Press Releases

ZRG Announces New Practice Leaders


Rochelle Park, NJ, March 31, 2023ZRG, a New Jersey-based global talent advisory firm, today announced the appointment of three new practice group leaders in their executive search business. Samantha Foster, Davonne Helmer, and Richard Dowd have been tapped to step up to leadership roles in their major practice groups.

Samantha Foster joins James Aslaksen in leading the firm’s Industrial practice. Foster also leads the US Aerospace and Defense practice. With over twenty years in Aerospace and Defense, she undertakes senior assignments covering a wide variety of functional roles, including C-Suite, Legal, Operations, Engineering, Sales & Marketing, Finance, General Management, Supply Chain and Human Resources. She specializes in military and commercial aerospace including avionics design and manufacturing, composites manufacturing, landing gear systems, castings and forgings, and maintenance, repair, and overhaul. Her experience also includes assignments in general manufacturing and engineering in several other industrial sectors.

Davonne Helmer joins Wendy Murphy at the head of the Human Resources Officers practice. She brings over two decades of search experience in HR roles both at ZRG and other firms. Helmer has worked with companies ranging from local organizations to Fortune 500 concerns. She has experience working in a variety of sectors, including entertainment, food and beverage, industrial, retail and luxury, energy, technology, and financial services.

Richard Dowd joins Bruce Robertson in leading the Financial Officers practice. Dowd has earned an enviable reputation across more than 20 years of his search career as one of the industry’s most effective recruiters. He manages senior-level searches for financial executives on behalf of some of the premier blue-chip companies and emerging firms in the United States. In addition to managing traditional searches, he consults regularly on trends in employment and human resources. Richard has received coverage from the Wall Street Journal, CFO Magazine, and Executive Recruiter News.

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.

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