ZRG Acquires The Registry, an Interim Executive Solutions Firm Specializing in Higher Education

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NEW YORK, NY, and BOSTON, MA, August 10, 2023 — ZRG, one of the world’s rapidly growing global talent advisory firms, today announced its acquisition of The Registry, an Interim Executive Solutions firm specializing in higher education.

Since 1992, The Registry has helped colleges and universities across the U.S. and abroad during times of transition with experienced and diverse interim leaders. The company’s record speaks for itself—over 1,200 placements at over 500 institutions of all types.

“The Registry is the nation’s top firm providing the best-matched interim solutions to institutions of higher learning, especially colleges and universities that are going through challenging transitions,” said Larry Hartmann, CEO of ZRG. “Adding The Registry to the family of ZRG companies puts us in a leadership position in providing talent solutions in higher education.”

Based just outside Boston in Peabody, MA, The Registry has successfully placed more senior interim leaders on campuses across the nation than any other organization during the past three decades. The firm initiated and accelerated a new trend in American higher education: the utilization of outside interim presidents.

Later, membership and the span of interim positions expanded to include senior administrators when Collegiate Enterprise Solutions acquired The Registry and George Matthews and Bryan Carlson joined the leadership team. Today, with a membership of 1,000-plus, The Registry continues to be the dominant firm in the interim executive space in higher education.

“Joining ZRG will make it possible for The Registry to sustain its dramatic expansion and its dominance of the interim space in American higher education,” said Dr. Bryan E. Carlson, President of The Registry. “In addition, The Registry has the potential to become a catalyst for the elevation of the ZRG brand throughout the nation and across the globe.”

“The Registry is a membership organization; our members are pre-screened, veteran executives who are immediately available to be matched to the needs and requirements of our college and university clients,” said George Matthews, CEO of The Registry and a former longtime chair of Northeastern University’s Board of Trustees.

Prior to The Registry acquisition, ZRG has greatly diversified its talent management offerings in the past two years. ZRG recently acquired Helbling, a national executive search firm with strong relationships among construction contractors and real estate developers (June 2023); Hub Recruiting, a leading, boutique recruiting process outsourcing (RPO) firm (Dec. 2022); SEBA International, a retained executive search firm focused on finance, risk, marketing, and revenue roles (Nov. 2022); RoseRyan, a Silicon Valley-based provider of finance and accounting consulting solutions (April 2022); and Terra Search Partners, a retained executive search firm exclusive to the real estate industry (April 2022).

In 2021, ZRG added London-based executive search firm Walter James (Dec. 2021); Brimstone Consulting Group (Dec. 2021); Walking The Talk, a leading culture consulting firm (July 2021); and Sucherman Group, the top advisory firm for media and entertainment companies around the world (June 2021). ZRG’s organic growth continues across the UK, EU, and Middle East in retained search, on-demand talent solutions, and consulting.

About ZRG
ZRG is a global talent advisory firm that is changing the way companies hire and manage talent. ZRG’s data-driven approach to executive and professional search has been changing the way clients think about how to find top talent. The company’s digital Zi platform combines talent intelligence, candidate insights, and process improvement to dramatically deliver executive searches quicker and with proven better results.

Today, with the help of private equity investor RFE Investment Partners, ZRG is among the fastest growing firms in the search industry and provides a full suite of retained search, on-demand talent, and consulting and advisory solutions across the Americas, Asia, Europe, and Australia.

About RFE Investment Partners
Founded in 1979, RFE Investment Partners is a private equity investor with a long-standing small buyout heritage and a time-tested strategy for growing businesses. RFE equips companies with the capabilities and resources to scale by leveraging the extensive operational expertise, financial acumen, and broad business network of the RFE team.

Through over 75 small buyout transactions, RFE has consistently guided portfolio companies through multiple business cycles while driving value creation. RFE invested in ZRG Partners in December 2018, providing the tools and guidance needed to expand the capabilities and product offerings of the company, as well as grow the business on an international scale.