History

For more than 50 years, Russell Reynolds Associates has been committed to our purpose to improve the way the world is led. Our firm’s history is one of excellence, partnership, and meticulous execution.

 

In 1966, Russell S. Reynolds, Jr. left a career in banking to join a boutique US search firm. Companies globally were in a period of transition, with economies shifting and advances in science, technology, and engineering creating challenges and opportunities that called for leaders with new kinds of skills.

Russ fell in love with the industry and eventually felt compelled to launch an executive search firm of his own. He raised investments from family and friends, and together Russ and a partner, Lee Getz, opened the first location of Russell Reynolds Associates on Madison Avenue in New York City in 1969.

From the beginning, RRA was a dynamic firm with a culture of mutual respect and strong ethics, and over the next several years, the firm began to gain a reputation in the market for our depth and breadth of specialized expertise as well as our high-touch client approach. This momentum led to incredible growth – first in the US and then internationally. By 1977 RRA was already one of the Big Six in the executive search space, and in the 1990s the firm became the fastest-growing of the major executive search firms. By 2000 we had 35 offices around the world.

Our growth has continued into the 21st century. Today RRA has 47 offices in major cities globally, advising some of the world’s largest and most complex organizations on their most pressing leadership challenges across industries, functions, and geographies.

While the needs of our clients have evolved since we started, the fundamental challenge they face remains: the need for new types of leaders with the skills to shape what’s next, tapping into the opportunities brought by disruptive changes in the market and technology. Across our history, we have remained committed to being a redefiner – to having our fingers on the pulse and to helping our clients stay ahead of the curve by finding and developing future-ready leaders.

 

quote

The most important thing is to hire people with a good heart, who do the right thing, who put other people’s interests ahead of their own."

– Russ Reynolds
Founder, Former President & CEO, 1969 - 1991


 

 

2024
- MarCom podcast awards: Redefiners wins Gold for Informational Series, and Platinum in the Outstanding Guest categories
- Launches RRA Leadership Labs innovation hub
- Redefiners nominated for the Webby Awards in the Business category
- Redefiners reaches #1 on Apple Podcast USA (Careers, Business) and #26 for all US podcasts
- Launches RRA Artemis to accelerate gender equity at the top of organizations

2023
- Acquires Savage Partners, a tech executive search firm
- Acquires Killbery, a leadership advisory firm
- Acquires Nvolve, a leadership consulting firm
- Receives Climate Targets Approval from SBTi
- Redefiners passes 1M downloads and wins Bronze Signal Award
- Launches RRA Mentor program for new CEOs
- Berlin office opens

2022
- Constantine Alexandrakis is named CEO
- Launches Sustainable Leadership Program in partnership with MIT Sloan
- Redefiners wins two Communicator Awards of Distinction

2021
- Launches Redefiners, a leadership podcast
- Shenzhen office opens

2019
- Becomes a participant in the United Nations Global Compact to accelerate progress on sustainability
- Launches Global Leadership Monitor survey
- RRA celebrates 50th Anniversary

 

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