Date: Fri 15-May-1998

Publication: Bee

Author: STEVEB

Quick Words:

business-Vislosky-Brandywine

Full Text:

A Devoted Team Builds An Executive Search Firm

(with photo)

BY STEVE BIGHAM

John Vislosky was traveling along Glen Road in Newtown back in 1996 when he

spotted an old mill down along the Pootatuck River. The building had been

converted into office space, and he decided it would make a great home for his

upstart business.

Soon after, he moved in, bringing with him a talented group of staff members.

Since then, tucked away in a suite on the third floor of the Rocky Glen Mill,

he has built one of the nation's hottest executive recruiting firms --

Brandywine Retained Ventures.

Since 1992, Brandywine has been scanning the globe, assisting its clients in

their search for the most qualified candidates to fill top-level positions.

Brandywine is retained by both small companies and Fortune 500 corporations.

And it all got started in Mr Vislosky's basement.

"We started as a sleepy, one-person shop and now we're one of the top 25

percent retaining firms in the country," he said during a recent interview in

his Newtown office.

At 38, Mr Vislosky is not your average businessman. Sure he got his start in

the recruiting industry after stints at both Pepsi and MCI, but it's what the

6'7" Bethel resident did beforehand that makes his career so notable. During

the 1980s, he covertly traveled the world as a highly-trained Green Beret in

the US Army's Special Forces unit. Much of his work remains classified, and Mr

Vislosky retains many strong memories, both good and bad of his work during

that time. But, most importantly, his military service has helped him keep

life in perspective.

"It makes everything relative. It makes you value all those things that are

near and dear to you," he said, pointing to a photo of his wife, Betty, and

six-year-old son, John Michael.

Mr Vislosky, who began his military years at West Point, believes the

experience also gave him the kind of values that have helped make Brandywine

Retained Ventures such a success. Both in business and in the Green Berets,

you need to surround yourself with talented and dedicated people in order for

it to work.

Mr Vislosky's best decision to date came in 1992 when he brought in vice

president of operations Joanne Bellontine, a former manager for Norman Vincent

Peal, the author of The Power of Positive Thinking .

"She bleeds Brandywine," Mr Vislosky said.

Among Brandywine's other dedicated staff members is well-known Newtown

resident Marie Sturdevant, the first face to greet you as you come in the

Brandywine doors.

"Brandywine is built on passion, dedication and caring, and we've built a team

that embraces those values," Mr Vislosky said.

Brandywine takes the same care in seeking out prospective employees for its

clients. As Mr Vislosky points out, Brandywine's search process involves more

than simply finding a list of prospective candidates. At Brandywine, staff

members integrate the recruiting process with a company's overall business

strategy and its continued improvement. In a way, Mr Vislosky said, his

company helps its clients define what kind of candidates are needed to enable

them to grow.

"You don't want to hire a simple quick-fix. You want to bring in someone who

can become an integral part of your company for both today and tomorrow," he

said.

As its brochure points out, each candidate Brandywine selects must match a

carefully tailored profile that looks well beyond the technical skills of the

individual to determine how well the candidate matches the company's cultural

philosophy and its needs for the future.

Brandywine isn't the biggest search firm out there in what has become a $3

billion industry, but today's technology has allowed it to keep up with the

big dogs. Online services, CD-ROMs and other tools have expanded the company's

recruiting power. Through strategic placing, 90 percent of the candidates

Brandywine delivers to its clients are hired within 24 hours of leaving the

last interview.

The executive recruiting industry tends to be motivated by the all-mighty

dollar, according to Mr Vislosky, who grew up in Pennsylvania. At Brandywine,

however, the business is built on customer service with the focus centered on

the client.

"Money is only the measure of our success," he said. "We try and never forget

that we are a service-oriented business and most of our business is based on

referrals."

Brandywine usually takes in 30 percent of the gross compensation a new

employee would receive. In other words, if Brandywine successfully recruits an

executive demanding a $200,000 salary, it receives a $60,000 cut.

You won't hear the term "headhunter" used much around the Brandywine office.

"We don't use that term. We don't want to be defined by the rest of the search

market," he said. "We want to create our own definition. We're more

consultants than we are executive searchers."

In its successful early days, Brandywine has recruited top executives for

Merck & Co, vice presidents of finance for the Franklin Mint, a marketing

director for Playtex, and recently, a president for a Houston conglomerate.

"They liked the fact that we understood what it was they were looking for," he

explained.

In reality, Brandywine Retained Ventures might be better suited for Manhattan,

but Mr Vislosky appreciates the serenity Newtown has to offer.

"I just love the town. There's a certain sense of history here and we plan on

staying," he said.

Brandywine, located at 75 Glen Road, can be reached at 270-6355 or at

www.brv-inc.com.