Becky is one of the founding partners of The Jacob Group established in 1992. She leads all support groups for the team including the Market Intelligence Group, Fulfillment Team and Administrative Staff. She also manages the Human Resources function for the firm and outside supervision of our financial, legal and technology partners.

Becky is a member of The Board of The Jacob Search Group, LLC and a sitting member of the Marketing Committee and Operations Committee. The excellence she has demonstrated in her role has helped The Jacob Group achieve international recognition as one of the top independent firms.

When given any spare time, Becky loves to travel and relax with family, especially playing swimming instructor to three very active Grandchildren.

Mike brings an extensive background in professional development and executive search to The Jacob Group. He has enjoyed a 23 year career with the firm and over that time has placed 100’s professionals in the restaurant, hospitality and retail industries. Formerly a team leader for Dale Carnegie Centers of Excellence, Mike chairs the training committee and is a member of the Board of Directors for Jacob Search Group LLC. It should be noted that he is recognized as one of the top performers among his peers throughout the world, is a perennial Pacesetter and is a member of the MRI Pacesetter Hall of Fame.

Mike leads a team of Account Executives and Project Managers focused on senior through mid-level executive search for numerous clients in the restaurant, retail and hospitality industries. He has developed a team to address virtually any/all functions within the industries he supports including corporate/franchise operations, sales, real estate, human resources, culinary, R&D, marketing, finance, real estate and merchandising. He and his team execute both domestic and international searches.

Mike is a graduate of Stephen F. Austin University, with a BA in Business Administration. When he is not working you will find he and his wife in the outdoors cycling, camping or mountain biking. He is also active in his church and is part of a men’s quartet.

Matt started with The Jacob Group 15 years ago and quickly grew his role and responsibility with the firm. Matt currently leads a research group that is recognized in helping The Jacob Group with its outstanding reputation with superior talent at industry leading speed.

Before leading the Marketing Intelligence group, Matt has had roles as a Research Associate and member of our Project Fulfillment Team. He also handles all internal technologies including data systems networks and marketing graphics.

Matt is a member of the Operations and Marketing Committees for the firm. In his spare time he is a technology junkie and is grooming his son into a 4th generation Green Bay Packers fan!

Brian Gilbert is an award winning recruiter with over 25 years in the Corporate Travel arena. He has completed over three hundred searches for industry leaders such as American Express, Orbitz, Travelocity, Travel & Transport, Carlson-Wagonlits, and many more. He works regionally, nationally, and globally with travel management companies and travel technology firms. Brian works on a diverse collection of positions, some of which include: sales, operations, technology, and account management, all at various levels.

Brian employs a proven 24-step streamlined recruitment methodology working with candidates through a comprehensive evaluation that incorporates qualification assessments, reference checks, and behavioral analysis. His thorough approach results in him bringing candidates to the marketplace that have an attitude of excellence.

Several travel companies have given Brian accolades for helping enhance their bottom line by supplying them with talent that has enabled them to generate billions of dollars in new sales. This allows them to retain and grow existing business.

Brian holds the Certified Senior Account Manager designation. CSAMs are recognized leaders at MRI Worldwide and are ranked consistently at the top of their profession. A CSAM is committed to delivering excellence, pursuing continuous professional development and is accustomed to delivering only the highest quality of customer service.

Brian´s favorite quote is: In the words of Don Shula: “Aim for perfection and settle for excellence!”

Nicole is a dynamic, strategic and collaborative partner who specializes in delivering effective and holistic people solutions by leveraging 20+ years professional experience across consumer goods in food and beverage, retail and luxury companies.   Her specialties include brand/digital marketing, customer/shopper marketing, innovation, insights, sales, sales strategy and business development across public and private sectors.

Nicole joins the Jacob Group from a successful career building brands in the luxury category at Nambe, the outdoor retail company with REI, and most recently in the food and beverage space with SoBe Beverages, Pepsi and Frito-Lay, where she partnered with top tier customers such as 7Eleven, Dollar General and Kroger to drive growth across a portfolio of brands, including Quaker, Tropicana and Gatorade.  This rich cross-category experienced complements her progressively broad reaching capability set across brand strategy, driving breakthrough innovation and unlocking industry award winning customer and sales partnerships, making her an ideal addition to our CPG recruiting practice.  In addition, Nicole brings broad experience across company environments, having worked in high growth startup to established category leaders. Her range of career experiences provides her with the deep industry and functional knowledge to quickly assess and understand her clients’ business strategies and talent needs, and successfully recruit, qualify and motivate top-quality potential candidates.

