Trista McCarthy

Trista McCarthy is a Partner at JM Search. She has over 25 years of experience in executive search, human resources and brand marketing. She focuses on recruiting C-Suite executives and Senior Leaders across the industrial and services sectors, with a functional specialization in marketing.  She also co-leads the firms Go-To-Market and Commercial Center of Excellence. Trista supports both large public clients as well as mid-market, private equity and family office backed businesses.​

Before joining JM Search, Trista was a partner at Roberts and Ryan, a boutique retained executive search firm, where she recruited executives across industries and functions. She joined Roberts and Ryan from SGK, a global marketing and brand delivery firm, where she built out a fully-scaled global talent acquisition delivery program as VP of Global Talent Acquisition. Prior to SGK, she held leadership roles at Maddock Douglas, an innovation consulting firm, and the Encore Group, a marketing-focused executive search firm. Trista began her career in marketing, strategy and account management, holding roles in the advertising, technology and nonprofit sectors.​

Trista has personally experienced and supported numerous mergers and acquisitions and brings an empathetic approach to M&A due diligence and change management. She understands and appreciates how talent truly can make or break a successful business venture. Thanks to her rich and varied career path and multi-faceted business lens, she helps organizations achieve top business results by identifying best in class talent that delivers against their business strategies. ​

Trista is a member of the Chicago chapter of the Association for Corporate Growth and the Private Directors Association. She also holds two Board Advisory seats for start-ups in the business services sector. Trista is a graduate of Loyola University of Chicago and resides in Hinsdale, Illinois with her husband and two children.