Healthcare and hospital executive search, from managers to the C-suite
We recruit the leaders hospitals and health systems run on: clinical and non-clinical managers and directors, VPs, Chief Nursing Officers, Chief Executive Officers and other C-suite roles. We work for hospitals and health organizations across Canada and the United States, on a retained or contingent basis.
Why leadership hires fail, and what we do about it
Most healthcare leaders are promoted or hired into leadership without ever being trained or supported to lead. The first six months decide whether a strong leader settles in or quietly comes apart, and most search firms are gone by then. We aren’t. Supported leaders are the ones who can support and lead their clinical staff well.
What a search includes
- Discovery. We start with the need and the problems the role has to solve, and define the role from there. Sometimes that reshapes the role itself before anyone is contacted.
- A real candidate pool. Built through direct outreach and relationships from 22 years of recruiting across healthcare, including years running recruitment inside hospitals.
- Structured assessment. A deliberate selection process, with modern tools in the hands of experienced people.
- Six months of executive coaching. Every leadership placement, managers through C-suite, includes six months of coaching with an independent executive coach, starting at selection.
- A 12-month replacement guarantee on executive placements. How the coaching and guarantee work
Physician leaders
Chief Medical Officers, Chiefs of Staff, VPs of Medical Affairs and medical directors are a specialty of their own. See physician executive search and our CMO, Chief of Staff and VPMA search page.
Retained or contingent
Senior and hard-to-fill leadership roles are best run retained. For some manager and director roles, a contingent search makes sense. We’ll tell you which fits.
Fees
Fees depend on the role. We’ll send a written proposal once we understand the position and the organization.
About Kevin Kirkpatrick
Kevin founded Avery Professional Group in 2008 and works directly with every client. He has 25 years in recruitment and 22 in healthcare, including leading hospital recruitment teams at St. Michael’s Hospital, Peterborough Regional Health Centre and Humber River Hospital, and he hosts the Leadership That Stays podcast. More about Kevin
What clients say
Kevin has provided a variety of physician leadership services for our hospital over the past few years. Throughout each engagement, he has consistently delivered exceptional, timely, and highly professional service.
His collaboration with Dr. Kristen Woods has been particularly impactful, enhancing the recruitment process through thoughtful coaching and mentorship for individuals stepping into new leadership roles.
Kevin brings decades of expertise not only in physician recruitment, but also in clinical leadership development, organizational structure, and strategic physician engagement. His insight, professionalism, and commitment to excellence have made him a valued partner to our organization.
Jeannine Verdenik, Vice President, People and Culture, Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre
Kevin and his team at Avery recently lead us through a key medical director leadership selection process at Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre.
What stands out is how well Kevin understands the nuances of physician leadership — it’s not simply about finding a capable clinician, but identifying someone with the self-awareness, communication, and organizational vision to lead effectively. Kevin brings that lens to every stage of the screening process, and it shows in the quality of the conversations and the decisions that follow.
His contributions are calm, well-considered, and genuinely useful. Kevin doesn’t dominate the process, rather he enhances it, offering perspective and experience that helps the broader group think more clearly about what they’re looking for and why.
It’s been a pleasure working alongside Kevin, and I’d recommend him to any organization looking to bolster their physician leadership search and selection processes.
Jennifer Fawcett, Director, Academic and Medical Affairs, Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre
Talk to Kevin
Kevin Kirkpatrick, Founder
kevin@averyprofessionalgroup.com · 905-447-2151
Bowmanville, Ontario · Serving Canada & the US