• Ross Freeman

    President & CEO

    Ross Freeman is the founder and CEO of 680 Partners LLC, where he is called upon daily to leverage his experience, expertise, and unsurpassed network of professional contacts to help bring together growth-minded companies with the executive leadership they need to achieve next-level performance. Ross has been active as an executive search specialist for more than fifteen years, and is proud to work in long term partnerships with many top venture capital firms, private equity, LBO and hedge funds, in order to provide them with the exceptional individuals who can help grow their businesses.

    In his career prior to founding 680 Partners, Ross was privileged to work for several notable companies, where his flourishing abilities enabled him to achieve outstanding bottom-line results. Ross was Vice President of the Strategic Technology Practices for Results Staffing, where the technology group that he initiated and led was able to realize a revenue increase of over two hundred and fifty percent. Ross also worked as a strategic consultant for a number of companies, including PriceWaterhouseCoopers, where he was brought in to build out their Infrastructure & Core Technology Group.

    Ross has taken a leading role in shepherding progressive interests as they discover the rewards of participating in the online economy. As Director of Internet Technology with Adler Consulting, Ross spearheaded the creation of the pioneering political e-commerce site DemStore.com, which is the leading online retailer of Democratic Party-themed merchandise.

    Ross has a BA in Psychology from Hobart College. He completed graduate-level Computer Studies at the New School for Social Research in New York City.

  • Ruth Raisman

    Managing Director

    Ruth is a Managing Director at 680 Partners, specializing in a diverse range of general management and functional positions for public and privately held luxury, retail, wholesale and consumer businesses.

    Prior to collaborating with 680 Partners in 2010, Ruth joined Herbert Mines Associates in 2005 as a generalist working on a variety of senior level searches for both private and public companies. Additionally, Ruth brings more than fifteen years of merchandising experience that includes strategic and financial planning, brand positioning, wholesale, e-commerce and retail sales, product design, product development, global sourcing and licensing.

    Earlier in her merchandising career, Ruth worked for Judith Leiber, the renowned luxury handbag and accessory company, where she launched several new product categories and generated significant income from the licensing of a gift program with Estee Lauder. Ruth also has meaningful internet experience. She was formerly a member of the founding team and served as Vice President of Merchandising with living.com, the award winning and first online home furnishings and accessories retailer that was a partner with Amazon.com.

    Ruth honed hands-on marketing, branding, financial and product skills at Tiffany & Company as Director of Product Development and Sourcing. At Tiffany & Company she played a significant role in the creation, positioning and sales of Tiffany’s many fine gifts, tabletop and accessories.

    Ruth began her retail career in the Executive Training Program at Macy’s and was recruited by Bloomingdale’s upon receiving her MBA from the Harvard Business School. A native of New York, Ruth received her undergraduate education at Barnard College.

Our Approach

The 680 Partners approach begins with a comprehensive assessment of your talent needs, including an in-depth assessment of your organization, business strategy and market position, and the specific search that your company seeks to undertake. Effective communication with your team and board is our high priority.

Our approach continues with a comprehensive analysis of the position itself, including responsibilities/expectations, benchmarks for success, organizational structure/hierarchy, and professional relationships involved. Our approach enables identification of the ideal candidate profile and identification of key issues to consider when you are evaluating candidates during the search.

Once this evaluation is completed, our process continues with the work of uncovering the best list of potential candidates. We have created a set of proprietary tools to assist in compiling the most extensive and relevant list of candidates. This includes a software system and software application to optimize the process of identifying attractive candidates, coupled with an exhaustive database that the firm has constructed over the course of the past two decades. After analyzing the initial list, we reduce the list to a select few exceptional individuals. We validate this list through our own interviews, reference and background checks, and psychological profiling.

You will then conduct face-to-face interviews with candidates, with us helping to generate lists of questions and lines of inquiry that reveal the most suitable match for the position. At times your in-person interviews provide additional insight into ideal qualities for the position, enabling us to add additional new candidates into the pool.

Negotiations & Aftercare

Once you have identified the ideal candidate, we can help you negotiate terms of the deal to get the candidate hired. Our firm’s extensive experience, combined with up-to-date data, ensures that you receive the most current compensation data relevant to your hire. We will work tirelessly to structure a compensation package that provides value to your company.

Finally, we will work with you after the hire is finalized, managing logistics details, including scheduling and relocation, and helping facilitate a smooth welcome and successful launch to the new partnership.

“

680 Partners has shown deep commitment to recruiting for our early stage technology companies. Finding the right executive is key to the success of a small company, and 680 Partners is persistent and resourceful in helping to place the right people. The team has been flexible and has helped to place excellent executives for our portfolio companies, significantly contributing to our joint success.

Jeff Horing, Managing Director / Insight Venture Partners
“

Ross has been a valuable asset to Medialets as we've grown the team. His persistence and knowledge of the ad tech space have repeatedly brought us world-class talent.

Eric Litman, CEO / Medialets
“

I have worked with Ross now for more than seven years. He and his team have conducted numerous searches for me and for my portfolio companies. I can attest without any qualifiers whatsoever to his professionalism, enthusiasm, intellect, and understanding of the search. Most importantly, Ross GETS THE JOB DONE - he sees even the most challenging search through to conclusion.

Ramanan Raghavendran, Managing Director / Kubera Partners