TESTIMONIALS

To whom it may concern:

I want to thank The Jonas Group for the incredible focus and diligence they provided in our search for a Creative Director. I am confident we had the perfect search partner and there is no way we would have arrived at this decision, without their managing of the process.

Already, in only a brief period, our new Creative Director is fully integrated with the team and is making an immediate impact.

This was a unique situation and one that seemed, at the outset, quite challenging. We needed a US based Creative Director for a German based brand. This person would need a background in fashion, yet had to be someone who shared a personal "connection" with our brand and our iconic stature. And, this person would need to possess interpersonal skills that would allow them to interact across multiple organizations, including a US based Americas management group, as well as a Global Product team based in Rahms, Germany.

The Jonas Group were "on point" from day one and totally understood the nuances of the role and what this person would need so as to succeed in an organization that has a 240 year heritage, but is seeking a fresh, innovative design voice.

The Jonas Group narrowed down the search to a few highly qualified candidates - all of whom were highly capable of doing the job. Then, they helped us focus and align on the person who seemed to best check all our boxes and also have that certain "something" that makes her a natural for our culture.

Six months later, The Jonas Group filled a Director of Retail position for us and likewise this was an extremely important role for us just having launched retail in the US. We needed the perfect person and again John and his team succeeded in finding us that perfect star for the role.

The Jonas Group took what, quite frankly, seemed like a challenging assignment in both cases and made them a pleasure to complete. I want to thank The Jonas Group for their diligence, extreme urgency, and most of all their grasp on what WE needed to fulfill the desired role.

On behalf of our Executive leadership, we again thank The Jonas Group for two fantastic placements.

Thanks for the fantastic job.

Chief Executive Officer, Birkenstock Americas

"To Whom It May Concern:

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Our company Al Tayer, based in Dubai, has a portfolio of retail stores which includes 1 Harvey Nichols, 1 Bloomingdale’s (with another forthcoming), a Macy’s (opening in 2017) and a portfolio of 40+ luxury and mid-tier fashion brands retail stores.  I have had the pleasure to work with The Jonas Group, John Jonas and several of his search consultants for over 7 years.  

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Over the course of that time, The Jonas Group has filled 7 important searches for our company. These have included a Deputy Store Manager for Harvey Nichols, a Director of Merchandise Planning (who is now Our SVP of Planning & Allocations), 2 DMMs at Harvey Nichols/Bloomingdale’s, a DMM for our Armani, D&G, Jimmy Choo and Coach Businesses, a Head of Events and just now a very important Head of All Retail Marketing.

The Head of All Retail Marketing is an extremely important position which we had been unable to fill for 3 years working with another big name search firm. John filled the position with an amazing individual in just 5 months.

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John and his team understand our business, and more importantly our culture and have been able to get great people interested in our unique business, opportunity, and location and who are a great fit for our organization. The Jonas Group has been more effective than any other search firm I have ever worked with."

GM - HR, Al Tayer

“John Jonas and The Jonas Group have just completed an extremely important VP of Sales - USA search for Geox. There were a number of historical factors that made this a challenging search to successfully execute.

The Jonas Group sourced many outstanding candidates for us. John listened to our needs carefully and delivered candidates to us that met well the parameters of our search. He also was able to get the interest of many candidates who were not initially interested in exploring the opportunity and managed the process for us in an extremely professional and ideal way.

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Through our partnership with John and The Jonas Group, I’m happy to say that we have just on-boarded an incredible new VP of Sales who has a wonderful track record and reputation to bring to our organization.

We couldn’t be more pleased with the result of this search.”

COO, Geox USA

"John Jonas recently completed a search for K-Swiss, for our new VP of Global Product.  John was a very valuable resource, and was engaged and passionate throughout the process.  He delivered many qualified candidates, and had clearly spent the necessary time and energy to prepare each of them for the opportunity.  He was a great sounding board and advisor, and really worked as a committed partner with me on the project. 

