Founders' Bios
Christopher J. Shea
Chris
is a career recruiter who started as a researcher in 1984 and worked
his way up to partner before establishing Cross Hill Partners, in 1999.
He learned the trade before the Internet made information easily accessible
and when research was considered an art. His training coupled with his
broad industry experience enables Chris to distinguish relevant information
from noise and identify creative solutions to difficult assignments.
Chris began his career as an upstart competing as an alternative to the better-established recruiters at larger search firms. Early on, clients would award him difficult assignments that existing suppliers were unable to complete. Over the years, he built a reputation as someone who could find rare talent for unique opportunities, which led to some very interesting assignments including work in such far-flung places as Moscow, London, Jakarta and Hong Kong.
Chris has worked at senior levels with some of the worlds leading companies such as American Express, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Viacom, Johnson & Johnson, Time Warner and Citigroup. He has also worked with a host of start-ups and early stage companies in e-commerce, information services, software, media, financial services, chemicals, pharmaceuticals and consumer products.
Whether large or small, early stage or mature, a common theme to Chris’ experience has been finding talent to build new businesses or bring new capabilities to an organization. He embraces new ideas and new technologies and is a spirited advocate who creates a sense of excitement about new ventures.
| Chronology: | |
| 1999 - Present | Cross Hill Partners, LLC Founder, Managing Partner |
| 1992 - 1999 | Ingram & Aydelotte, Inc. Partner |
| 1987 - 1992 | KPMG Peat Marwick/ D.E. Foster Partners Senior Consultant, Executive Search Practice |
| 1984 - 1987 | Bruce Raines Associates (now Raines International) Assistant Vice President |
| Education | BS Psychology, Fordham University, 1981 |
| Interests | Tennis (USTA 4.5), Sailing (Westhampton Yacht Squadron), Scuba (PADI certified), Cooking |
Diane Loeffler Shea
Diane
is a search partner who, quite literally, has followed her clients
and candidates from twenty years of search in the investment banking,
reinsurance, private equity and hedge fund arenas to the nonprofit
institutions where they are now building important philanthropic legacies.
The nonprofit practice at Cross Hill Partners is an outgrowth of her
belief that the right person in the right place at the right time truly
can make a difference and her commitment to helping large and small,
local and global nonprofit organizations fulfill their missions.
Diane was running research in the New York headquarters office of Russell Reynolds Associates in the days of primary, phone call research and Boolean database inquiries. She has never tired of the thrill of the hunt and continues to be relentless and creative in accessing talent on behalf of her clients.
From her first clients (anyone remember Kidder Peabody, E.F. Hutton and Drexel Burnham Lambert ?) to her most recent (StoryCorps, City Parks Foundation, Johns Hopkins, The Scripps Research Institute), Diane has built a reputation as a true partner, bringing exceptional talent and thoughtful, value-add information and innovation to the search process.
| Chronology: | |
| 1999-2006 and 2009-Present | Cross Hill Partners, LLC Founder, Managing Partner |
| 2007-2008 | Leodas Search Group Recruiter |
| 1994 - 1999 | TCO Consulting Managing Partner |
| 1992-1993 | Norman Broadbent International Associate |
| 1986-1992 | Russell Reynolds Associates Associate and Director of Research |
| 1983-1986 | Bruce Raines Associates (now Raines International) Assistant Vice President |
| Education | JD, Marshall-Wythe School of Law, College of William and Mary, 1982 BA, Political Studies, Adelphi University, 1979 |



