Heather Banczak
Senior Recruiter
Chicago
Heather works on executive search mandates where the appointment carries consequence — and stays personally accountable from briefing through the first year in seat.
Background
Heather leads senior recruitment and candidate engagement for healthcare, professional services, and consumer clients across the United States. She is valued for her disciplined sourcing process, warm but direct communication, and for the care she takes in matching leaders to cultures they can genuinely shape. Based in Chicago, Heather works across Healthcare & Life Sciences, Professional Services and Consumer & Retail, and is trusted with mandates where discretion matters as much as reach.
How I work
Every engagement begins with a conversation about the organization, not the vacancy — what the next two years demand, what the last appointment taught you, and what the team around this role can absorb. Heather maps the market before naming a candidate, tests evidence rather than impressions, and puts forward only people whose case can be argued in detail. When the honest answer is that a preferred candidate is not ready, you will hear it early.
What clients can expect
Direct access to Heather throughout — no handover to a junior team after the pitch. Weekly written progress, a documented assessment for each finalist, calibrated market feedback on your proposition, and continued contact through onboarding and the first performance review. Confidentiality is managed as a design constraint, not an afterthought.
For candidates
Heather treats every conversation as a long relationship rather than a transaction. You will be told what the role genuinely is, what the organization is not yet good at, and where the risk sits for you. Feedback is given plainly and promptly, whether or not a process moves forward, and interest is never manufactured to fill a shortlist.
Expertise
Executive Search, Candidate Engagement and Talent Sourcing. Heather contributes to the firm's appointment quality review, where every shortlist is challenged internally before it reaches a client.
“The appointment is only successful if it is still working a year later. That is the standard Heather measures against.”
Boards and chief executives return to Heather because the counsel is candid, the process is documented, and the person who wins the work is the person who does it.
Have a critical appointment ahead?
When the appointment matters, the search should begin with a conversation.