Ultimately John delivered the results, and we now have an excellent VP of Product who has hit the ground running, and is a solid and valuable member of our executive team.  I would recommend John and the Jonas Group to anyone looking for executive search capabilities in our industry."

CMO, K-Swiss Global Brands

"John Jonas and The Jonas Group recently completed a very important Vice President Global Product Development search for the Hush Puppies Group of Wolverine World Wide. This was a position we had a very difficult time filling before engaging the Jonas Group.

John and his team were extremely effective.

The Jonas Group worked hard to fully understand our needs and to truly grasp the intricacies of the position at hand. John evidenced deep understanding of the brand and had great insight into what we needed. The speed with which they identified and presented outstanding candidates was great and the professionalism with which they managed the process was of the highest caliber.

Through the outstanding support of the Jonas Group, we ultimately hired a tremendously talented business leader and global product design executive, and couldn’t be more pleased with the search result.

I would enthusiastically recommend The Jonas Group to any footwear organization looking to fill their most important executive positions."

SVP, Global HR, Wolverine World Wide

"To Whom It May Concern,

I retained The Jonas Group to fill a vital position for us - National Sales Manager in the United States.

John and Stephaney provided outstanding service to me and were incredibly professional and useful to me throughout the process. They presented strong candidates, managed the process extremely well, helped us determine the strongest hire and helped me create an ideal compensation plan. We were able to bring on an outstanding hire for the position and are very pleased with her performance so far.

Because John was so helpful in the whole process for me, I also engaged him to help me get and ultimately set up a compensation plan for another important hire for our organization. Again, The Jonas Group was extremely helpful and brought new information to light that was extremely important for us. With John’s invaluable assistance, we were also successful in bringing this other important executive into our organization.

I would enthusiastically recommend John, Stephaney and The Jonas Group to any fashion company looking for the most professional and effective search partner. I look forward to working with them again soon."

President, The Italian Sisters, inc.

"To whom it may concern:

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I worked with John Jonas and some of his associates at The Jonas Group this past year and they helped us fill 3 VPs of Sales positions for our different divisions here at Rocky Brands.

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John and his team were incredibly effective at understanding and adapting to our specific needs and getting us lots of candidates who could in fact be interested in a difficult relo. We ultimately on boarded with The Jonas Group’s help 3 outstanding new VPs for our organization and they are all doing very well for us so far.

We have never worked with another Search Firm in footwear that has been close to as effective for us and enthusiastically recommend The Jonas Group to any fashion companies and especially footwear companies looking for the best search partner."

VP of Human Resources, Rocky Brands

“I have been working with John Jonas and The Jonas Group for the past year and they have just completed the second successful search for our organization. The first search was for Director of Operations in China. The second was for Director/VP of Product Development for our footwear division in our NJ corporate headquarters. Both are extremely important roles for our company and in each case, The Jonas Group enabled us to meet with and eventually hire individuals who are extremely qualified for the positions and also a good fit for the company.

I have worked with a number of search firms in the past and have found John to be the most professional, and creative in finding a well-qualified His comprehensive responsive group of candidate search methods, and broad network, enable him to attract a large group of viable candidates for consideration.

I would highly recommend The Jonas Group to a retail/wholesale organization for any important searches they may have. Their professionalism in our field have made for a successful and expertise working relationship.”

President & CEO, SG Footwear

"John Jonas and The Jonas Group have secured two Store Directors for both our New York and Beverly Hills Boutiques with great professionalism and an incredible personal touch. Our business caters to a very affluent well travelled clientele and therefore needs a very sophisticated staff.

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What amazes me is that John’s interview skills are such that, without meeting the West Coast candidates, he was able to describe the character of each individual highlighting the positives and negatives. Ultimately after several interviews we hired the candidate that he originally suggested and now, 6 months later, we are thrilled of our choice.

As far as his personal involvement with his candidates, John goes beyond the call of duty. Unfortunately, last year, one of our best managers suddenly passed away; he was a great and special person that John had placed with us years before. During the memorial service, John came to personally pay his respects; that is true dedication and friendship.

