Internet commerce. Customers with no time and ever-higher expectations. The $4 cup of coffee.

These are just a few of the trends confronting companies catering to tough-to-please consumers. Success in consumer markets requires sensitive, strategically-oriented management that understands how to grow a business amid increasing competition. They must understand the challenges and opportunities created by new technology, especially the Internet — and they must be able to motivate their people to achieve the highest levels of productivity and customer service at a time when good people are hard to find.

Michael Stern Associates understands this dynamic. The many search opportunities awarded from repeat clients — including leading-edge companies like Starbucks, The Source by Circuit City, Smuckers & PepsiCo, and Cara — attest to our ability to find superior talent. We have placed executives and senior managers in a variety of functional areas within the retail, hospitality, and consumer goods industries.

We take special pride in the result of one recent search: our multinational client was so impressed with the Canadian Vice President of Human Resources we found that they quickly transferred her to their head office to take charge of the same operations in North America.