Connecting the right leader to the right moment.
Approach
Operational complexity is growing. Sector lines are blurring. Leadership requirements are evolving faster than traditional search can address.
Leaders ready for that complexity are being built across industries, through pivots, and beyond linear career paths.
We've spent decades building expertise across those same boundaries, developing the knowledge, networks, and judgment to connect the right leader to the right moment.
Two-Partner Commitment. Two senior partners lead every search end-to-end, ensuring continuity of judgment, shared accountability, and senior presence at every decision point, from scoping through onboarding.
Adaptive By Design. No two leadership searches unfold the same way. We lead each search where it needs to go, expanding the field, following the evidence, and staying open to wherever the right leader might emerge.
The Full Leadership Landscape. Our off-limits commitments are search-specific rather than firm-wide. The candidate who is right for your organization is never off the table because of another client relationship.
Team
Strategists, catalysts, and doers. Trusted partners for complex leadership decisions.
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For nearly two decades, Karen has recruited senior leaders for startups, market leaders, and social impact organizations. She builds C-Suite, Board, and executive leadership teams across functions and industries — with a particular focus on mission- and innovation-driven organizations.
Before co-founding Ignite Agents, Karen was a Partner leading the San Francisco office at Bridge Partners, where she placed senior leaders globally across the social sector. She previously founded a boutique executive search and talent advisory firm serving VC- and PE-backed companies across consumer, digital, mobile, and cloud platforms.
Prior to executive search, Karen held go-to-market leadership roles at several early-stage venture-backed tech startups, and began her career in global finance with ABN AMRO in Taipei, Taiwan.
Karen is active in the Bay Area community, contributing to organizations advancing health, wellness, and education including Edible Schoolyard and SFArtsED. She holds a BA in English from the University of Georgia and completed Stanford's Executive Program in Social Entrepreneurship (EPSE).
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Debbie leads global executive searches in both the private and public sectors, from Fortune 100 companies to universities and government agencies. She recruits senior executives across all functions (CEO, CFO, CHRO, General Counsel, Chief Legal Officer and Board Directors) in a wide variety of industries.
Before co-founding Ignite Agents, Debbie was a Partner at a boutique executive search firm, and spent over six years as a Managing Director in Major, Lindsey & Africa's in-house practice group. Prior to executive search, she was in-house counsel for Marriott International and served as General Counsel of an international restaurant chain. She began her career as an Associate at Troutman Sanders and Reed Smith.
Debbie is actively involved in the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA) and the Women’s Bar Association of the District of Columbia. She received a BA degree from McGill University and a JD from Washington & Lee School of Law, where she was on the Editorial Board of The Journal of Civil Rights and Social Justice. She serves on the Boards of the Washington Project for the Arts (Co-chair of Governance Committee) and Norwood School (Vice-Chair & Chair of Committee on Trustees).
Focus
We place senior executives, operating leaders, and board directors who thrive at the intersection of mission, innovation, and markets.
Leadership talent doesn't stay in one lane. Neither do we.
Industries & Sectors
Consumer | Education | Financial Services | Healthcare | AI & Technology | Philanthropy & Social Impact | Government & Public Sector