About Us
Why McDermott & Bull?
We think like you do.
We SUPPORT your entire organization.
McDermott & Bull works to find talent for all levels of your firm. We do not limit our searches to only senior executive positions. That would place our interests before yours. We resourcefully excel at recruiting talented middle managers just as we do in our senior management search engagements. By serving your needs in this area, we help you recruit the next generation of key executives.
We FIND leaders that are crucial to your organization.
McDermott & Bull has developed a network that has the extended reach to insure that the standards you set for key executives are met by all the candidates we provide for you.
We PROVIDE value by tying compensation to performance.
McDermott & Bull structures its fees so that they are tied to how we perform for you. Our fees make sense for your business, your budget, and your recruiting objectives.
We REPRESENT you, not the candidate.
Many Human Resource managers bemoan being sold on the candidates placed before them. In contrast, we allow the experience, demonstrated track records, and cultural compatibility of our candidates to speak for themselves.
We understand the URGENCY in your search for qualified candidates.
McDermott & Bull has developed a network that has the extended reach to insure that the standards you set for key executives are met by all the candidates we provide for you.
We take the time to UNDERSTAND your organization.
McDermott & Bull takes the time to understand your organization, from the Core Values and Culture to the quarterly performance objectives.We meet with peers, superiors and subordinates to fully understand your entire organization and all the dynamics, and then prescreen potential candidates, to determine his or her suitability.We know that just skills or talent will not make the right fit for you. More often, cultural compatibility with the entire team becomes the most critical attribute of a candidate.
We PROVIDE more than just Candidates
In instances where you are looking for information about the talent in your market, including current compensation and experience levels, McDermott & Bull provides you with a wealth of market intelligence.
We work to ENHANCE your company image.
Having McDermott & Bull represent your organization in the market is good public relations and an effective calling card. It tells the business community and prospective candidates that your company takes recruiting seriously. And the reality is; there is a certain cachet that comes with having a firm of our stature approach senior executives – it elevates the status of the position in their eyes. Higher-level executives do know the difference.
What We Stand For
Meet Our People
Management
Chris Bull
Managing Director
Office: (949) 753-1700 ext. 306
Email: Bull@MBsearch.net
Chris Bull serves as a Co-Founder and Managing Director of McDermott & Bull, based in Irvine California. He is responsible for overseeing the majority of the firm’s Search Consultants, as well as their training and development. Formerly, Chris was an Executive Vice President in the Orange County office of DHR International, the nation’s 6th largest executive search firm. Earlier in his career, Chris spent six years operating the company he founded: American Liberty Capital Corporation. American Liberty combined cutting edge technology with the standards of commercial and residential mortgage banking retail services to become one of the largest privately held consumer finance companies based in Southern California.
Chris has served as a Board Member of the Association for Corporate Growth, and is currently on the Board of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Orange County. He currently resides in Laguna Hills, California with his wife and two children. Chris received a Bachelors Degree in Economics and Finance from the University of Texas at Austin in 1985.
Rod McDermott
Managing Director
Office: (949) 753-1700 ext. 308
Email: McDermott@MBsearch.net
Rod McDermott serves as a Co-Founder and Managing Director of McDermott & Bull Executive Search, overseeing the firm’s Operations, Recruiting function, and some of the firm’s remote Search Consultants.
Prior to establishing McDermott & Bull, Rod was Executive Vice President and Managing Director of the Technology and Emerging Growth practice at DHR International, Inc., the nation’s sixth largest and fastest growing executive search firm. At DHR’s Irvine, California office, Rod is credited with building a significant executive search practice catering to high profile technology clients such as Toshiba, Gateway, America Online, ACER and Boeing. Prior to joining DHR International, Rod served as Vice President of Sales and Marketing for Dartron Inc., a leading manufacturer of computer peripherals and computer security devices under the brand AnchorPad. Rod led the company’s efforts in developing a national dealer network comprised of computer resellers and distributors, including major relationships such as Dell Computer, Micro Warehouse, and Merisel Corporation.
