Crandall Associates’ 40 Year Anniversary
It was 40 years ago that my late father, Hal Crandall, opened the doors of Crandall Associates.
The timing seemed to be all wrong. On a personal note, his wife (my mother) had recently lost her 2 year battle with cancer, and he was left to raise 3 young children alone. From a professional standpoint, the country was in the midst of a recession. It was a leap of faith to choose 1973 to launch a business.
Hal saw a market niche that was not served by the executive search community: Direct Marketing. At that time, the primary direct marketing channel was direct mail. His first clients were advertising agencies, and many of the searches were for creative talent. As the company became established, catalogers, financial institutions, consumer mailers, and many others, engaged Crandall Associates to conduct searches. And they began to assign searches for marketing, database, merchandising, CRM and account management talent…in fact, any position in which proficiency in direct marketing was important.
Hal was a nonapologetic workaholic. He loved recruiting, and he loved the business that he built. He always made time for his family, but spent much of his discretionary time working, and dreaming about the next opportunity for the business. In time, the business expanded to include emerging channels including telesales, drtv and online marketing.
It was his dream for one of his children to succeed him at Crandall Associates. We all spent summers working in the business. But we had other career plans. One by one, we earned our MBA’s and developed our corporate careers. Mine was in magazine circulation, a career I enjoyed greatly.
Father and daughter, circa 1989.
Even after I had established myself professionally in another career, Hal encouraged me to “just come in a couple of hours a week” to see what was happening at Crandall Associates. His enthusiasm was palpable. I spent more and more time learning the ropes. And when Hal died in 2000, I took over as the Owner/President.
One of benefits of taking the helm of Crandall Associates is that it was already an established brand. Hal created a promotion piece that read:
“We filled the position with one phone call…and 25 years of experience.”
Of course, most searches require significantly more than one phone call, but we are always able to hit the ground running. We know the best direct and online marketers, and because they know us, they respond when we call, and give the position their serious consideration. If they are not personally interested, they often provide referrals. This is why we are frequently able to fill a position within 3 weeks.
Crandall Associates has achieved a rare longevity; one which I do not take for granted. Hal was well aware that most small businesses don’t make it to the 5 year mark. In fact, most family businesses fail before the second generation has the opportunity to take over. There is a familiar aphorism, “Shirtsleeves to shirtsleeves in three generations”. So it’s with a bittersweet pride that I lead this company into the future. And with enduring gratitude that my father had the courage to launch a business that has provided for 2 generations of Crandalls, and the employees that have worked for us.
And thank you, our clients and candidates, and our friends and colleagues… for your confidence, friendship and support.
In Uncategorized