Don Zinn

Don Zinn serves as Senior Vice President – Executive Search at StevenDouglas and works nationally as a member of the firm’s Operations, Leadership, Sales & Marketing, Supply Chain, Finance and HR practices. Don has over 18 years of executive, management and sales search experience with clients ranging from early-stage entrepreneurial ventures, PE funded high growth companies, and family business of scale. He has created a value-added approach to middle market leadership level search that contributes strategic insights to meet business needs rather than being focused simply on transaction acceleration.

Don has a robust background as a CEO and entrepreneur with over 35 years of sales, management and hiring experience, focused on helping organizations grow through people-focused management. He is a frequent speaker and author, highlighting topics such as engagement/turnover, entrepreneurship, employee selection and satisfaction. Don has founded 7 companies, raised over $25 million in private and venture equity, sold 3 companies, and has been an Inc. 500 winner and a finalist in the E&Y Entrepreneur of the Year Award.

In the world of Search, Don is functionally focused on operational leadership in middle market and fast-growing early-stage companies that are experiences “scaling” issues where his prior operating experience as a CEO can add significant value to the searches he manages including:
✓ Succession and growth planning – CEO, COO and President roles that require strategic definition prior to starting the search
✓ The “go-to-market” side: Sales and Marketing leadership roles that bring discipline/process and create long term growth.
✓ The entire Supply Chain management side of operations up to C-Suite and Leadership roles.
✓ HR leadership – CHRO, CPO, VP HR; tapping into his alumni network from Cornell ILR while applying his real-life experience leading the people part of organizations he has founded and run.
✓ CFO, VP Finance searches with a focus on PE/VC funded companies and family businesses of scale.

Don holds a BS in Industrial & Labor Relations from Cornell University and an MBA from New York University. Don serves as a leader of the Cornell ILR Alumni Association, and is involved in local charities in NY, VT and FL.