Rod has served on the Boards of Monarch Staffing, Inc., The American Electronics Association, and The Orange Coast Venture Group. He currently serves on the Boards of THINK Together, Partners Bank of California, and The Mission Hospital Foundation. He resides in Coto de Caza, California with his wife Laura and their four children. Rod received a Bachelors Degree in Economics and Business from the University of California, Los Angeles.
Search Consultants
Jeff Black
Managing Principal Consultant
Office: (949) 753-1700 ext. 310
Email: Black@MBsearch.net
Jeff Black serves as a Managing Principal Consultant for McDermott & Bull Executive Search. Prior to joining McDermott & Bull in 2003, Jeff served as Vice President, Commercial Services, for Raytheon Technical Services Company, a $2B global services subsidiary of the Raytheon Company. Previously, Jeff served as Vice President of Hughes Technical Services Company, leading growing operating divisions of up to $130M in revenue and 1000 employees serving U.S. and foreign government clients performing technology development and support services programs. The early part of Jeff’s career was spent at Hughes, working in their manufacturing and engineering businesses.
Jeff is active with the Forum for Corporate Directors in Orange County, serves on the Board of Directors and Executive Committee of the YMCA of Orange County, supports character education through The Ethical Edge, and is founder of The Trusted Partners. He is married with two children and currently resides in Yorba Linda, California. Jeff received a Bachelors Degree in Business Management in 1980 and an MBA in Finance in 1984, both from California State University, Fullerton.
Craig Lipus
Managing Principal Consultant
Office: (949) 753-1700 ext. 311
Email: Lipus@MBsearch.net
Craig Lipus serves as a Managing Principal Consultant for McDermott & Bull Executive Search. Prior to joining McDermott & Bull in 2003, Craig served as Vice President, Sales and Marketing for Aura Systems Inc. Craig led the Sales and Marketing team that pioneered Aura’s unique and patented energy solutions. Previously, Craig served as Business Unit Manager and Director of Sales for Interlink Electronics, a global leader in the design and manufacturing of intuitive interface technologies and wireless solutions, where for eight years he was instrumental in the growth of this technology start-up. Prior to that Craig spent ten years with Polaroid Corporation holding numerous management positions in their Industrial, Commercial and Electronic Imaging business.
Craig is a member of the Board of Directors at Concept 7, a nonprofit agency serving foster kids in Orange County, Los Angeles, and the Inland Empire. Craig is married, with three children, and resides in Trabuco Canyon, California with his wife. Craig received a Bachelors degree in Marketing in 1979 from California State University, Fullerton.
Fleming Jones
Senior Principal Consultant
Office: (805) 413-2494
Email: Jones@MBsearch.net
Fleming Jones joined McDermott & Bull in 2005 as the firm’s Principal Consultant in Westlake Village. Fleming has prior executive search experience and served as Vice President of the Robert W. Dingman Company, a boutique retained executive search firm. Previously, Fleming was a consultant with Berry & Associates Executive Search, and before he joined the executive search profession ten years ago, he was an Officer in the U.S. Army where he served as the Aide-de-Camp to the American Commander in Berlin, Germany, and also taught leadership and management at the University of Nebraska.
Fleming is married with three children and currently resides in Moorpark, California. He earned his MBA from the University of Nebraska and a Bachelors Degree from the United States Military Academy at West Point.
Bruce Kimble
Principal Consultant
Office: (949) 753-1700 ext. 305
Email: Kimble@MBsearch.net
Bruce Kimble serves as Principal Consultant for McDermott & Bull Executive Search in the Irvine office. Building on more than 20 years of industry experience in top Orange County and Silicon Valley technology companies, he leads senior level executive searches for a variety of clients. Prior to joining McDermott & Bull, Bruce was CEO, COO and VP Engineering at several public and private companies, including Pairgain Technologies, Nokia, and Philips Ultrasound. Bruce is an active member of OCTANe, the Orange County Venture Group, Southern California Biomedical Council and the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society. In addition, he is on the BIOCOM Medical Device Committee and is an advisor to the UC Irvine Extension Life Sciences program.
He and his wife live in Corona Del Mar, California and they have two grown children. Bruce received his M.S.E.E. from University of Southern California and his Bachelors Degree in Electronics Engineering from California State Polytechnic University, San Luis Obispo.
