With a unique professional trifecta of experience spanning private equity investment, alternative legal services leadership and executive search, Susan Lichtman excels at aligning high-stakes leadership placement with corporate strategy. A consultant in the Legal, Compliance & Government Affairs Practice at Spencer Stuart, she specializes in recruiting chief legal officers, general counsels and senior direct reports across public and private equity-backed organizations. Susan is also a member of the Financial Officer Practice, with experience recruiting chief financial officers and a deep understanding of finance, informed by her early career on Wall Street.
Known for her rigorous end-to-end execution, rapid cycle times and deep repeat client relationships, Susan advises Fortune 500 and high-growth companies on leadership selection and succession planning. Her background includes broad industry coverage, with a concentration in technology, healthcare services, life sciences and financial services — as well as experience in industrial and consumer markets.
Strategic adviser to organizations on executive search, leadership and succession planning
- Susan previously co-led the Americas legal, regulatory and compliance practice at another global executive search firm, where she successfully drove high-impact legal leadership searches across all industries.
- She spent over a decade at Axiom, where she played a key role in launching the firm’s Atlanta office, led the North American consumer and services practice and managed a team of more than 20 corporate professionals and 200 lawyers. In this role, Susan’s clients were primarily legal executives who retained her to supplement their legal teams.
- Susan developed a strong commercial foundation for nearly a decade as an investment professional in the private equity industry, including tenure at JPMorgan Partners (investors in Axiom), evaluating venture-stage, growth-stage and public companies.
Susan received her B.S. in commerce (finance) from the University of Virginia and her M.B.A. from Harvard Business School.