IMSA United States - Consultants

Linford E. Stiles

Chairman & CEO

Prior to founding Linford E. Stiles Associates in 1991, Lin Stiles was a partner, member of the Board of Directors, and member of the Executive Committee at Ward Howell International, a major international search firm. He ran Ward Howell's Stamford, Connecticut office. Prior to joining Ward Howell in 1985, Lin was a partner at the search firm Goodrich & Sherwood.

Beyond his numerous completed senior management level searches, Lin has worked with board chairmen and members to complete over 30 Chief Executive Officer search assignments. Lin's search expertise is the result of more than 35 years experience in marketing, manufacturing, finance, and general executive management for a variety of industries, including consumer products, machine tools, heavy industry, and high technology.

Before starting his career in search in 1978, Lin held president and vice president positions in the manufacturing divisions of the Title Insurance Company of California and Textron (Eaton Paper Division). He began his career at Bowne and Company, a large financial printing firm. Lin holds a BS degree in Mechanical Engineering and a Bachelor's degree in Economics, both from Tufts University.

Jason S. Stiles

President & COO

Jason Stiles has been serving the Lean community since 1995, when he joined Stiles Associates as manager of all research. In his various roles since then, he has helped grow the firm to its current stature and greatly increased the scope and depth of our ties to outstanding Lean talent. Through the years, Jason has completed every type of assignment from Kaizen Leader to CEO and brings to each assignment an unmatched level of understanding for position requirements, candidate dynamics, and ultimately our clients' needs. As the President & COO, Jason is in charge of all search activity and makes sure every assignment meets the high standards our clients have come to expect.

Jason's success is built on his proven ability to discover and recruit executives with exceptional understanding of the Toyota Production System. Through his own involvement in Kaizens and plant tours, Jason has developed a functional knowledge of Lean Manufacturing that he bolsters through ongoing interviews and conversations with the country's leading practitioners and experts. He is an active proponent in the colonization of Lean enterprise systems in the U.S and Europe and has assisted several major organizations in the introduction of Lean principles through strategic guidance and introductions to some of the country's most experienced and prominent Lean thinkers.

Jason is an active member of the Association for Manufacturing Excellence.

Ted Stiles

VP, Marketing & Search Consultant

Ted Stiles designs and deploys the marketing program for Stiles Associates and manages all related agency and vendor relationships. In addition to leading the marketing activities, Ted is also a member of the Search Consultant team. He has successfully completed mid and senior level searches in the manufacturing, healthcare and management consulting industries.

Ted brings to the team over a decade of experience in the marketing, market research and account management. Prior to running his own marketing services firm, he held positions with Burke & Partners and Find/SVP in New York.

Matthew Ayers

VP, Executive Search

Matthew Ayers joined Stiles Associates as an Executive Search Consultant in 2003. He brings to the firm the skills critical for leadership search work and a history of successful placements across many industries. In his current role as Vice President, Matthew conducts mid, senior level and C-level search assignments while continuing to develop new client partnerships.

As a search executive in the service sector since 1997, Matthew's contributions have positioned Stiles Associates to be even more responsive to the growing demand for executives in private equity/venture capital, industrial markets, financial services, consumer goods and services, healthcare and beyond. His expertise in such areas, coupled with the firm's proven Lean history, provides an unparalleled option for clients.

Matthew is a member of the Association for Manufacturing Excellence, APICS, and Council of Supply Chain Management.

Sabine Fischer

Director of Research

Sabine Fischer joined the firm in 1996 and spent over 10 years in a search consultant capacity before being promoted to Director of Research in 2007.

In her current role, Sabine leads the research department and is responsible for supporting every assignment handled by Stiles Associates. Her Lean industry knowledge and understanding of market trends is instrumental in formulating effective and efficient project launches. Additionally, her experience in process flow optimization and complex project management is a critical tool in the firm's pursuit of operational excellence.

Andrew Spiegel

Executive Search Consultant

Andrew Spiegel joined Stiles Associates in 1998 as the Director of Research. Since joining the firm, he has led all research activities and helped to develop and manage such critical resources as the firm's Lean executive database (over 5,000 entries and growing). Tracking a wide spectrum of candidates and world-class companies active in Lean provides Andrew and the other consultants unmatched industry insight and allows for stronger results in the critical early stages of a search.

As an Executive Search Consultant, Andrew has completed a number of Lean operations assignments and continues to increase our contact base among exceptional Lean manufacturing organizations. His ability to identify and recruit executive and middle-management talent is a major asset for the firm and its clients.

Prior to joining the firm, Andrew worked in the search industry, where he handled account management and recruiting duties for a large firm in the Carolinas . He is a member of The Association for Manufacturing Excellence (AME), The Greater Boston Manufacturing Partnership, The American Society for Quality (ASQ) and The Society of Manufacturing Engineers (SME).

Timothy Bowen

Executive Search Consultant

Timothy M. Bowen joined Stiles and Associates as an Executive Search Consultant in 2007. In his role, Tim is responsible for conducting mid-to-senior executive level searches to identify individuals who can lead Lean enterprise transitions.

He brings to the firm over 15 years of sales management experience -- the last seven years as a senior level executive. While a member of the Senior Leadership Team at leading fitness manufacture Precor Inc., Tim played an active role in a TPS transition and participated in Kaizen activities. His functional understanding of sales and marketing in a Lean environment will benefit those clients who are looking to expand the process improvement culture throughout their originations.

Julian Frey

Search Associate

Julian Frey joined Stiles Associates in November 2004 as Research Associate. In his current role, Julian is responsible for research and candidate screening on nearly all search assignments. He works closely with the search consultant team and often provides additional search process support.

Julian is a graduate of Colby-Sawyer College, where he received his B.S. in Business Administration. Prior to joining the company, Julian worked with a financial advisory firm where he provided market research support.