Furst

What Furst does

Furst Group, operating through its legal entity Management Partners, Inc., is a retained executive search firm founded in 1984 and headquartered in Rockford, Illinois. It serves exclusively the U.S. healthcare and life sciences market, performing C-suite, board, and senior leadership placements for hospital systems, payers, life sciences companies, academic medical centers, hospices, healthcare associations, and private-equity-backed healthcare businesses. Its core product is retained search engagements delivered via a consultative enterprise sales motion, complemented by integrated leadership development, executive coaching, and succession services delivered through its 2015-spun-off companion company NuBrick Partners.

The firm's underlying technology is a methodology-driven, human-delivered assessment and transition support stack rather than a software platform. Key proprietary components include the SuccessPath executive transition methodology (extending engagement six months post-placement), the Professional Assessment Algorithm (a four-factor candidate-fit framework), and the NuBrick Partners Assessment Suite that integrates psychologists and executive coaches into search processes. The firm has no API, no commercial software product, and no disclosed AI models.

Commercially, Furst Group earns professional-services fees on retained executive search engagements plus project-based fees for leadership development and board advisory work. Pricing is custom and not publicly disclosed; engagements are structured as multi-year contracts with billing tied to scope and complexity. Distribution is direct enterprise only: the firm engages boards, CEOs, and search committees of healthcare organizations with no channel, self-serve, or marketplace model. Geographic footprint is U.S.-domiciled with on-demand international reach through the IIC Partners global network. Per the firm, it is private, founder-owned under Chairman Bob Clarke and CEO Sherrie Barch, with no institutional capital, no public listing, and no subsidiaries beyond NuBrick Partners.

Name

Furst

Legal name

Management Partners, Inc.

Website

https://furstgroup.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1984

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Furst Group is a retained executive search firm exclusively serving U.S. healthcare and life sciences organizations, providing C-suite, board, and senior leadership placements alongside integrated leadership development, coaching, and succession services via its companion company NuBrick Partners.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Executive Search Services

NAICS

Executive Search Services (561312), Employment Placement Agencies and Executive Search Services (56131)

SIC

Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)

akta.pro primary industry

Healthcare & Life Sciences Leadership Search (BPACAAAE)

akta.pro secondary industries

Confidential/Replacement & Succession Search (BPACAAAK), Public Sector, Education & Nonprofit Leadership Search (BPACAAAI)

Keywords

• Executive search services
• Healthcare executive recruitment
• Leadership development
• Board advisory services
• Retained search firm

Headquarters

HQ city

Rockford

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Retained Executive Search: Retained search fees for C-suite, board, and senior executive placements across healthcare organizations. Engagement-based model with process extending six months post-placement for transition support.
2. Leadership Development Services: Integrated talent management services including executive team performance, individual leadership development, new leader installation, succession management, and accelerated physician executive leadership through NuBrick Partners.
3. Board Advisory Services: Board composition, governance guidance, new member acquisition dynamics, and culture advisory services for publicly traded and non-profit organization boards.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Furst Group is a retained executive search firm exclusively focused on healthcare and life sciences, providing C-suite, board, and senior leadership placements for hospitals, health systems, payers, life sciences companies, and private equity portfolio companies. The firm also delivers integrated leadership development, executive coaching, succession management, and board advisory services through its companion company NuBrick Partners, with a differentiated SuccessPath methodology that extends structured transition support six months beyond placement.

Product overview

Furst Group is a retained executive search firm exclusively focused on healthcare and life sciences, operating as part of Management Partners, Inc. (MPI). The company offers a portfolio of interconnected talent solutions centered on executive search services complemented by leadership development offerings through its companion company NuBrick Partners. The core Executive Search practice is organized into specialized vertical segments covering Healthcare Providers, Healthcare Payers, Hospice and Post-Acute Services, Healthcare Services and Technology, Life Sciences, Associations and Foundations, Academic Healthcare, and Private Equity. Supporting these search services are proprietary methodologies including SuccessPath for executive transition support and the Professional Assessment Algorithm for talent evaluation. NuBrick Partners extends the offering into leadership development, executive coaching, team performance optimization, succession management, and physician executive leadership programs. The company has also spun off NuBrick Partners (2015) as a separate leadership consulting entity, maintaining collaborative relationships for integrated client engagements.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• NuBrick Partners: Leadership development, executive coaching, organizational development, and team performance consulting services for healthcare organizations

