We are 125 senior leaders who donate time, advice, and insights as a member of the gatekeepers℠ virtual community. Our mission is to provide relevant, diverse, and current points of view on how to build and navigate a successful leadership career. We offer free published content for up-and-coming and recently established leaders, as well as leaders undergoing change.

Within our companies or for our clients, we decide (or weigh in on) which leader makes the cut, moves forward, ultimately is hired, promoted, and chosen to be fired. Our input to the gatekeepers’ content is not based on theory, observation or supposition; it is based upon our current experiences as successful leaders.

We are surveyed and provide answers to frequently asked and timely questions on leadership careers and situational leadership skills.

Look for our content here, on LinkedIn and within online business publications.

Who are the gatekeepers℠

Jim Citrin

Senior Director at Spencer Stuart

Sonali Divilek

Managing Director at Goldman Sachs

Patrik Hellstrand

Founder at Strand Ventures

Monique Elliot

SVP Global Marketing, Industrial Automation at Schneider Electric

Jim Dorey

President at Price Rite Marketplace

Joe Dorrego

EVP, Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer at Fox News Media

Jay Brandimarte

Chief Financial Officer at RoC Skincare

James Zaza

Executive Chairman & Chairman of the Audit Committee United Biscuits LTD/Lead Director at pladis Global

Judy Zagorski

Executive Vice President, Global Chief of Human Resources at Church & Dwight Co., Inc

Wei Lin Wong

SVP, Global Strategy and Corporate Development - North America at IRI

Dave Winston

Managing Partner Industrial Practice at The Caldwell Partners International, Inc.

James Whitemore

SVP and Chief Marketing Officer at NetApp

Kristin Wait

Partner at Spencer Stuart

Vincent Toolan

CFO at dunnhumby

Vivian Tan

Vice President Strategic Information Management & Global Relationships at Kaiser Permanente

Mark Sullivan

President at Buckhorn, Inc.

Jane Stevenson

Vice Chairman, Board and CEO Services at Korn Ferry International

Rick Stepien

Chief Executive Officer at ZSI-Foster

Dave Spencer

President, North America at Syniti

Ray Silverstein

Vice President Global Store Development at Starbucks

Lonnie Shoff

President, Clinical Diagnostics at Thermo Fischer Scientific

Caroline Schuster

Chief People and Administrative Officer at Congruex LLC

Alec Saunders

Senior Director, ISV Engagement and Evangelism, Microsoft Business Applications at Microsoft

Ben Saitz

VP, Worldwide Technical Support at Tableau Software

Rick Routhier

Senior Director at Spencer Stuart

Lonny Reisman, M.D.

Founder and Chief Executive Officer at HealthReveal

Val Rahmani

Non Executive Director at London Stock Exchange, Entrust Datacard, RenaissanceRe, Rungway, and Computer Task Group

Mark Polansky

Senior Partner, Technology Officers Practice at Korn Ferry

Ana Pinczuk

Chief Development Officer at Anaplan

Dayton Ogden

Head of Talent & Recruiting at Summit Partners

Chris O’Connor

CEO at Persistent Systems

Justus O’Brien

Managing Director at Russell Reynolds Associates

Chi Nguyen

EVP, CFO at EmployBridge Holding Company

Mark Neas

CEO, President, Board Member at Evergreen Industrial Services; Advisory Board at Waterman Hurst

Mike Myatt

Chairman at N2Growth

Alicia Muntzner

Chief Revenue Officer at Dailymail.com

Donna Morea

Independent Member of of the Board of Directors at Truist, Chairman & CEO at Adesso Group, Chair of the Board of Trustees at Wesleyan University, Member Board of Trustees at Inova Health System, Venture Partner at Ridge-Lane, Advisory Board Member at Blue Delta Capital, Independent Member of the Board of Directors at KrolLDiscovery and GCOM Software, Operating Advisor at The Carlyle Group, Chair of the Board of Directors at SAIC, Lead Independent Director at Net Health

Danielle Monaghan

VP, Head of Global Talent Acquisition and Mobility at Uber

Jack Mollen

Board Member/Chairman of Leadership and Compensation Committee at Alexion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. & Chairman of the Board of Trustees at WPI

Chris Michalak

CEO at Alight Solutions

Bob McQuade

Vice President Human Resources at The University of Notre Dame

Sean McCormack

Vice President, Solutions Engineering at Grainger

Kevin Mayer

Chief Executive Officer at TikTok; Chief Operating Officer at ByteDance

Donna Love

Finance Director, Beaut and Personal Care at Unilever

Enrique Lores

President & CEO at HP

Anne Lim O’Brien

Vice Chairman, Global CEO & Board Practice and Global Consumer Markets Practice at Heidrick & Struggles International

