Who We Are

Thinkinghire is a unique Washington, DC-based career management coaching and executive recruiting firm. We help our clients hire and get hired. However, we are not “your father’s Oldsmobile” in the executive search business; that’s for certain.  Nor are we are solely about helping people find jobs.  We are much bigger than that.  

At its core, Thinkinghire is a fresh, new, holistic approach to executive recruiting and career coaching.  We have creatively expanded our offerings to provide thoughtfully designed services that address the entire career management cycle—before, during, and after a career move. Higher level thinking is what makes us different, helps our clients advance, and makes us far more than the average firm. Thinking higher is the way to hire or get hired in today’s incredibly competitive job market.  Thinking higher is what Thinkinghire is all about. Thinkinghire helps you think hired.

Leadership

Mike Gardner, Founder and President, is an executive search and career management professional and President of the American Marketing Association-Washington, DC Chapter (AMADC). He specializes in providing marketing, advertising, public relations and creative interactive talent to Fortune 500 companies and large non-profits. In addition, he works with senior level executives interested in making a career move and helps them develop the tools and plans necessary to compete in today’s highly competitive job marketplace.  Gardner is uniquely qualified to identify quality talent having actually done the work himself during his own career.  A seasoned executive with more than 15 years of experience in marketing and building profitable businesses, having managed programs, teams, and budgets for such icons as America Online (AOL), Discovery Communications, Verizon Communications and more.  Gardner’s experience includes new media product development, corporate brand strategy, marketing strategy, marketing communications and advertising, as well as staffing and executive coaching.  He enjoys sailing, cooking, golfing and is also a professional painter.  He lives with his wife and four children in Northwest Washington, DC.

Sue Butler, Managing Director, Executive Search.  Having spent 20 years in corporate business development and over six years in executive search, Sue has a long history of working with senior executive management as a consultative professional. She has a unique perspective into what drives and makes organizations successful.

Prior to joining Thinkinghire, Sue’s search experience includes working for a national executive search firm where she specialized in recruiting senior executive positions across the east coast.

Sue takes pride in recruiting top candidates – candidates who have made true impact in their respective positions for the companies they have worked for – and matching them with companies seeking to build extraordinary teams.  She has a keen understanding of business development and relationship building with clients.  She prides herself in working with senior decision makers in a manner that allows them to “partner together” for success.

Sue’s past experience as a business owner enables her to understand what it is like to build a business, to be responsible for others and to manage profit and loss.  This experience enables her to recruit candidates who will help business revenue and increase client efficiencies in her clients’ organizations.

Sue’s clients know her as a true professional – someone who will work tirelessly on their behalf, someone who executes quickly and “goes the extra mile”, with integrity and speed to fill their needs.  Her wide range of business experiences helps her understand clients’ needs through practical application.

Sue enjoys live theatre, cooking, fundraising, and involvement in several professional organizations that give her the opportunity to mentor others and share her business expertise.

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