organized, discreet and accessible. Doug and his team skillfully build lasting relationships with both their hiring clients and executive recruits. They make great matches!

Whitney Namm Pollack
Director for Institutional Advancement
Ethical Culture Fieldston School
New York, New York

I was recruited by Doug Cooney from a senior advancement role in higher education to an Executive Director of Development opportunity with a top boarding school. Working with Doug on this search was fundamentally different in two ways.

When I arrived at St. Mark’s for my first meeting I knew that the school, its challenges and opportunities had been accurately communicated to me by Doug. This tells me that Doug is an exceptional listener and interpreter of the information he collects when preparing a search – a point which was further reinforced by the feeling that my strengths and interests had been accurately described to St. Mark’s in advance of my visit.

It is also worth noting that my career to this point had been focused exclusively on higher education. Doug made a strong case for considering the opportunity at St. Mark’s by connecting the school’s mission to my interests and motivation. Under this lens, it became clear that St. Mark’s is a perfect fit.

Kirk Swenson
Executive Director of Development
St. Mark’s School
Southborough, Massachusetts

I recently had the good fortune of being contacted by Doug Cooney of Deerfield Associates about a position that he thought might be a good match for me. This initial contact precipitated a series of interpersonal explorations during which Doug impressed me with his experience and honesty, and with his candor in helping assess whether this position was a good professional match and a good career move for me.

Doug possesses exemplary personal and professional attributes which contribute to his success as an executive search entrepreneur. The bonus benefit that Doug provided me was his insightful comments about the institution which were not reflected in the literature, job titles, or organizational charts. This local knowledge was invaluable in helping me reach my own conclusions about "fit," and in finally concluding that I could grow and prosper while making useful contributions to the success and strength of the existing team.

Doug enjoys his work and values his clients. His engaging style and focus on organizational dynamics may help explain the success and longevity of his placements and his value to individual clients and institutions alike. I would be pleased to speak personally with any interested institution or individual about my experience in working with Doug Cooney and Deerfield Associates.

Sincerely,

Dennis Brown
Senior Philanthropic Adviser
Dartmouth College

I would like to express my sincerest appreciation to you for your help and guidance throughout the recruitment and interview process here at Mercersburg Academy. I feel honored to have been offered the position of Assistant Head of School for Enrollment here at the academy. It is a great school with incredible programs, a strong sense of community and a spectacular campus. Thank you for your genuine interest in me as an admission professional and for your frequent follow-up during the interview process. Your input and counsel was of great value to me during my meeting with the Head of School, Doug Hale, in Philadelphia and my subsequent visits to Mercersburg's campus. I look forward to staying touch and updating you on my progress here in the Admissions Office at the academy.

Tommy Adams
Assistant Head of School for Enrollment
Mercersburg Academy
Mercersburg, PA

Many thanks for taking me to lunch to celebrate my new role at Yale. I am energized and excited each day when I come to work and I'm really learning a tremendous amount about the university, the staff and faculty, and the alumni. Thank you so much for your efforts on my behalf, and for continuing to give me feedback and suggestions. You are a good listener and a role model for all that is best in a true development professional. I hope to talk with you again soon and wish you and Deerfield Associates continued success. I know you will continue to find talented people and match them with positions to which they are well suited.

Mary Beth Congdon
Planned Giving Officer
Office of Development
Yale University

”It has been both gratifying and delightful to work with you to secure the major gifts position at Yale. Thank you for your keen sense of timing and your elegant counsel. You have been a calm and sensitive advisor throughout the process. We are thrilled to be moving, at last, from Los Angeles, California to the East and credit you with helping us turn plan into action”.

Doug's highly personalized and thoughtful approach benefits client and candidate alike. The rich and complete portrait of the institution and the role that he relayed during our initial meeting intrigued me, even though I wasn't looking for another opportunity. He is deeply committed to making the best match, not just a match for the client and the candidate. The open and candid dialogue he fosters during the search process ensures this outcome. As a result of Doug's terrific work and his strong skills in recruiting and in placement, I am enjoying a wonderful new career opportunity as Director of Development at Milton Academy.