Western Canada's Executive Search Leaders
Our Partners have worked together for many years — over 90 years of cumulative experience supporting clients in the private, public, academic and not-for-profit sectors. As an Alberta-based firm with global reach, we pride ourselves in identifying and attracting the very best leaders to build successful organizations and communities.
TAGLINE VERIFIED — jssearch.ca homepage · "Exciting Growth: our new website is coming soon." This page is that preview, built ahead of the relaunch.
02 · Recent & active mandates
Every mandate below is traceable to a public posting, an institutional announcement, or the firm's own verified profile. No invented logos, no borrowed prestige.
NOTABLE CLIENTS VERIFIED — Apollo company details + jssearch.ca + LinkedIn activity. Wordmarks rendered as text; no trademark artwork reproduced.
| Mandate | Scope | Lead partners | Apply / contact channel | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| University of Calgary — Chancellor (16th) Position Profile · Nov 2025 |
Volunteer four-year term · chairs Senate · presides convocation & degree conferrals · member, Board of Governors · bridge across civic, philanthropic & government circles | Soles · Hamilton · Berko | UCalgary-Chancellor@jssearch.ca subject: "UCalgary Chancellor" |
Verified Appointment of John S. Osler K.C. announced — LinkedIn |
| University of Calgary — Vice-Provost, Teaching & Learning Provost search page |
"We seek your advice as we search" — confidential consultation mandate with the provost's office | Soles | jsoles@jssearch.ca · (587) 586-8555 | Verified |
| University of Winnipeg — President & Vice-Chancellor Search Firm Announcement |
RFP issued to 5 firms · 4 proposals received · JSA selected on qualifications & references · diverse, non-traditional candidate pool from designated employment equity groups | Soles + Hamilton (co-leads) · Berko + research team | Advisory Committee — Rohith Mascarenhas, Chair | Verified |
| Hull Services — CFO · CCO · CPO LinkedIn + CPA Alberta posting |
Three newly created executive roles · CFO owns finance + infrastructure, facilities & IT · national leader in child & youth mental health · trauma-informed care | Retained — firm-wide | apply@jssearch.ca subject: "CFO – Hull Services" · CFO closed Aug 7 2026 |
Verified |
| United Way Calgary Area — Vice-President, Finance LinkedIn activity |
"Our firm is honoured to support United Way on this search" | Retained — firm-wide | info@jssearch.ca | Verified |
| YW Calgary — VP, Programs & Services YW Calgary opportunity PDF · 2019 |
Executive recruitment for one of Calgary's longest-serving community institutions | Soles | yw@jssearch.ca · jsoles@jssearch.ca | Verified |
That sentence sits on jssearch.ca because search committees keep handing us the files nobody else wanted to touch — a Chancellor search with a public gallery watching, a presidential search that must surface candidates from designated employment equity groups, three brand-new C-suite seats at a mental-health organization mid-transformation.
VERBATIM — jssearch.ca homepage70%+ of the practice is devoted to post-secondary institutions across Canada — 8 Presidential searches (UCalgary, SAIT, UWinnipeg among them), 17 Decanal searches across U15 institutions, 9 Presidential searches led by Tim Hamilton alone.
UWinnipeg Search Firm Announcement · firm recordA deliberately small team of former colleagues built for high-quality, customized delivery — versus high-volume, commoditized offerings. 110+ years of team experience, one office, no hand-off to a resume mill.
RocketReach · LinkedIn company profile · ContactOut03 · Signature interaction
Legacy firms send a 40-page static PDF and a prayer. We bring working instruments — live models a selection committee can argue with, adjust, and reach consensus inside. All ten run right here, in the browser, on this page: no backend, no login wall. Data shown inside the instruments is synthetic and illustrative, clearly marked; the firmographics around them are the verified record.
Replaces the weekly status email. Retainer value, visible.
Loaded comp/365 + strategic-execution drag
At your projected vacancy duration
Bleed avoided minus 25% retained fee on first-year cash
04 · The mechanism
Experience isn't a brochure adjective in this business. It's a routing table: the phone numbers you can call on a Tuesday, the search committee dynamics you've already survived, the candidate who trusts you enough to leave a safe job.
"High-quality delivery and customized service for clients — versus high-volume, commoditized offerings."
