Kristi LeBlanc

Kristi LeBlanc is a Partner and Practice Leader for the Firm’s Consumer Practice. She brings nearly three decades of executive search experience advising consumer-facing organizations, partnering with CEOs, boards of directors, founders, and private equity investors to build leadership teams that drive growth and long-term value creation. Kristi specializes in executive search for private equity-backed consumer portfolio companies and growth-oriented private and public organizations across consumer products and services, retail, restaurants, health & wellness, outdoor, franchise, and multi-unit businesses. 

Throughout her career, Kristi has completed hundreds of CEO and C-suite executive searches. She advises clients on executive succession, board composition, leadership assessment, and organizational design, helping companies identify leaders capable of scaling businesses, strengthening culture, and navigating periods of transformation. Her experience spans Fortune 500 companies, globally recognized consumer brands, founder-led organizations, and high-growth private equity-backed businesses. 

Prior to joining JM Search, Kristi spent 18 years as Managing Partner of DHR Global’s Consumer, Retail & Hospitality Practice, where she helped build the practice into one of the firm’s highest-performing global practices. Earlier in her career, she spent nine years as a Senior Client Partner at Korn Ferry, leading executive search engagements across operations, marketing, sales, digital, finance, human resources, strategy, manufacturing, supply chain, and general management. 

Kristi is a published author and frequent contributor on leadership and talent strategy. Her work appears in Integrated Business Communication: In a Global Marketplace (John Wiley & Sons) and she authored a three-time award-winning book on living and working with purpose and passion. Kristi graduated with Honors from Syracuse University’s S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications. She lives in Colorado with her husband and three children.