These are some of the many reasons that make John Jonas and The Jonas Group an exemplary player in his field.

I cannot praise him enough."

President, Vicini America, Inc

“John Jonas and The Jonas Group recently completed a retained SVP of Sales search overseeing the Men's side of our business. We had never used a retained search firm and were hesitant about the commitment and what the result would bring. We met with John and felt interested in trying his approach.

John took the time to really understand our position needs. He was extremely thorough, comprehensive and professional. His process was extensive, very swift and produced quick, very accurate results.

The Jonas Group presented five candidates initially that all were of interest to Mundi Westport. The four that we met in person all seemed potentially compelling for the role and we had a difficult time deciding between two finalists. We ultimately hired someone we were very excited about who just began the role this past month.

We now see the benefits of working with a firm like The Jonas Group, look forward to working with them again soon, and highly recommend them to Retail/Wholesale organizations looking to optimally fill important senior level roles in their company.”

President, Mundi Westport Group

Please be advised that John Jonas and the Jonas Group have just completed an employment search for us in recruiting a VP of Marketing/PR for Phat Fashions. John and his team worked with remarkable speed in identifying, screening, and presenting outstanding candidates. The Jonas Group clearly understood our needs and took a hands on approach in helping us negotiate an agreeable contract with the right candidate for the position.

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Their professionalism was unparalleled and we are very pleased with the overall process. In closing, I strongly recommend the Jonas Group for their competency and proven industry relations.

President, Phat Fashions

"John Jonas and The Jonas Group have recently completed a search for our US Head of Sales and Marketing. As our business and sales approach is rather unique and does not fall into readily defined business categories the usual “head-hunting” activities of typical executive search firms was not what we were looking for. We required an innovative and creative approach and The Jonas Group provided us exactly what we needed.

John Jonas initiated the process through a detailed question and answer process which gave him the proper understanding of our business and the kind of person we needed. He was equally informative in regards to what potential candidates would be looking for in terms of compensation, benefits, incentives, etc. This was extremely helpful in not only finding the right candidate but also in formulating business plans.

John eventually sent us a focused list and presentations on less than ten candidates all of whom would have done an outstanding job. There was no time wasted meeting inappropriate individuals or off the mark recommendations. The only difficulty was choosing one person out of so many qualified people.

John has an extensive knowledge of the footwear industry, an innovative style and a methodical approach to his work. I was extremely pleased with his work and would not hesitate to look to The Jonas Group again when the need arises."

Managing Director, Micro-Pak Ltd.

"To whomever is looking for the best,

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If your sales are over $100 million a year this letter will not be as meaningful as those who are running smaller entities. So often we talk about hiring the best and yet we are inevitably settling for less because smaller businesses can’t attract top talent. My business has the obvious challenge of finding top talent but equally challenging of communicating what we do, how we do it, and why someone brilliant should take a chance with us.

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John Jonas just simply gets it. He took the time to understand our business, its needs, and the special person we wanted for a culture and vision I have invested so much into. John delivered on his promise and I was placed in front of several “A” level candidates who understood my business and were genuinely interested in a special company.

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John has an excellent reputation as a head hunter but what I didn’t know I was getting was a consultant who guided the process so well that I felt my interests were well served as well as the interests of the person I hired. The net result was a person who was ultra-excited with a sense that the company this person was joining was fair, honorable, and on its way.

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If it is time to hire a true top person, don’t hesitate to call The Jonas Group."

CEO, U.S. Continental

"I retained The Jonas Group to fill a vital position for us – North America Senior Vice President.
Stephaney provided outstanding service to me and she was incredibly professional and useful to me throughout the process. She presented strong candidates, managed the process extremely well, helped us determine the strongest hire and helped me create an ideal compensation plan. We were able to bring on an outstanding hire for the position and are very pleased with her performance so far.

Again, The Jonas Group was extremely helpful and brought new information to light that was extremely important for us. With Stephaney’s invaluable assistance, we were successful in bringing this other important executive into our organization.