Dell Larcen

Partner at Gryphon Investors

Ofer Klein

Founder and Chief Executive Officer at KWIK.me; SVP of Market Development at Ordergroove

Dan Key

Chief Supply Chain Officer at Dentsply Sirona

Michael Kelly

Vice Chairman at Odgers Berndtson

Patrick Kelley

Executive Vice President, Creative at DWA Healthcare Communications Group

Yon Jorden

Board Member at Capstone Turbine, Methodist Health System, and Dallas Symphony Orchestra

Alan Jope

CEO at Unilever

Walker Jacobs

Chief Revenue Officer at Twitch

Nigel Hurst

Executive Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer at HEI Hotels and Resorts

Glenn Hofmann

Chief Analytics Officer at New York Life Insurance Company

Jeffrey Hirsch

President & CEO at Starz

Michael Hensinger

Senior Vice President, Business Development Leader at Synchrony

Eric Healy

General Manager, Channel Partnerships at Aura

Joe Hartsig

EVP, Chief Merchandising Officer at Bed Bath Beyond; President at Harmon Stores

Dave Hardie

Managing Director at Herbert Mines Associates

Paige Harazin-Masi

Head of Studio Operations at Pocket Gems

Bonnie Gwin

Vice Chairman and Co-Managing Partner, Global CEO & Board Practice at Heidrick & Struggles

Andy Gibson

COO and Founder at Total Brand Value

Paul Gennaro

SVP and Chief Brand Communications Officer at Voya Financial, Inc.

Tom Geisel

President, Corporate Banking at Sterling National Bank

Diego Galan

Managing Director, CFO, and Head of Strategy, Global Wealth Solutions at Alex Brown

Kay Fuhrman

Partner at Heidrick & Struggles

Louise Firestone

SVP and General Counsel at LVMH Moet Hennesy Louis Vuitton, Inc.

David Finke

Executive Search and Assessment Consultant at Russell Reynolds Associates

Keith Feldman

COO at Ilumination

Patrick Fay

Managing Director and Head of Enterprise Efficiency at Mizuho Securities USA

Martyn Etherington

EVP & Chief Marketing Officer at Teradata

John Englehart

Senior Vice President, Communications and Chief Marketing Officer at Hospital for Special Surgery

Russell Elmer

General Counsel at ServiceNow

Matrice Ellis-Kirk

Managing Director at RSR Partners

Esi Eggleston Bracey

EVP & COO of North America Beauty and Personal Care at Unilever

Debbie Dunnam

Chief Operating Officer at Service Source

Patsy Doerr

Global Head of Diversity and Inclusions at Credit Suisse

Hugh Dineen

Chief Marketing Officer and Senior Vice President U.S. at MetLife US

Anna Maria DeSalva

Global Chairman and CEO at Hill + Knowlton; Vice Chairman of the Board, Independent Director, and Chairman, Nominating and Governance Committee at XPO Logistics

Kaivan Desai

CFO at PowerTeam Services, LLC

Vince Dell’Osa

President at Ralph Lauren Retail N.A.

Stephanie Davis

Senior Client Partner, Private Equity/Technology Leader at Korn Ferry

Scott Dahnke

Global co-CEO at L. Catterton

Carlos Cornejo

Senior Vice President, Sales Excellence at Mastercard

Charlie Cole

Chief Executive Officer at FTD

Jeff Chwast

Head of Lending at Citi Group

John Chrosniak

President & CEO at New Flagship Pioneering Company

Aashish Chandra

Global Head of Technology - Retail, CPG, Travel, Transportation & Hospitality Cluster at Tata Consultancy Service

Carlos Cata

Managing Partner at Caldwell

Brendan Castle

Global Head of Recruiting at Google

Julie Brown

Director of Global Recruiting at Wikimedia

Charles Brewington

Executive Search Leader - Global Executive Search & Integration Practice at IBM

Rob Bogan

Chief Information Officer at California Closet Company, Inc.

Fede Barreto

CFO at Plymouth Tube Company

James Baker

Global Head of Talent Acquisition at Jaguar Land Rover

Margie Arion

Chief Human Resources Officer Hospital Operations at Tenet Healthcare

Michael Alicea

Chief Human Resources Officer - Nielsen Connect at Nielsen

Insights from the gatekeepers℠:

Avoid the 4 Pitfalls of Virtual Leadership and Unleash Your Team's Productivity

Compiled from the gatekeeper’s insights and comments…. ____________________________________________________________________________ What’s covered in this article: WFH leaders run into four leadership pitfalls all too often Know how to avoid them for better business performance in 2021 Learn the 4 big things that your employees must overcome to be productive Learn how to help your employees overcome them _____________________________________________________________________________________ As we start year two of the pandemic, it seems as though aspects of remote work are here to […]

