Jane S. Howze, Managing Director

 Ms. Howze has more than 25 years of executive recruiting experience. Prior to forming The Alexander Group, she worked for Korn/Ferry International in Houston. Ms. Howze’s other experience includes serving as a commercial loan officer for a leading Texas Bank, practicing business law for a major Houston law firm and serving as associate general counsel for a California based multi-national financial institution. She received her undergraduate degree from Rhodes College, and her law degree from the University of Houston. She is a member of the State Bars of California and Texas. Ms. Howze’s recruiting experience has focused on banking, legal, human resources, information technology, administrative, healthcare, and financial positions. She also directs Board searches for the firm and is actively involved in the firm’s diversity practice. Ms. Howze is also a columnist for CIO.com magazine and an author of Best Practices for Executive Search Firms for the Inside the Minds book series.

John C. Lamar, Managing Director

 Mr. Lamar splits his time between the firm's Houston and New York offices and has conducted numerous executive search assignments across multiple industries throughout North and South America, Europe and Asia. He has recruited executives for public and private clients, ranging from emerging growth companies to Fortune 100 corporations with a particular focus on the energy, professional services, and not-for-profit sectors. Prior to joining The Alexander Group in 1993, Mr. Lamar served as a Senior Consultant with the Financial Advisory Services group of PricewaterhouseCoopers in New York and Houston. He previously served as an investment banker with the New York office of a Hong Kong-based merchant-banking firm. Mr. Lamar is a graduate of the University of Texas at Austin.

Beth Ehrgott, Director

 Ms. Ehrgott brings 22 years of both global and national business development and executive search expertise to The Alexander Group. She has conducted searches for top human resources, research and development, finance, business development and licensing, legal, and marketing talent to Fortune 500 as well as emerging growth clients across all industries including pharmaceutical, investment banking and financial services, consumer package goods, manufacturing, retail and professional services consulting firms. 

Prior to joining The Alexander Group, Ms. Ehrgott was Head of Staffing for Europe & ROW as well as Head of Global Staffing Projects for Novartis Vaccines & Diagnostics. Ms. Ehrgott was tapped by this newly formed division of Novartis not only for her consultative approach to executive search but also for her proven track record to achieve the “slightly impossible.”

Previously, Ms. Ehrgott was Co-Founder & Partner of a national interim staffing firm that focused on high level human resources professionals for a Fortune 500 client base.

She is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Lehigh University and a former classical ballet dancer.

Pamela E. Kutner, Director of Research, Finance and Operations

 Since 1999, Ms. Kutner has been responsible for directing the firm’s research, financial and administrative functions. Prior to joining The Alexander Group, Ms. Kutner held senior financial positions in the insurance and biotechnology industries and spent several years in public accounting with PricewaterhouseCoopers. Ms. Kutner received a BBA in Accounting at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst and is a Certified Public Accountant.

Carmen E. Harney, Director

 Ms. Harney joined The Alexander Group after more than 25 years in the healthcare industry. She most recently served as the Vice President of Operations & Human Resources for the Eisenhower Medical Center and had also been the Senior Vice President for Human Resources & Community Services for the Palomar Pomerado Health System in Southern California. As past president of the American Society for Human Resource Administrators, she co-authored reports and position papers on demographics and aging workforce and the challenges posed to staffing the healthcare industry in the future. She holds a Bachelor’s degree from the University of Redlands and a master’s in Human Resource Management from Chapman University. She works closely with the firm’s healthcare and biotechnology clients with senior level searchers as well as organizational assessments and consulting.

Sarah J. Mitchell, Associate Director

 Ms. Mitchell has nearly 13 years of recruiting experience.. After four years with the firm’s Houston office, Ms. Mitchell gained in-house recruiting experience at Amazon.com in Seattle, Washington, partnering with executives in finance, legal, and human resources to select and attract world class talent. In 2002, she returned to executive search with The Alexander Group’s San Francisco office, which she now directs. Ms. Mitchell’s practice focuses on legal, marketing, human resources, financial, and information technology positions in a broad range of industries, with an emphasis on biotechnology, high technology, new media, retail, and professional services. Ms. Mitchell received a BA in Political Science from Rice University and is a Board Member and company member of Killing My Lobster, a San Francisco theater company.

Amanda K. Brady, Associate Director

 Ms. Brady has more than twenty years of recruiting and administrative management experience. Prior to joining The Alexander Group, Ms. Brady served in administration for a large Texas-based law firm and established legal and healthcare recruiting practices for a large New York-based search firm. She specializes in executive management, partner and practice group searches for professional service firms, non-profit management, and the highly-technical Six Sigma quality arena.  Ms. Brady received a BBA in Management, summa cum laude, with minors in Marketing and Latin American Studies, from the University of Houston. She is currently pursuing a Masters of Professional Studies in Law Firm Management at George Washington University. Ms. Brady is a member of the Guild of the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, and an active volunteer with the Hobby Center for the Performing Arts.

William Lepiesza, Associate Director

 Mr. Lepiesza has managed executive searches for clients ranging from telecommunications startups to Fortune 500 energy corporations, including biopharmaceutical companies, international law firms, and major not-for-profit organizations. Prior to joining The Alexander Group, Mr. Lepiesza held a number of senior human resources management positions. He most recently directed the human resources function for a global telecommunications company based in San Diego. Mr. Lepiesza received Bachelor of Arts degrees in both Economics and History from Brown University.

John M. Mann, Associate Director

 Mr. Mann is based in the firm’s Houston office and has conducted numerous executive search assignments for clients across the United States and Europe. He has recruited financial, legal, marketing, technology, real estate and compliance executives for public and private clients, including Fortune 500 corporations, start-up enterprises, professional services firms and not-for-profit organizations. Prior to joining The Alexander Group, Mr. Mann managed Fortune 100 client projects for Bowne, a NYSE financial, marketing and business communications services company. Mr. Mann received an MBA with honors from The University of Houston and earned his undergraduate degree from The University of Texas at Austin.