Industry & Services >> CEO Interviews >> January 12, 2004
PETER D. CRIST is the Founder and Chairman of Crist Associates. Mr.
Crist is entering his 27th year of executive recruiting. Beginning in
1977 with Russell Reynolds Associates in Chicago, he helped build and
run one of the most successful senior level recruiting offices in the
country, becoming co-Head of North America and a member of the Executive
Committee for the firm by the time he was in his late 30s. While at RRA,
he also helped launch the Board Practice. In 1995, after 18 years with
Russell Reynolds, he launched Crist Partners in Chicago. Focusing on CFO
and other C-level searches, Crist Partners quickly became a national
boutique, with clients such as Eastman Kodak Company, CVS Corporation,
Ecolab Incorporated, Whirlpool Corporation, Levi Strauss & Company, The
St. Paul Companies, and Wm. Wrigley Jr. Company. Korn/Ferry acquired
Crist Partners in 1999, and Mr. Crist was named Vice Chairman of the
firm and Chairman of the Global Board Services Practice. In January
2003, Mr. Crist launched Crist Associates to return to the art of
search. He was profiled in the 1995 and 1992 editions of Career Makers
and the 1998 edition of The Global 200. He is Chairman of the
Compensation Committee and a member of the Nominating Committee and
Executive Committee of the Board of Directors of Wintrust Financial
Corporation (NASDAQ: WTFC). He is a member of the Board of Directors of
Northwestern Memorial Corporation and Hinsdale Bank & Trust. He received
an AB degree from Brown University in 1974. Profile
Mr. Crist: Crist Associates was launched in January 2003. It is actually
my second launch. I spent 18 years with Russell
