Tom Neff
Former Chairman, U.S.
46 years at Spencer Stuart
Describe what you’re doing currently.
I’ve enjoyed adding to the list of more than 60 countries I have visited for both work and personal reasons. More recently, I’ve replaced my hobbies of jogging, golf and tennis with walking and physical therapy.
On the personal side, my wife Sally and I have been happily married for 36 years. We merged families and raised five children — three from my first marriage to Susan, who passed away from cancer at age 38. Sally and I now have seven grandchildren and counting.
What are your proudest achievements?
A few stand out. One is building Spencer Stuart’s CEO Practice in the U.S. beginning in the late 1980s, which held over 50% market share for several decades among large companies including notably AIG, Boeing, Campbell Soup, General Motors, Honeywell, IBM, Merck, Morgan Stanley, Prudential, RJR Nabisco and United Airlines.
I launched the search industry’s first Board Practice in the early 1980s, which now conducts over 1,000 searches per year globally. I’m also proud to say that I founded the U.S. Spencer Stuart Board Index 40 years ago, and even more so to see that it is still published annually.
One notable highlight was the 50 or so board placements that Julie Daum and I recruited, most in less than 90 days, prompted by the 2008 financial crisis that required essential government bailout and U.S. treasury oversight. It was mandated that the majority of each board needed to be new and independent for major companies including Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, General Motors, Chrysler, AIG and Citibank.
Landing on the cover of Business Week magazine was also a big moment and helped position Spencer Stuart as the leading search Firm in the world.
I authored the original “On Being a Partner” document that outlined the responsibilities of Partners in contributing to the culture and purpose of the Firm, and I co-authored two books on CEO leadership with Jim Citrin.
And finally, my advocacy to formalize a Firm alumni group is finally coming to fruition!
What are your favorite Spencer Stuart memories?
I’ve made many lifelong friends at the Firm, thanks in part to annual partners’ meetings which helped maintain global, close personal relationships among colleagues.
I also helped recruit Firm leaders including David Daniel, Julie Daum, Colin Graham, Rich Kurkowski, Dayton Ogden and Ben Williams, to name a few. I also recruited Paul Cheng to launch our Asian practice out of Hong Kong, and Dick Johnston to open the Canadian market starting with Toronto.
Finally, I had a reputation for use of my “red pen” to edit colleagues’ documents!
What advice would you give to someone starting out in leadership advisory? Or at Spencer Stuart specifically?
Quality of work and great placements always win the day. There are no shortcuts to success.
Build meaningful relationships that count. My goal was to connect personally with as many CEOs in the S&P 500 as possible, which I achieved through attending social events and engaging with nonprofits where senior executives were active.
Remember this order of importance in the Spencer Stuart world — client, team, Firm.
What are a few fun facts about yourself?
I’m a big lover of sports. I finally had my first hole-in-one a couple of years ago, witnessed by David Daniel. And my kids would want you to know that I once scored 57 points in a basketball game and pitched two no-hitters in baseball.
After stepping down as the Firm’s Managing Partner, I served on the Board of Directors of six public companies as well as a board of a large mutual fund complex.