When she is not focused on building partnerships and connections, Nicole enjoys the many outdoor activities her family is engaged in including skiing, competitive swimming and soccer.  Nicole earned an MBA from Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business with focus in marketing, and a BA from Colgate University in New York with a focus on sociology and art history.

Rick has recruiting responsibility for key consumer packaged goods segments within the Sales and Marketing practice at The Jacobs Group, with particular emphasis in Food and Beverages. He brings 30+ years of progressive Marketing and General Management experience to The Jacobs Group.

His success rising through the ranks of Fortune 500 companies, from Marketing Assistant to the C-Suite as Chief Marketing Officer, comes from managing a range of small, medium and large revenue brands. It’s also what makes him an ideal client and candidate partner for our practice. Through these companies, Rick brings a breadth of category experience via his Marketing and General Management roles at Purina (baked goods, cereal, pet food), Hasbro Toys, Sara Lee/Hillshire Brands, The Coca-Cola Company (Minute Maid, Dasani, Coca-Cola), Dean Foods (Dairy) and Post Holdings (Dymatize Sports Nutrition). The depth of his functional knowledge also gives Rick a unique ability to quickly understand his clients’ business strategies and talent needs, and successfully recruit, qualify and motivate top-quality potential candidates.

Rick also has board experience, having served as Vice Chairman of the Milk Processors Education Program (the fluid milk trade association responsible for the iconic Got Milk? marketing campaign).

Rick earned his master’s degree in Advertising from Northwestern University and his Bachelor’s Degree in Advertising from The University of Kansas.

Kenny brings an accomplished 30+ year background of senior headquarters and field leadership experience to The Jacob Group representing 100’s of national, regional, and startup brands in the consumer-packaged goods industry. His talent sourcing efforts are focused on highly successful candidates within Sales, Category Planning, and Consumer Insights.

Throughout his career Kenny established a solid reputation for consistently guiding the efforts of cross functional teams in the delivery of accelerated topline and bottom-line revenue and market share growth. In addition to building and implementing highly effective business plans for grocery, mass-merch, convenience, club, drug, specialty, and e-commerce channels, Kenny successfully guided numerous startup brands through every phase of the commercialization and product launch process. Kenny’s breadth of brand experience stretches across numerous national brands such as Kraft, Oscar Mayer, Nabisco, Maxwell House, Post, Jell-O, Oreo, Philadelphia, Claussen, Breakstone, California Pizza Kitchen, DiGiorno, Tombstone, Louis Rich, Crystal Light, Capri Sun, A-1, Grey Poupon, Kool-Aid, Bull’s-Eye, Velveeta.

Kenny has always been actively involved with the community and very much enjoys volunteering for Habitat for Humanity and Junior Achievement. Kenny also volunteered as a football, basketball, and baseball coach for 10 years when his two sons were growing up. During his free time Kenny is quite the outdoorsman, enjoys any and all fitness and sports related activities, and traveling to see and do new things as often as possible.

Kenny is a graduate of the University of Texas at Dallas, with a BS in Business Administration where he also served as the Student Senator for the School of Management.

Kyle’s passion is helping companies and individuals achieve their potential. Talent is often the biggest differentiator between companies, and his focus is finding exceptional talent. For individuals, Kyle seeks out meaningful opportunities in which candidates can excel. Kyle firmly believes relationships last a lifetime and the devotion it takes to make them impactful and meaningful is critical in everything we do at The Jacob Group.

Kyle leads the financial services practice at The Jacob Group. With over a decade of experience in talent consulting, Kyle has helped startups and Fortune1000 companies alike to exceed their goals. Kyle has a background in placing hard to fill roles including CXOs at Private and Public companies, Partners and Directors at Public Accounting firms, and other Senior Management positions in high growth opportunities. He has worked with boutique offices in the top ranked search firms in the nation and continues to deliver a level of attention and excellence to candidates and clients that is often lost in the recruiting cycle. Kyle brings a consultative approach and specializes in partnered and hard-to-place searches. Past clients have responded to the exceptional quality of candidates presented that they were not aware of or had previously thought to be unattainable.

