Why K&A?

Why K&A?

Developing a consultative relationship with our clients is critical to our effectiveness.

50

Years in Business

12

Industries Served

5000

Completed Engagements

100

Percentage Partner Involvement

Based in the greater Washington DC area, K&A is a retained executive search firm dedicated to developing a broad understanding of, not only the technical skills required to be successful, but the industry knowledge essential for identifying appropriate candidates. We partner with clients to develop a comprehensive understanding of their business culture and the various factors facing their industry.

Company Timeline

  1. 1971
  2. 1978
  3. 1979
  4. 1985
  5. 1989
  6. 1990
  7. 1994
  8. 1996
  9. 2002
  10. 2004
  11. 2005
  12. 2009
  13. 2010
  14. 2015
  15. 2017
  16. 2018
  17. 2019
  18. 2020
  19. 2021

  1. Gary Krauthamer launches Krauthamer & Associates, Inc.

    After beginning his career as a recruiter for a DC based firm, Gary founds Krauthamer & Associates to focus on his belief that there are two parts to the story when it comes to human capital-technical fit and interpersonal fit.

  2. The President of Amtrak, Allan Boyd, formerly the Secretary of Transportation of the US, hires K&A to identify a Chief Mechanical Officer

    The third president of Amtrak, Alan Boyd, Former United States Secretary of Transportation, appointed by Lyndon Johnson, becomes long-standing K&A client.

  3. Ellen Dorfman joins K&A to lead the Transportation practice

    One of the first female senior executives in the executive search industry, Ellen serves the New York City Transit Authority and its agencies throughout her 30-year career.

  4. K&A is retained by Alan Boyd, Chairman of Airbus North America, to hire their first domestic sales executive, John Leahey.

    In 2016 Airbus celebrated the sale of their 10,000 aircraft with John still at the helm of the global sales organization.

  5. K&A is retained by Coopers & Lybrand, now PWC, to recruit a corporate controller and director of corporate security

    After completing the search, K&A is retained over several years to recruit direct admit partners within various part of the practice including change management and healthcare.

  6. K&A is retained by US Generating Company, a new venture launched in partnership between PG&E and Bechtel, to build independent cogeneration plants throughout the U.S.

    K&A completed over 50 engagements within corporate roles, energy trading, construction, and maintenance.

  7. K&A is hired by Airbus to place a President for North America

    K&A does a national search and identifies Pratt & Whitney executive Nick Tomassetti to join Airbus. After his retirement Nick joins K&A’s advisory board.

  8. K&A is retained by the American Public Transportation Association (APTA) to identify a President

    After Bill Millar’s retirement, K&A is recruited to identify APTA’s next two Presidents continuing its long association.

  9. K&A is retained by Walker & Dunlop to identify a CFO

    Nearly 50 placements later, K&A continues to add production talent across their business lines to support their growth strategy.

  10. After making a major investment in Aviation, Goldman Sachs hires K&A to support their special situations group

    Through ongoing relationships, K&A supports leading hedge fund Eton Park in identifying human capital to support their investment thesis.

  11. Deloitte retains K&A to identify a direct admit partner to join their NY banking practice

    K&A has since recruited multiple direct admit partners within healthcare, asset management, and cyber security including their US CISO.

  12. K&A develops exclusive relationship with Virgo Investment Group

    Through close partnership, K&A provides human capital diligence and strategic sourcing of investment opportunities for CA-based investment firm.

  13. JetBlue retains K&A to identify a Chief People Officer

    Working with leadership, K&A continues to support JetBlue by identifying talent within financial planning and labor relations.

  14. K&A is retained by a joint venture between Republic Financial Corporation and Goldman Sachs to identify a CEO within one of their energy investments

    This search leads to additional searches within Goldman’s special situations group in addition to ongoing support of RFC within their aviation, special situations and private equity verticals.

  15. K&A expands Public Sector practice with CFO placement for the District of Columbia

    K&A completes multiple placements for entities within the DC community including DC Water, WMATA, as well as the Inspector General for the District of Columbia.

  16. K&A launches new brand identity

    A new logo and office space marks nearly 50 years in business.

  17. K&A establishes a multi-year relationship with Boeing to recruit key executives

    K&A establishes a multi-year relationship with Boeing to identify key executives to support an ongoing transformation. To date, Brendan Curran is hired as VP of Boeing Global Services, Kate Schaefer as VP of Vertical Integration and Peter Gao as VP of commercial sales and marketing for China.

  18. K&A completes fleet management search for Delta

    After the announced retirement of respected aviation executive, Greg May, K&A recruits Mahendra Nair to be the new Senior VP of Fleet and Technical Operations Supply Chain.

  19. K&A celebrates 50 Years

    With five decades of continuous business operations, K&A is proud of its long-standing history.

What Sets Us Apart

K&A has been committed to providing a high-touch client centric search solution since our founding in 1971. With partners leading each engagement, our clients have relied on us to solve some of their most pressing human capital challenges. We take great pride in the longevity of our relationships and our 50 years of service.

  • 50

    50 Year History

    Since our founding in 1971 K&A has been dedicated to serving a diverse client base with a customized approach. We view each engagement as a unique assignment and apply a strategy relevant to each individual search. Many of our client relationships extend past 10 years and that is a testament to the consistency of our team and the results we deliver.

  • High-Touch Partnership Involvement

    We are dedicated to providing a highly connected and consultative process. Our senior partners lead every single engagement, not just from a client relationship perspective but also conducting the actual recruiting. Each search has a partner as a lead and in some cases multiple partners will play a role. All searches are given the attention of the entire firm.

  • Diversity & Inclusion

    Diversity, Equality and Inclusion are cornerstones of K&A’s executive search practice. Our record speaks for itself -- 40% of our placements over the past three years have been female and minority candidates. For every engagement, K&A builds a candidate pool that is representative of the communities and customers that our clients serve, and we are proud that our clients embrace these same values.

  • Deep Industry Expertise

    Since 1971, K&A has developed several industry verticals where we have deep knowledge of the trends, competitive landscape and of current and emerging leaders. Although we are generalists, we have developed deep knowledge of several industries such as aviation, transportation, information security and real estate finance over the last several decades.

  • Customized Solutions

    We view search as a consultative process. Each client, hiring manager, and opportunity is unique and therefore requires a tailor-made solution. We work to develop a deep understanding of both the technical requirements needed to be successful as well as the cultural nuances. We know we have done a good job -- not at the date of hire -- but post-hire when both parties feel the result exceeds expectations.

  • Transparent Approach

    Our process is designed to eliminate surprises. Weekly updates include progress reports that include candidate profiles, market feedback and other information that determines if the search strategy has been successful or requires a new approach. We value the partnership we create with our clients and are entirely focused on an exceptional outcome for our clients and the candidates.