CAA Acquires Hanold Associates Executive Search Firm

CAA has acquired executive search firm Hanold Associates as the Hollywood powerhouse agency looks to beef up its headhunting practice.

Hanold was co-founded in 2010 by Neela Seenandan and Jason Hanold. The company has a team of 20 staffers who focus on recruiting a wide range of corporate officers and board directors. CAA first branched out into executive search in 2017 under the leadership of Joe Becher.

“We continue in our longstanding efforts to innovate growth opportunities across all facets of CAA that further our commitment to providing unmatched resources to our esteemed clients worldwide,” said Paul Danforth, CAA managing director and president of CAA Sports. “CAA was the first talent agency to launch an executive search division, and we are thrilled with the incredible success that Joe Becher, Asher Simons, and their team consistently deliver to their clients across sports and entertainment. The addition of Hanold Associates, and its unique expertise, will amplify our efforts in this important service area, and we are excited to see what these two teams can accomplish together.”

Hanold Associates has handled executive searches for such large firms as American Airlines, A+E Networks, Blackstone, Cartier, Federal Reserve Bank of New York and Ford Motor Co. The firm’s headquarters are in Chicago, with partner locations in Boston, New York, Salt Lake City, Detroit, and Phoenix.

“The recruitment of effective human resources leadership is vital to the growth and success of any organization, and Neela, Jason, and the team at Hanold Associates are without peer in this space,” said Becher. “There are tremendous synergies across our businesses and clients. Hanold’s culture and approach to client service is complementary to ours, and we are thrilled to join forces to bring these world-class resources to our clients globally.”