I would enthusiastically recommend Stephaney and The Jonas Group to any fashion company looking for the most professional and effective search partner. I look forward to working with them again soon."
 

Commercial Director, Giambattista Valli

“John Jonas and The Jonas Group recently completed a very important Senior VP of Marketing Search for Shoe Carnival, Inc. John and his team were extremely effective.

The Jonas Group worked hard to fully understand our needs and to truly grasp the intricacies of the position at hand. The speed with which they identified and presented outstanding candidates was remarkable; and the professionalism with which they managed the process was of the highest caliber, and surpassed our expectations.

Through the outstanding support of The Jonas Group, we ultimately hired a tremendous retail marketing professional, and couldn’t be more pleased with the search result. I would enthusiastically recommend The Jonas Group to any retail or wholesale organization looking to fill their important executive positions.”

Vice President of Human Resources and In-House Counsel, Shoe Carnival, Inc

"The Jonas Group (Mr. John Jonas personally) has recently completed a search for our US CEO.

We required an innovative and creative approach and Mr. Jonas provided us exactly what we needed.

Bounded by extremely tight time frames, the speed of identifying and presenting a pool of outstanding candidates was impressive as well as the John’s professionalism with regards to managing the overall process was of the highest caliber and industry’s standard.

John initiated the process through a detailed questionnaire and answer sessions which allows for the proper understanding of our business as well as of our needs and preferences.  Within few days he eventually sent us a focused list and presentations on five candidates all of whom have an outstanding professional track of records and would have done an outstanding job.  There was no time wasted meeting inappropriate individuals or off-the-mark recommendations.  The only we had experience with was choosing one person out of so many outstandingly qualified people.

Through the outstanding support of the Jonas Group, we ultimately hired a tremendously talented business leader, and very pleased with the search result.

John has an extensive knowledge of the footwear industry, an innovative style and a methodical approach to his work.  I personally was extremely pleased with his work and would not hesitate to look to The Jonas Group again when the need arises.

I would recommend Mr. Jonas unequivocally to any retail or wholesale organization looking to fill their most important executive positions."

Global CEO, Carlo Pazolini

"To Whom It May Concern:

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The Jonas Group recently completed two searches for our company for Director of Retail and a Wholesale sales executive.

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They identified, screened, and provided several qualified candidates for both positions. The overall experience was positive and professional. I was able to hire candidates quickly and I pleased with the results.

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I would use The Jonas Group for future recruiting and would to recommend them to other companies in the fashion industry."

President, Pink Tartan

“I have been very pleased working with the Jonas Group. They have been thorough, conscientious and turned up outstanding candidates in the searches they conducted for me and my clients.

As a result in each case we felt we had a good choice of candidates and came up with outstanding placements. John Jonas was personally involved with each search; as a result we have given the Jonas Group another very key international search.

I continue to be pleased and impressed.”

Marvin Traub Associates, Former Chairman and CEO Bloomingdale’s

"The Jonas Group recently helped fill a Head Designer position with us and we could not have been more pleased. The position had been posted for a few months, and we even had a few other recruiters work the position for us with limited success.

The Jonas Group instantly understood our needs, and presented great candidates within just the first few presentations.  We were really impressed by the results. It made the process a lot easier that they understood what we were looking for. They were very conscientious and professional and sent really great candidates our way to help us secure the right candidate.

We highly recommend and look forward to working with The Jonas Group in the future."

President, Parker

"The Jonas Group recently completed a very important Director of Merchandising search for Hale Bob. They worked diligently to fully understand our needs and to truly grasp the intricacies of the position. The speed in which they identified and presented outstanding candidates was remarkable; and the professionalism with which the process was managed was of highest caliber and surpassed our expectations.

The Jonas Group’s professionalism and expertise in our field has made for a successful working relationship.  Without any reservation, I am pleased to recommend The Jonas Group as a great partner and very strong fashion executive search firm for any fashion company’s executive needs."

