The past decade has witnessed unprecedented evolution in the retail sales sector.  Ten years ago, online retailing was the new kid on the block – Amazon and eBay were still in their corporate infancy, and the websites of established retailers like WalMart and Costco were little more than a list of store locations, rather than product descriptions and an online shopping cart.

However, savvy entrepreneurs saw the writing on the wall and the shape of things to come, and 680 Partners counts itself among this group of forward thinkers: for the past ten years we have been helping ecommerce companies secure the executive talent they need to grow into new markets and explore new opportunities, as well as introduce online retailing possibilities to an older generation of companies that are eager to increase their competitiveness in the 21st century marketplace.  As ecommerce has grown, we have grown with it.

In fact, we have our very roots securely planted in the fertile soil of ecommerce: in 1996, 680 Partners founder Ross Freeman created, built and programmed the pioneering political ecommerce website DemStore.com.  This website ushered in a new era in the world of ecommerce, boldly crafting a visionary nexus of politics, retail sales, and the Internet.  DemStore.com has been one of the leading political ecommerce sites in every election since the Clinton-Gore II.

Because ecommerce is a relatively recent phenomenon, 680 Partners has from the beginning led the way in scouring other industries and disciplines in search of executive talent to become the online retailing leaders of tomorrow.  Our network of contacts throughout an extensive range of high-profile industries has allowed us to project our skills far and wide, and we have conducted successful executive searches for specialty retailers, mass wholesalers, outlet & discount sellers, big box retailers, luxury goods providers, and many more.

As ecommerce continues to evolve and traditional brick & mortar retailers embrace the need to compete online, opportunities for talented executives will continue to proliferate.  680 Partners will always be here to help companies secure the world-class talent necessary to propel them to their revenue and profit goals.

Since 1998, 680 Partners has been one of nation’s leading boutique executive search firms. We partner with Venture and Private equity funds and their respective investments –  specifically early and later-stage high-growth software and technology firms. Our combined expertise, spanning over 30 years, gives us a deep understanding of today’s software and technology landscape. Our experience is backed by an expansive set of relationships with world-class executives in the industry.

We pride ourselves on being a hands on, high value-add firm that only accepts a limited number of assignments each year. Along with our synergistic team-driven approach, this allows us to provide personable service and market-proven engagement.

The primary focus of 680 Partners has always been software and technology, with a particular emphasis on SaaS, eCommerce, Financial Technologies and Internet-enabled companies. By focusing exclusively on the software and technology segment, we are able to leverage our broad understanding of the market’s dynamics and translate them into meaningful relationships with the executives who are its driving force.

Above all else, we are analysts who tirelessly examine entrepreneurial culture and understand its strengths. Working with the board and senior management teams, we survey each firm to understand its value proposition, and how best to enhance it. We then go to market in such a manner that is consistent with our client’s core values and with the aim of attracting the highest caliber executives in the marketplace.

Executive engineering & technology positions used to be of an extremely technical and practical nature: keep complicated hardware and software systems running effectively and efficiently, often with little or no interaction with executives in other departments.  In effect, they were only needed when there was an immediate technical problem to solve.

Today things have changed.  Executive technology leadership is completely integrated within the primary corporate management structure, and is called upon daily for advice and guidance in matters critical to operational and strategic functions.  At 680 Partners, we know that achieving top rank results requires experienced senior management talent in the technology segment, and individuals capable of providing innovation and daring that is tempered by wisdom and prudence.

In the past decade, 680 Partners has been privileged to work with literally hundreds of companies in the software and technology sector who have needed experienced leadership in engineering and technology oversight positions.  We have helped them reach their goals of growth and shareholder enrichment by introducing them to superior executive talent with the required industry area of focus.  Whatever the required specialties – applications & software development, enterprise systems, information security, mobile, Internet & new media, infrastructure and software-enabled services, and more – we have the contacts to deliver the CTO, VP Engineering, or Head of Software Development and engineering teams that you need.

Progressive quantitative analysis is one of the most effective weapons that any financial services company can bring to bear in the quest to create value and profits.  Finding outstanding quantitative executive leadership is crucial, but difficult: the discipline is technically demanding and intellectually rigorous, boundaries of innovation are constantly being pushed, and the need to adjust to changing markets is unending.  680 Partners is here to help.

Whether you are looking for quantitative portfolio managers, quant development, portfolio optimization, derivatives pricing and hedging, risk management, or a host of other fields, 680 Partners has the proven ability to deliver to you the world-class proven portfolio managers you need.  We have a track record of discovering for our clients quantitative leadership teams that deliver top-of-the-line results to their bottom lines.

