Sterling Strand

Team

Hillary Mager

Hillary Mager

Founding Partner & CEO
→ LinkedIn

Hillary built Flatiron Health from 30 to 1000 employees in five years, working directly with the founders, leading all executive searches herself and building all hiring processes and operations along the way. She’s also spent time at top hedge funds, including Bridgewater and most recently Citadel, as MD, Global Head of Technical Recruiting. Search has and always will be where her heart is and she started this company because she wanted a search firm to exist that would serve the needs that were most pressing for her as an in-house recruiter.

Emily Hollander

Emily Hollander

Partner
→ LinkedIn

Before joining Sterling Strand, Emily led Creative & Product recruiting at Squarespace, post series B to IPO, scaling those teams from ~20 to 200 in 3 years as the company grew from 650 – 1,350 FTEs. Earlier in her career, Emily led talent acquisition at rag & bone and joined as recruiter #1 where she scaled their HQ teams from ~100 to ~350 FTEs. Emily began her career in executive search placing VP through C-level leaders in global retail, luxury, and fashion businesses.

Chris Running

Chris Running

Partner
→ LinkedIn

Chris has spent the last 10 years of her career hiring engineering talent in the San Francisco Bay Area. She started her career at Aerotek where she placed Software and System Engineers building communication systems for the DoD. She later went on to work for Tesla hiring a variety of hardware and software engineers building everything from the coolant systems in the battery back to the firmware in the door handles. Most recently she spent seven years at Netflix leading Engineering hiring, overseeing hiring for virtually every engineering organization at the company including Security, Platform, Content, Product, Data Science, CDN  and UI Engineering.

Chrissy Desanctis

Chrissy Desanctis

Chief of Staff and Head of Search Operations
→ LinkedIn

Chrissy began her career on the client side, working in the fashion, retail and lifestyle industries. She transitioned into executive search where she has nearly a decade of experience across full-cycle recruitment, research and agency operations. Prior to joining Sterling Strand Chrissy contributed to the growth of several boutique executive search firms where she was responsible for internal administration including hiring, training, workflow, research and strategy and planning initiatives.

Sarah Park

Sarah Park

Executive Recruiter
→ LinkedIn

Before joining Sterling Strand, Sarah was an Engagement Manager at Heidrick & Struggles where she worked with private equity firms to recruit senior investment professionals. Prior to executive search, Sarah spent 8 years in the finance industry, starting in investment banking at Goldman Sachs and then in private equity as an investor relations/fundraising product specialist at KKR & Co. and Apollo Global Management. Sarah earned her BA from Brown University with a double concentration in Economics and Political Science.

Matt Kurteson

Matt Kurteson

Executive Recruiter
→ LinkedIn

Before joining Sterling Strand, Matt was the lead account manager for the Flagship Clients at Arcesium, a global FinTech organization. The role required senior relationship management for a unique set of clients + investors, including but not limited to D. E. Shaw, Blackstone Asset Management and J.P. Morgan. Matt held oversight across Technology, Product, Engineering and Financial Operations to solve complex Client bespoke needs while maintaining the company’s longer term vision. Prior to his 8+ years at Arcesium, Matt worked across a trio of asset management organizations spawning just under a decade, accumulating vast industry knowledge and the hands on experience allowing him to transition across the industry with a unique perspective and offering.

Sara Roberts

Sara Roberts

Executive Recruiter
→ LinkedIn

Sara Roberts is an executive recruiter specializing in leadership hiring for venture-backed technology companies. Before joining Sterling Strand, she founded Bayview Talent, completing 75+ placements across 21 startups in functions spanning customer success, sales, operations, marketing, product, and executive leadership. Notable clients include Gorgias, Rippling, HockeyStack, Owner, and strongDM. Sara brings an operator’s perspective on scaling companies alongside deep expertise in role definition, executive assessment, and hiring strategy.



Zane Hwang

Zane Hwang

Executive Recruiter
→ LinkedIn

Before joining Sterling Strand as an Executive Recruiter, Zane served as an Associate at True Search, where he successfully placed executives in VP and C-level roles across diverse set of industries (SaaS, AI, FinTech, Consumer, Hardtech, Energy, Defense, etc.)  He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Human & Organizational Development and Political Science from Vanderbilt University.



Jane Nolting-Kolb

Jane Nolting-Kolb

Executive Recruiter
→ LinkedIn

Before joining Sterling Strand, Jane worked as an AE at Yelp, working with SMB clients to help grow their business through Yelp’s suite of services. She always knew her passion was people and quickly grew an eagerness to move into the recruitment side of things during her time there. Prior to this, Jane has worked in customer facing retail sales and was a top earner for her store. Through this, she became a number two to her manager, extensively training and onboarding new sales employees while keeping day to day operations afloat. Jane has also spent some time freelancing in casting recruitment for commercial and “real people” talent. With Jane’s array of experience, drive and passion for people, Sterling Strand was the perfect opportunity to finally make her leap into the world of recruiting!



Julia Reagan

Julia Reagan

Executive Recruiter
→ LinkedIn

Before joining Sterling Strand as an Executive Recruiter, Julia was a Senior Consultant at Daversa Partners, a boutique executive search firm, where she placed executives across VP and C-level functions for a variety of industries (SaaS, Consumer, InsurTech, FinTech, Robotics, Frontier Technology, Defense Technology, etc.) She previously attained her Master’s Degree in Industrial and Organizational Psychology from Sacred Heart University.

Lindsee Arocha

Lindsee Arocha

Operations Manager
→ LinkedIn

Lindsee began her career as an executive assistant in the government sector, where she supported officials through fast-paced, detail-driven work. She later launched her own virtual assistant business, partnering with small business owners and high-level executives to provide reliable, high-touch support. With a focus on building trust and easing the day-to-day demands of leadership, she specializes in managing complex schedules and serving as a seamless point of contact with both clients and candidates.

Alicia Schultz

Alicia Schultz

Executive Assistant
→ LinkedIn

Before joining Sterling Strand, Alicia spent over 6 years providing executive support and managing virtual assistant operations for multiple organizations. She specialized in becoming the trusted right-hand for overwhelmed executives, expertly managing complex calendars, confidential communications, and operational workflows that allowed leadership to focus on strategic initiatives. Her extensive experience includes partnering with C-suite executives and high-level entrepreneurs to streamline their operations and enhance productivity.

Kica Bundalo

Kica Bundalo

Researcher

Kica has experience in sourcing for technical and non-technical roles. He started his sourcing & recruiting career more than five years ago, and has worked successfully with numerous companies in the EU and US.

Vasilika Kalajdjiska

Vasilika Kalajdjiska

Analyst

Vasilika began her career as a Tax Consultant at PwC, before transitioning into executive search as a researcher in an agency environment. She later moved in-house to Slice, supporting hiring across the US and European markets. Prior to joining Sterling Strand, Vasilika has been working as an independent research and recruitment consultant, supporting global tech companies with talent mapping, sourcing strategy, and leadership hiring projects. Vasilika holds an LL.M. in Finance & Financial Law, as well as an MSc in Energy.

Maya Tomic

Maya Tomic

Researcher

Maya is a seasoned search consultant with over a decade of experience in technical and executive recruitment. She specializes in sourcing top-tier talent across tech, product, sales, etc, supporting clients ranging from early-stage startups to enterprise companies across Europe and the US.

Caryl Nucaza

Caryl Nucaza

Researcher

Caryl was a former full-stack software engineer who turned into talent researcher after discovering she had a keen interest in the field of recruitment and startups. She now has over four years of experience in identifying top engineering talent for reputable startups in the Bay Area and across US.

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