Marty McMahon
Principal Consultant
Office: (925) 399-6334
Email: McMahon@MBsearch.net
Marty McMahon serves as Principal Consultant for McDermott & Bull Executive Search in the San Francisco/Bay Area. Marty joined McDermott & Bull with over 15 years of leadership and operations experience serving a number of premier organizations including the U.S. Navy, Accenture, Jupiter Research (formerly Net Market Makers), and CEVA Logistics (formerly Eagle Global Logistics). He has been responsible for leading teams of over 300 employees, managing P&L’s across multiple geographies and guiding strategy in start-up environments. Most recently he served as Senior Logistics Director for the Western United States for CEVA Logistics, an $8 billion, multi-national, supply chain company focused on the High Tech sector.
Marty holds an MBA from the Haas School of Business at UC Berkeley (Management of Technology Program) and a Bachelors Degree from the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland. Marty, his wife, and two daughters, reside in the San Francisco/Bay Area.
Meiko Takayama
Principal Consultant
Office: (323) 656-1579
Email: Takayama@MBsearch.net
Meiko Takayama serves as a Principal Consultant for McDermott & Bull in Los Angeles. Meiko previously was a Managing Director at the Corporate Executive Board where she was a leader in the IT Practice, responsible for launching the CIO Executive Board and similar membership groups on behalf of senior IT leaders. In addition, she has worked with CFOs, General Counsels, and heads of HR, Sales & Marketing, and Procurement from the Fortune 1000 across her 11 year tenure at the company. Meiko has also been a leading fundraising executive and worked at the Museum of Modern Art and the Guggenheim Museum in New York and the Victoria & Albert Museum in London.
Meiko lives with her husband and two children in Studio City, California. She earned her Bachelor of Arts in History of Art from Bryn Mawr College in Bryn Mawr, PA.
Christopher Haywood
Associate Principal Consultant
Office: (949) 753-1700 ext. 318
Email: Haywood@MBsearch.net
Christopher Haywood serves as an Associate Principal Consultant for McDermott & Bull in Orange County and Los Angeles. Prior to joining McDermott & Bull, Chris was a Managing Consultant with Harvard Group International, a retained executive search firm based in Atlanta, Georgia. His personal executive search experience includes work in both private and public companies, often searching for CFO, COO, and senior financial roles for private equity portfolio firms. He was significantly involved not only in advancing Harvard Group’s Diversity Recruiting Practice, but also in growing their West Coast relationships. Before working for Harvard Group, Chris was a business consultant in both Strategy and IT groups at Accenture, for the Financial Services, Communications, and High Tech Practices.
Chris earned his MBA, with a focus on both Finance and Entrepreneurship, from the UCLA Anderson School of Business. He also received his Bachelors of Science in Mathematics from Hampton University in Hampton, Virginia.
Staff
Dennis O’Keefe
Director of Recruiting
Office: (949) 753-1700 ext. 326
Email: OKeefe@MBsearch.net
Dennis O’Keefe serves as the Director of Recruiting for McDermott & Bull Executive Search. Prior to joining McDermott & Bull, Dennis was a Senior Manager of Management Recruiting at the Capital Group of Companies, parent of American Funds. He provided talent acquisition and executive recruiting management for the 2,000 person IT group. Prior to that internal role, he had twelve years of client facing recruiting and leadership roles. At A.T. Kearney Executive Search, he was a Managing Consultant leading the recruiting efforts for such clients as EDS, Motorola, SuperValu, and R.R.Donnelley. Prior to that, he was a Principal at Selection Strategies Inc., a retained search and consulting firm. Dennis began his recruiting career at the PRT Group, which grew to be one of the fastest growing IT Consultant and Placement firms in the Inc. 500. At PRT, he progressed through a number of recruiting, sales, and management positions. Throughout his career, Dennis has established a track record of delivering best in class practices and exceeding client expectations.
Dennis received his Bachelors of Science degree in Computer Science from United States Military Academy at West Point, NY and Masters degree in Total Quality Management from Anna Maria College in Falmouth, Massachusetts.