Kyle continues to support his alma matter, Purdue University, through career coaching for graduates and undergraduates who have finance, engineering, technical, and entrepreneurship interests. In his spare time, Kyle volunteers for nonprofit boards and committees focused on youth-development and services. He is an avid chess player, coffee enthusiast, and enjoys the occasional soccer game. Kyle calls DFW home with his wife, daughter, and Huskey who you will often find outside as a family gardening, renovating, running, or playing.

Buddy brings a track record of success to the executive search team at The Jacob Group. Drawing from nearly 30 years of experience, he has a solid understanding of every aspect of the hospitality/restaurant industry which has helped him meet and exceed expectations working with his clients. He understands how to best support client and candidate needs having placed hundreds of individuals in the hospitality/restaurant industry.

Buddy’s industry background includes operations, training and development, beverage, recruiting, purchasing, operations services, and operating systems. His experience has been valuable when recruiting corporate level positions by offering unparalleled understanding of roles and responsibilities in numerous functions and levels withing the hospitality/restaurant industry.

Buddy is a graduate of Arizona State University, with a BS in Psychology. In his free time, he spends time with his wife and five kids, mostly attending his kid’s sporting events!

Veronika joined The Jacob Group over 10 years ago starting as a member of the management support team. She quickly grew into roles as a Project Manager and became an integral member of The Market Intelligence Team. As a Project Manager/ Account Manager she has developed extensive networks in the industries of Consumer Goods, Food & Beverages, Research & Development, Environmental Services, Industrial Services, Restaurant/Retail, Human Resources, Operations/Manufacturing, Supply Chain/Logistics, Finance, and Insurance.

In addition, as a member of The Market Intelligence Team, Veronika leverages her advanced training in Internet Research to identify top, often passive, candidates that best align with our clients’ needs. She employs a highly technical approach utilizing complex Boolean search, leveraging social media, and diving well beyond a cursory internet search to surface candidates most would never have found. Veronika’s speed and efficiencies delivers high performing candidates that make a big impact for the companies she works with. She enjoys building long term relationships with both clients and candidates.

Veronika is a member of the Culture Committee at the firm. In her free time, she enjoys watching good Marvel movies with her son, volunteering as a board member for her son’s school PTSA and Theater Booster Club, and watching the Packers or the German soccer team play.

Dawn joins the firm with over 20 years of sales, marketing, sales management, advertising, and relationship building experience in the publishing industry. Also a published author, she brings a creative approach to her diverse skills in marketing and promotion to the Restaurant/Hospitality/Retail team. She has held various leadership roles for a local non-profit organization, serving on the Advisory Board and promoting their outreach programs as Public Relations Chairperson.

Dawn is a graduate of Texas Woman’s University, where she earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism. In her spare time she enjoys traveling, writing, gardening, reading, and cooking. Dawn resides near McKinney, Texas with her husband and two fabulous rescue animals.

Melinda is a Project Recruiter in our Retail Practice Group. As a Generalist for 10 years with The Jacob Group, she successfully lead fulfillment teams in Sales & Marketing, Human Resources, Research & Development, Restaurant/Retail, Hospitality, and Supply Chain/Logistics. Her breadth of experience, proven success, and passion for our industry has made Melinda a valuable asset to our firm.

Melinda started with The Jacob Group as a Research Manager, and then as a Project Manager with our Fulfillment Team, with primary accountability toward retained and multi-hire assignments.

Melinda is an active member of our Market Intelligence Group as well as our Operations Committee. She holds a BA in Psychology with a minor in Business from The University of Texas at Arlington. In her spare time, Melinda enjoys swimming, reading, and watching funny movies with her two children.

Dakota started with The Jacob Group in January of 2016 as a Research Associate for the Market Intelligence Team. In his role, he manages several projects all relating to database excellence. From updating old contact information, sourcing new talent from miscellaneous sources online, and quality assurance of data accuracy; Dakota’s role is critical to our organization.

In his spare time Dakota enjoys spending time with his family, playing cards with friends, and playing tennis for multiple teams through the USTA.