Executive leadership in the quantitative field requires a number of capabilities: proven innovation in quantitative research product design, the ability to assemble an effective quantitative team, strong business writing and communication skills, and more.  At 680 Partners, we cultivate Masters and PhD talent in a number of disciplines – mathematics, statistics, physics, econometrics – to bring to our clients the next generation of quantitative executive leadership.

We work with the world’s leading hedge funds to help them find the talent required to accomplish their quantitative search needs.  The demanding nature of executive searches in this area requires a search firm with both experience and expertise.  680 Partners will meet your needs and exceed your expectations.

For any company, no matter what its size or endeavor, few decisions are more important than those related to finding and securing their executive leadership team.  680 Partners has a record of success in supplying key general management individuals and teams to companies who are in need of outstanding, forward-looking officers at the top.  While specializing in technology services and related fields, we have also branched out into additional leading industries, including ecommerce, finance, marketing, and others.

Finding candidates for CEO, COO and GM searches requires having access to the top performers in the industry.  Access to the cream-of-the-crop comes with experience and diligence: the experience to know the local business terrain and who will succeed best within it, and the diligence to discover and maintain contact with these exceptional performers.  Top performing executive leadership comes at a premium, and requires our premium executive search skills to deliver.

At 680 Partners, we analyze the needs of your industry, as well as those of your company.  By combining these considerations with an appreciation for our clients’ unique corporate cultures, 680 Partners creates a focused list of candidates with an upward career trajectory, drawn from our abundant contacts at the CEO and CEO-ready level.  This helps us deliver an interview-ready list of candidates within an ambitious time frame: quick, competent results for the most important executive search our clients will ever make.

The Product Management function has never been more critical to an organization than now. 680 Partners founder Ross Freeman started his career as an engineer and product manager helping build and iterate on a variety of early web sites in the 90’s At our core, we believe that product management is a role which involves the oversight of multiple business functions. The Product Manager is therefore:

a) A person appointed to be a proactive product or product line ‘mini-business’ owner
b) A leader of a cross-functional product team – a team whose mission is to optimize a product’s market position and financial return across its life cycle – consistent with corporate and division strategies
c) Analytical at their core and can communicate the client needs and their actually usage to the engineering team in an effective and human manner.

Managing products and services is both art and science. No matter which discipline you come from, if your teams adopt a robust, flexible framework, your company will have a better chance of making the right decisions to get the right products to the right markets at the right time

680 Partners has helped numerous companies find the executive level talent that has helped define and shape new markets across Mobile, SaaS, Marketing automation and Financial Services technologies companies.

Cyber Security is not only in high demand, it is a very competitive space. 680 Partners brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to the table, and we can be extremely helpful with your hiring needs. We have helped vendors like Digital Guardian and Core Security by focusing on their unique needs by delivering top talent in very tight timeframes. Our experience in sales, marketing, engineering, product management, and operations can benefit your organization as well. By utilizing our deep industry connections and extensive security experience we can drastically cut down on the time it takes for you to find top talent, while maximizing your hiring budget. Our security focus areas have included EDR, DLP, PAM/VM, SIEM, and IAM.

680 Partners was recently awarded a Cyber Recruiting Top 20 recognition from Hunt Scanlon Media for their efforts in the industry, and for our strong leadership and knowledge of this incredibly in demand and challenging space.

Marketing has developed into a tremendous growth industry, and corporate requirements for talented marketing executives are insatiable.  The advent of ecommerce and online marketing have only added to this urgent need.  At 680 Partners, we have experience managing executive searches for all marketing venues: online and offline, brand management, direct marketing, and more.  We understand the qualities that our clients are looking for in candidates: creativity, effective ability to communicate, intuitive understanding of brand and identity, strong commercial instincts.

We have created and nurtured contacts with outstanding talent at all levels, including those who are poised to make the leap to executive positions.  We have found that marketing talent is very flexible, and great executives have an innate ability to flourish in a variety of different industries and endeavors.  Accordingly, we cast a wide net in our pursuit of exceptional individuals, with the goal of offering our clients a diverse list of candidates from which to choose.

Online marketing is an area of rapid growth, and 680 Partners is helping companies rise to the challenge of finding tomorrow’s leaders for this new sales channel.  We pursue talent with a proven outstanding analytic capacity, and particularly those who have the capability to consistently deliver a return-on-investment in any context.  Innovation and adaptability are hallmarks of the online marketing talent we secure for our clients.

As marketing grows in new directions and ecommerce operations continue to assume an increased level of importance, the need for talented marketing executives will only become more pronounced.  680 Partners stands ready to assist companies in the pursuit of talented and ambitious executives that have the experience, tools, and motivation to help them achieve their goals for growth.