Executive Vice President, Hale Bob

“I have been working with John Jonas and The Jonas Group for more than two years. It recently helped us to fill two very important positions in our Design Department. During the process of searching the potential candidates, I appreciated their excellent professionalism starting from truly understanding our requirements for these positions, identifying and presenting the outstanding candidates, and even help us to conclude the negotiation process of employment offer.

I have experience in using other search firms before; however the outstanding performance and the speed of the turn around time provided by The Jonas Group really makes it stand out from other competitors.

I have no reservation to recommend The Jonas Group to any Retail and Wholesale organization who is actively searching for the right candidates to fill their important executive positions.”

President, Yellowbox Corporation

"I have worked with John Jonas and The Jonas Group for over four years. I am extremely pleased by the work that they do.

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In my role as Senior Vice President of CCA Global Partners I hired John to fill 7 different positions for us. These roles ranged from SVP of Training, VP Marketing Carpet One, and Division President – Advance Carpet One, VP Retail Carpet One and several others. Each time I have used John, I have been able to make a successful hire, from a quality pool of candidates.

I have never worked with another search firm or consultant that is as effective as John and his team. The Jonas Group is fast and extremely efficient. Their process is thoroughly professional and they truly partner with us. The speed to hire was great and the quality of the placements was also excellent. John’sa bility to brainstorm with me on possible creative options and solutions was unique and invaluable. When the time comes to close the deal John is invaluable, he knows how to make it happen.

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I would recommend John and The Jonas Group unequivocally to any retail or wholesale organization looking to fill any important position."

Senior Vice President, CCA Global Partners

“As Co-founder and former CEO of Blue Tulip and President of Retail Markets and EVP of Merchandising at Baker & Taylor, I have had the pleasure of working with John Jonas and the Jonas Group for six years. Throughout this time, he and his team have demonstrated an outstanding sense of partnership and remarkable level of professionalism.

Most Recently, The Jonas Group completed an extensive search and secured a candidate for Vice President of Merchandising for Baker & Taylor. The speed and urgency with which they identified and presented talented individuals was palpable. Their expeditious follow-up and outstanding support made for an effective and efficient process.

Without reservation, I would recommend John Jonas and The Jonas Group to any corporation looking to secure the highest quality of candidates.”

President for Retail Markets, EVP of Merchandising, Baker & Taylor

To Whom It May Concern:

John Jonas and The Jonas Group recently completed  a search for our company for Vice President Worldwide Sales.

The Jonas Group identified, screened, and provided several extremely qualified candidates with VP experience at other top fashion brands. Throughout the process, John and Tania were professional and organized which allowed us to make our decision and hire a candidate on a very compact  timeline.

After such a positive experience, we plan to use The Jonas Group in the future, and wholeheartedly recommend them to other companies in the fashion and footwear industries."

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CEO, Jeff Roberts

"I worked very closely with John over a three month period on what I initially thought would be for a very specific role for our company. But the range of candidates that John presented was so impressive and their qualifications so beyond our expectations that our eventual hire was more value add to the company than we originally thought possible.

In fact, we created a new role for this hire with a broader set of responsibilities, which was in line with both the company’s needs and the career ambitions of the candidate.

As his search efforts unveiled the possibilities, John Jonas not only helped me to fully define, identify and qualify our ideal candidate, he also went beyond the call of duty and offered his assistance in structuring the right package for the broader role. John’s insight into the fashion and footwear industry, his vast professional network for sourcing and qualifying candidates, his presentation of such a diverse range of candidates, as well as the sophistication of his advisory were all very valuable to me.

John Jonas is also a fun person to work with and made the typically laborious recruitment process a delight. As serious as it can be to evaluate, select and even reject a candidate, John always found the way to do everything with an upbeat professionalism and with grace. John’s hands-on approach and ability to even work around the clock when necessary showed that John cared as much about making the right match for Pique as I did. We became partners during this process. In fact, working with John was the highlight of my experience and even more exciting than the candidates he offered up!

Based on the very positive experience we just had, we look forward to working with The Jonas Group again and give them the highest possible recommendation."

Founder, Pique LLC