I first met Matthew Reaves in 1999 through my boss, who was President of Nortel's Optical & Internet Solutions Unit at the time. As Vice President & GM, my goals necessitated recruiting the best senior level specialized optical engineering and product people from a hyper competitive market.  Matthew’s team was very familiar with recruiting in this space and immediately filled several key positions.

As President & CEO of small and mid-sized private and public tech companies, I have retained Matthew to partner with my leaders in targeted headhunting to meet our requirements. Common Agenda excelled in sourcing and vetting candidates and consistently presenting impressive slates of candidates. In each search, they demonstrated an understanding of the requirements as they tap into their vast network and extend into related industries. They excel at pinpointing individuals with the right combination of skills and cultural fit. Their search results have consistently met my expectations and I have recommended them on many occasions.  We built our rapport quickly and it carries on to today.

Honestly, I was fortunate to be short listed on two sales leadership opportunities and was next to accepting one of them when Julia Bocage of Common Agenda reached out and pitched what sounded like an excellent leadership opportunity in an emerging space. Julia outlined the opportunity with both detail and insight. She explained where they were in the search process then sent me off to do my own investigation. Their team set a call with Common Agenda's principal, Matthew Reaves who painted the reality of the company, culture, people, and market, and got answers to all of my questions. When they learned of my late stage with the other companies, they were able to fast track me with their client. The rest is history. It is a pleasure to recommend Common Agenda for doing a great job of shepherding me from beginning to end.

As both a candidate successfully placed and now as a commissioning executive running a global technology business, I have the utmost respect for ways that Common Agenda has truly partnered with me. They may be smaller than the big name executive search firms, but in my experience the information they provide to me is more real. They are much more attentive, flexible, personable, and tenacious! They have really impressed me with industry knowledge, research capabilities, and their attention to detail. They take the time to know their candidates – not only their professional skills and aspirations, but also their life and family values. For that reason, their matches are excellent. Most importantly, they deliver qualified candidates on time – even for my toughest searches.

During 2007, Matthew Reaves was recommended to me by a trusted colleague who had recruited dozens of principal staff and leaders through him at an ITC startup a few years earlier.  I engaged Matthew to recruit a Director of Contracts and interviewed an excellent slate of candidates. We were successful in filling that position thanks to Common Agenda. In my current role, as Vice President of North America for a global service provider, I have retained Common Agenda to recruit several key positions on my leadership team. Common Agenda has taken care to understand our culture and how to attract top talent. Their slates of candidates have exceeded my requirements and my hires have been outstanding.  It’s important to note that they have partnered very well with each of the Human Resources and Talent Acquisition teams that have supported my efforts. I have recommended them many times and will continue to call on them as I build leadership teams.

At two companies I’ve worked for since the late 1990’s, I have requested Common Agenda’s assistance on numerous searches ranging from Individual Contributor to Vice President level roles.  From day one, Matthew and the team at Common Agenda acted as though they were part of my team working endlessly to recruit the best talent and facing me with the difficult decision of choosing from a pool of exceptional candidates.

Common Agenda recruited my VP of Marketing at Pedestal Networks. They were direct, honest, and really worked as though they were members of our team. This is exactly what I needed because not only did I not have an HR department, but I had a high-powered Board of Directors, some of the top VC’s in Silicon Valley known for having extremely high expectations. Common Agenda’s team was diligent and professional, meeting the needs of the Executive team and the Board of Directors. Ultimately, Pedestal Networks was able to recruit and retain one of the most recognized Marketing names in our industry.

Over the past two decades, I have held Vice Presidential positions in both large companies and in VC funded startup organizations and have hired many individuals.  Over this period, I have worked with many recruiters and my most recent experience working with Common Agenda was second to none.  They took the initiative to truly understand my hiring needs and presented to me, a number of candidates that were all potential great hires.  As a result, I was able to select the “best of the best” for my open positions.  They did the work of finding, preparing, and presenting to me the right candidates and the cycle time to hire was fast and simple.  In the end, all I care about is results – filling my open position with not only the right person, but the best person.  Common Agenda delivered – Mission Accomplished!