Gil co-leads the Private Equity Practice. In addition to private equity, he is also a core member of the firm’s Consumer Goods & Services Practice, which he founded in the late 1980s.
During his 28 years in executive search, Gil has focused on a variety of industries including consumer products, industrial goods, healthcare and services. His clients include large, multinational public and family-owned companies as well as private equity firms and their portfolio companies. His search work includes CEO, COO, division president, board director and top-level functional assignments. Representative examples of his CEO search assignments include A.T. Cross, Brown Jordan, Celestial Seasonings, Key Technology, McCain Foods, Newell Rubbermaid, Quaker Oats, Rawlings Sporting Goods, Rayovac, S.C. Johnson U.S./Europe, Spectrum Brands, Stanley Works, U.S. Can, Wyndham Hotels, Ziff-Davis Media, among others. Examples of board director searches include Chiquita Brands, Deluxe, Gold Kist, Pentair, Plexus, Hormel, Hussmann, Johnson Diversity, Rayovac, Roundy’s, S.C. Johnson, Stanley Works, Tyson Foods, U.S. Can, Ubiquity Brands, VF, Whitman and Wisconsin Central.
In addition to his search work, Gil authored two thought leadership pieces: “Rules of the Road for the new CEO” and “Positioning the Private Equity Portfolio Company CEO for Success.” Gil also consults with clients on organizational, management assessment and compensation benchmarking projects, and is a member of the Board Services Practice. Gil is the client coordinator for a variety of private equity firms.
Gil joined Spencer Stuart in 1980 after five years with Booz Allen & Hamilton in Chicago. Prior to Booz Allen & Hamilton, he served in roles with General Foods, Baxter Travenol Laboratories and Masonite Corporation. Gil is a graduate of Bob Jones University and a former U.S. Army officer. Gil has also completed a University of Michigan course on interviewing techniques and assessment, and has served as a member of Spencer Stuart's client service committee. He is a member of Illinois Venture Capital Association and sits on the advisory board of San Diego Golf Academy, an education related company and a holding company of Willis Stein & Partners.
Gil and his wife, Barbara, live in the Hinsdale, Illinois area and have two sons; one an account executive with Foote Cone & Belding and the other an actor in Los Angeles.