Products and services

• Executive Search Retained executive search services for healthcare organizations, specializing in C-suite, board, and senior leadership placements across providers, payers, and life sciences sectors.
• Leadership Development Comprehensive leadership development offerings including executive team performance, executive coaching, new leader installation, succession management, and accelerated physician executive leadership programs, delivered through the companion NuBrick Partners brand.
• Board Advisory Board-level advisory services including board composition guidance, governance consulting, new member acquisition dynamics, and culture assessment for both publicly traded and non-profit healthcare organizations.
• Healthcare Providers Search Specialized executive search for hospitals, health systems, academic medical centers, integrated delivery networks, physician practices, faith-based hospitals, and post-acute care organizations.
• Healthcare Payers and Insurance Search Executive search services for health insurers, managed care organizations, government programs (Medicare/Medicaid), and value-based care focused health plans.
• Hospice and Post-Acute Services Search Specialized executive recruitment for hospice, palliative care, home health, skilled nursing, and end-of-life care organizations at national and regional levels.
• Healthcare Services and Technology Search Executive search for pharmaceutical management, disease management, data and EMR services, medical devices, and other healthcare technology and services companies.
• Life Sciences Search Executive search for pharmaceutical, biotechnology, medical device companies, contract research organizations (CROs), and contract manufacturing organizations (CMOs).
• Healthcare Associations and Foundations Search Executive search for healthcare professional associations, membership organizations, accrediting bodies, and foundations serving the healthcare industry.
• Academic Healthcare Search Executive search for academic medical centers, health science centers, medical schools, research institutions, focusing on chancellors, deans, department chairs, and clinical leadership positions.
• Private Equity Search Executive search services for private equity and venture capital-backed healthcare portfolio companies, focusing on leaders who can deliver rapid impact and manage hypergrowth or turnaround situations.
• NuBrick Partners Leadership development and talent management companion company providing executive coaching, team performance consulting, succession management, and leadership assessment services, integrated with Furst Group search engagements.

Quantifiable outcome

• 94 Client NPS and 97 Candidate NPS demonstrating exceptional satisfaction
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers14 records

Segments7 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• NuBrick PartnerscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNuBrick Partners is a companion company within the Furst Group family providing leadership development, executive coaching, organizational development, and talent assessment services. Spun off from Furst Group in 2015 as a full-fledged company. Furst Group and NuBrick Partners work seamlessly together on engagements, with NuBrick's psychologists and consultants integrated into executive search processes to provide data-driven talent assessments, leadership capability evaluation, and organizational alignment analysis. The relationship provides clients with integrated talent lifecycle solutions from recruitment through development.
• IIC PartnerscoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorFurst Group is a member of IIC Partners, a global association of executive search firms ranked among the top ten retained executive search groups in the world. The partnership enables Furst Group to access executive search capabilities across all industries and regions globally, calling upon partner firms when needed for cross-industry or international recruiting. IIC Partners has offices across Americas, Asia Pacific, and EMEA regions including Chicago, New York, Toronto, London, Paris, Sydney, and Shanghai.
• MPI (Management Partners, Inc.)coreOthersFurst Group is an MPI Company. Management Partners, Inc. (MPI) is the parent organization that owns Furst Group and provides the organizational structure for the integrated talent management companies. MPI encompasses both Furst Group (executive search) and NuBrick Partners (leadership development) under one corporate umbrella.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• WittKieffer: WittKieffer is one of the most prominent healthcare-exclusive executive search firms, placing C-suite and senior leaders across providers, payers, life sciences, and academic medicine. It is the closest head-to-head competitor to Furst Group given the shared vertical specialization and similar client mix.
• Korn Ferry: Korn Ferry is a global organizational consulting firm whose Executive Search segment competes with Furst for C-suite healthcare placements. Its broader RPO and consulting portfolio and scale-based pricing offer an alternative for large health systems and payers.
• Heidrick & Struggles: Heidrick & Struggles is a global executive search firm with a dedicated Healthcare & Life Sciences practice competing for C-suite and board engagements with Furst across providers, payers, and biopharma.
• Diversified Search: Diversified Search is a US executive search firm with a dedicated Health & Sciences practice, competing directly with Furst across providers, payers, and life sciences verticals for senior leadership placements.
• Spencer Stuart: Spencer Stuart is a leading global executive search firm with a substantial healthcare practice serving health systems, payers, and life sciences organizations. While broader in scope than Furst, it competes directly for CEO, COO, and board-level healthcare mandates.
• Egon Zehnder: Egon Zehnder is a global executive search and leadership advisory firm with an active healthcare practice serving providers, payers, and life sciences. It overlaps with Furst in retained C-suite search and increasingly in leadership advisory.
• Russell Reynolds Associates: Russell Reynolds Associates is a global executive search firm with a strong healthcare practice serving health systems, payers, and life sciences organizations, competing directly for senior executive and board placements.
• AMN Healthcare Leadership Solutions (formerly B.E. Smith): B.E. Smith (now part of AMN Healthcare) is a healthcare-specialized executive search and interim leadership firm serving hospitals, health systems, and post-acute organizations, directly comparable to Furst's Provider-focused retained search practice.

Regional players

• Isaacson, Miller: Isaacson, Miller is an executive search firm specializing in senior leadership for higher education, academic medicine, healthcare associations, and nonprofit organizations, overlapping with Furst's Academic Healthcare and Associations practice areas.

Emerging players

• Park Square Executive Search: Park Square Executive Search focuses on healthcare and private equity-backed healthcare portfolio companies, placing C-suite and operating partner leaders. It overlaps with Furst's PE practice but operates at a smaller scale.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/FurstGroup
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/furst-group
• Xx.com/FurstGroup

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Furst