THE FIRM'S OWN DISTINCTION — LinkedIn · RocketReach · ContactOut profiles, verbatimThe Partners have worked together for many years; the full team carries 110+ years in executive search. Former colleagues reassembled deliberately — not strangers merged by an acquisition.
jssearch.ca · ContactOut · RocketReachJanet Soles alone: 488 assignments over 21+ years. With Tim Hamilton, 50 years of combined search experience — the pairing UWinnipeg's advisory committee selected from five invited firms.
UWinnipeg Search Firm Announcement70%+ of the practice devoted to Canadian post-secondary: 8 Presidential searches (UCalgary, SAIT, UWinnipeg), 17 Decanal across U15, 9 Presidential led by Hamilton — plus CEO and Board work across public, NFP and private.
UWinnipeg announcement · firm recordThe mechanism: five firms invited to the RFP, four proposals received, JSA selected on qualifications and references. Small team, senior attention on every file — that's the customized part, priced against commodity volume shops.
UWinnipeg RFP outcome · Rohith Mascarenhas, Chair05 · Where the practice reaches
The four sectors on the door — private, public, not-for-profit, academic — with a post-secondary concentration most competitors can't match, and a global reach when the right candidate lives somewhere else.
61 KEYWORDS INDEXED ON APOLLO — TOP 14 SHOWN · SIC 7361 · NAICS 54161 / 561311
Odgers Berndtson. Hamilton Hall Soles. Boyden. Caldwell. AltoPartners. The Partners and senior team have built careers inside those firms — and chose to rebuild together in Calgary in 2018. That history is the mechanism: research associates who already know a Partner's standards, project managers who already know the cadence, and no learning curve billed to your file.
06 · The search record
Not "decades of excellence." Dated, sourced, checkable. From an executive assistant at 22 to the firm that ran a Presidential selection committee of 18 and talked to roughly 200 people.
Janet Soles moves through research associate to consultant to project manager in under a decade. The research discipline starts here.
Avenue Calgary Top 40 Under 40, 2011 · ZoomInfo employment historyTwo partners, a new Calgary office, and a staff that grows to 21. Tim Hamilton is a Founding Partner of the same lineage; Nathan Berko later serves on its National IT Committee.
Avenue Calgary 2011 · UWinnipeg announcement · LinkedIn"Complex but a career highlight." The same era brings the YWCA and Epcor Centre (Arts Commons) searches — and Avenue's Top 40 Under 40 at age 39.
Avenue Calgary, Oct 19 2011 — verbatim quotesSoles and Hamilton, together — the pairing UWinnipeg would select again a decade later for its next Presidential search.
UWinnipeg Search Firm AnnouncementSuite 2100, 150 – 9 Avenue SW. Former colleagues reassemble: 90+ years cumulative Partner experience, 110+ across the team. Verified all sources.
Apollo · ContactOut · RocketReach · LinkedIn · ZoomInfo · ATBUCalgary Chancellor (Nov 2025 profile; John S. Osler K.C. appointed 16th Chancellor) · UWinnipeg President & VC · UCalgary Vice-Provost T&L · Hull Services CFO/CCO/CPO · United Way VP Finance.
UCalgary Position Profile · LinkedIn · CPA Alberta posting| Placement | Organization | Type |
|---|---|---|
| Chair & CEO | National Energy Board | Public |
| President & Vice-Chancellor | University of Calgary | Academic |
| President & Vice-Chancellor | University of Winnipeg (Trimbee, 2014) | Academic |
| CEO | Glenbow Museum | Not-for-Profit |
| CEO | YWCA / YW Calgary | Not-for-Profit |
| CEO | Arts Commons (Epcor Centre) | Cultural |
| City Manager | City of Calgary · City of Edmonton | Municipal |
| Executive search | Corridor Resources | Private |
| 16th Chancellor | University of Calgary (Osler, appointed) | Academic |
| CFO · CCO · CPO | Hull Services (three new seats) | Not-for-Profit |
LEDGER SOURCED FROM UWinnipeg SEARCH FIRM ANNOUNCEMENT (JANET'S CEO PRACTICE LIST) + UCALGARY POSITION PROFILE + LINKEDIN + CPA ALBERTA. JANET'S FULL RECORD: 488 ASSIGNMENTS LED/CO-LED.
"She started as an executive assistant when she was 22… and ultimately partner in her own firm."
AVENUE CALGARY TOP 40 UNDER 40 · OCTOBER 19, 2011 · JANET SOLES, AGE 3907 · Methodology
Retained search has a trust problem in Weeks 2–4, when the work is invisible. Our answer: four phases, each with a named deliverable you can hold. Click a phase — the vault opens here, exactly as it does for clients.
