Our Executive Search Process is Disciplined, Organized and Discreet.

Berne Advisors is a retained executive search firm specializing in the financial services industry. Our process is disciplined, organized and discreet.

Executive Search

Berne Advisors was founded in 2003 at the request of our global and boutique investment banking clients. Marlene Berne brings over 35 years of experience in the financial services sector. The Executive Search business combines her industry experience, substantial executive recruitment expertise and an extensive database of professional relationships.

Marlene’s clients benefit from her proven ability to ideally match professionals to firms, from both a skill and cultural perspective. In partnership with her clients, Marlene personally recruits vetted financial services professionals, including passive and active candidates while relying on an in-depth knowledge of the industry and the firm’s culture. Professional representation creates a positive market perception and presents a career opportunity that attracts and retains the most talented hires.

Berne Advisors, working closely with a team of expert colleagues, conducts a search process that is disciplined, organized and discreet; confidentiality and respect are inherent in all assignments. We are engaged on a search when “transactional recruiters” or technology-based platforms are not an option because they cannot conduct a strategic, thoughtful, targeted and, when required, confidential hiring process.

Having completed hundreds of search assignments, Berne Advisors has an extensive candidate database and relationships with trusted sources/potential “passive” candidates. This allows us to quickly identify and introduce active as well as passive candidates in C-suite and front office roles that bring the requisite financial skills and fit the firm’s culture.

Hiring the ideal candidate means taking the time to find that needle in a haystack.

Select Completed Searches:

Chief Executive Officer

Healthcare Foundation

Chief Operating Officer

Family Office

Director of Operations

Commercial Real Estate Firm

Head of Human Resources

Global Investment Bank

Treasurer and Senior Accountant

Global Shipping Company

Chief Financial Officer

Retail Portfolio Company

Controller

Advertising Agency

Head of Finance

Real Estate Investment Firm

Marlene Berne, Founder

Marlene began her career in Executive Search in 1994 as a Vice President at The Whitney Group, originating and executing searches for global financial services firms across a wide range of product specializations. In 1999, Marlene was recruited to join A.T. Kearney Executive Search, where she served as a Managing Director and spent the next four years building the firm’s global financial markets practice.

Prior to her career in executive recruiting, Marlene was a Vice President in financial services at Kidder, Peabody & Company. In 1982 she joined Kidder’s Financial Futures Department, and also worked in the Capital Markets and Corporate Finance arenas. She was part of a strategic team that developed and marketed specialized debt and equity-related products to Fortune 100 clients.

Marlene earned a B.A. in Economics from Bucknell University and studied at the London School of Economics. She is a member of 100 Women In Finance, having joined at inception as a Charter Angel, and serves on the Advisory Board of Xslaves.org, a student-led global organization focused on supporting former slaves in achieving economic independence. Marlene works with other non-profits including the Cardiovascular Research Foundation and the America-Israel Friendship League. She is a volunteer for the East Quogue Fire Department and Emergency Medical Services.

We share a commitment to our clients as well as to the candidates we represent, working to align the interests of both parties for a long-term, successful partnership.