Top Leaders and Influencers Report on the Current Status of WFH and What the Future May Hold

Compiled from the gatekeeper’s insights and comments…. ______________________________________________________________________________ What’s covered in this article: 95% have implemented WFH policies 72% say their employees are more productive 75% say their employees are happier WFH leaders face different challenges then their WFH employees WFH leaders are not as happy as their WFH employees 70% of employees report missing the workplace and 55% report feeling isolated Leaders have strong feelings but minimal plans for post pandemic WFH _____________________________________________________________________________________ In […]

Master the Art of the Virtual Interview: “GET TO YES!”

The second of our four-part series: “GET TO YES!” Mastering the Art of the Virtual Interview Create An In-Person Interview Experience From Home Video calls may have become a daily norm for you. After several months of daily video calls, you might think you’re an expert. But video meetings with team members is very different than video interviews. It is a common assumption that video interviews are less challenging than in person interviews, but that […]

Don't Be Left Behind by Sending the Wrong Message Online

Good eye contact, a firm handshake and an impressive resume are no longer the most important elements to make a good first impression – those only count in the real world. Every day, people are making decisions about you based upon your digital first impression. They get to know you before they connect with you in the real world. And based upon what they see online, they may have no interest in meeting you […]

GET TO YES: Master the Art of the Virtual Interview

Read the first of our four-part series: Video calls are an all-day affair for those of us that work-from-home, so many of us are comfortable with communicating via video. You might think you have it down pat – especially if you are of the generation that has communicated via FaceTime forever. Don’t assume casual video conversations or interoffice meetings have prepared you for video interviews. At Waterman Hurst, we have conducted over one hundred virtual […]

Virtual Hiring is Here to Stay: Read about Changes that will Impact Your Job Search

It has only been a few months since most companies moved to remote work, but in that time, the use of video conferencing has exploded. The hiring of candidates, particularly for leadership roles, has been transformed. If you are in search of your next opportunity or plan to be in job search mode soon, it is critical to understand how the virtual hiring process is taking shape, as well as what to prepare for. VIRTUAL […]

Compelled to Change your Career due to Covid-19? Read what you must consider first

Every industry has been impacted by Covid-19 – but in very different ways, and it is often hard to predict both the short and long term consequences of our current crisis. Industries like transportation, hotels, healthcare, and retail are in the midst of massive change. Some industries are emerging, others are surging, while many will be struggling for years and may not survive. The challenges that leaders must face within almost every industry are huge – […]

Ask Yourself Three Questions Before Jumping Industries

Your industry is hurting or even hemorrhaging, or maybe it looks as though it may be impacted soon. Given the mass furloughs that have occurred over the last four weeks, which have resulted in over 17 million people filing for unemployment, many are questioning their current positions, their potential prospects, and the impact Covid-19 will have on their industries. However, a rash decision and quick industry switch may not be the best choice. Reflect on […]

Coronavirus: Corporate Leaders Grapple with Major Disruption by Putting Employees First

Amid the growing coronavirus epidemic, leaders across the world in all industries face enormous disruptions to the status quo: supply chain disruptions, mandatory and widespread quarantines, major economic turbulence, international politics, and of course, these continual changes impact their employees who are the lifeblood of their organizations. In addition to helping to keep employees well, decision makers are figuring out how to communicate to their employees, while keeping operations as optimal as possible, taking cost-saving […]

Does Employee Privacy Still Matter?

according to the gatekeepers… In the early 90s, only a few technology companies monitored their own employees by mining information from the equipment they provided employees to do their work. By the late 90s, employee monitoring became more sophisticated. IT departments started purchasing software tools to monitor employee activity – and the tools provided detailed reports related to productivity, email and internet activity – identifying employees who were writing inappropriate emails, wasting time, as well […]

Is there an ELEPHANT in your interviewing room?

Learn how a potential “disadvantage” can be neutralized and transformed during an interview. Alan’s Approach When Alan first met with our senior consultant , he was both excited and anxious about an interview he had scheduled. He was excited because he believed that the role was good fit and a great next step in his career. He was anxious about being asked why he left his last position. Alan’s last CEO wanted a nuts and […]

96% of Corporate Leaders say Gender Pay Gap Must be Fixed But Disagree on How to Fix

The momentum is building, you read and hear about it almost daily. More board, CEO and top-level jobs are going to women in almost every industry and the drumbeat about the gender pay gap is loud and clear. But is this more of a media movement than a real fix? Will the momentum die before 50/50 leadership is achieved and before women and men are paid the same? While there is an overwhelming number of […]