SAMPLES ARE SYNTHETIC TEMPLATES ILLUSTRATING FORMAT — LIVE VERSIONS CARRY MANDATE-SPECIFIC DATA UNDER CONFIDENTIALITY. HIGH-QUALITY, CUSTOMIZED DELIVERY MEANS THE VAULT IS BUILT PER FILE, NOT PHOTOCOPIED.
08 · Partners & team
Headcount honesty: Apollo says 11, RocketReach 10, ContactOut 13, LinkedIn 2–10, ZoomInfo 1–10, with 7 listed on RocketReach and 8 visible on LinkedIn. We publish the range rather than pick a favourite. What's not in dispute: who leads your file.
Governor, Calgary Petroleum Club · Director, Hull Child & Family Services · Vice-Chair, Women United Committee, United Way Calgary & Area · Vice-Chair, Membership Committee, International Women's Forum Calgary Chapter · 3K followers, 500+ connections on LinkedIn.
Entering his 29th year of executive search. Academic, public sector, not-for-profit and private work with a CEO & Board focus — 9 Presidential searches in Canadian post-secondary. Previously Partner with Boyden Global Executive Search; previously Founding Partner, Hamilton Hall Soles / Odgers Berndtson. Co-leads the UWinnipeg Presidential search with Janet.
14 years of executive search supporting and executing assignments across public, private, not-for-profit and academic organizations — roles throughout the executive suite, broad industry range. Previously Principal with Boyden and predecessor Hamilton Hall Soles / Odgers Berndtson; served on the National IT Committee. Supports the UWinnipeg search with the research team.
Managing Partner, AltoPartners · former Associate Partner / Principal, Berndtson. Consumer services depth plus healthcare recruitment (Healthcare Professionals Recruitment, FYidoctors). The fourth name on the door at jssearch.ca.
09 · Insights & thought leadership
Notes from live mandates — the Chancellor file, the RFP that went 5 → 4 → 1, the triple C-suite at Hull, and the city everyone keeps asking relocation candidates about.
Appointed to a four-year term, the Chancellor of the University of Calgary is a volunteer who chairs Senate, presides at convocation and degree conferrals, serves on the Board of Governors, and acts as the university's bridge and advocate across civic, philanthropic and government circles. We are retained to support this prominent recruitment alongside Partners Soles, Hamilton and Berko. Nominate someone or apply by email with "UCalgary Chancellor" in the subject line — cover letter and CV.
UCalgary-Chancellor@jssearch.caThought leadership gained from consulting experience — search-market signals, governance notes, and compensation reads for Western Canada's boardrooms. The relaunch site carries the full library; until then, the Brief arrives by email.
Request the Brief — info@jssearch.caCAN-SPAM COMPLIANT: PHYSICAL ADDRESS IN EVERY ISSUE · REPLY "STOP" TO OPT OUT.
When the University of Winnipeg issued its Request for Proposals for the Presidential search, five firms were invited and four proposals came back. Using criteria including qualifications and references, the advisory committee selected JSA to lead — co-led by Soles and Hamilton, supported by Berko and the research team. The announcement names the reasons out loud: several presidential searches between them (including the 2014 Trimbee appointment), fifty years of combined search experience, and networks built to identify candidates from designated employment equity groups — a diverse, non-traditional candidate pool, engineered rather than promised.
UNIVERSITY OF WINNIPEG SEARCH FIRM ANNOUNCEMENT — ROHITH MASCARENHAS, CHAIR, ADVISORY COMMITTEEA national leader in child and youth mental health creating a CFO, a Chief Clinical Officer and a Chief People Officer in the same season is an institution betting on its next decade. The CFO mandate alone blends organization-wide financial leadership with operational stewardship and strategic oversight of infrastructure, facilities and IT — aligning financial strategy with a mission of building resilience in children, youth and families through innovative trauma-informed care. We are honoured to conduct all three searches. Apply with "CFO – Hull Services" in the subject line; cover letter and CV.
apply@jssearch.ca HULL SERVICES · LINKEDIN ANNOUNCEMENT · CPA ALBERTA JOB POSTING (CFO CLOSED AUG 7, 2026)Janet, in Avenue Calgary the year she made Top 40 Under 40 — already talking about the community orientation of the city and what the next generation is involved in. Fifteen years later, it's still the pitch that closes relocations.
AVENUE CALGARY · TRACY JOHNSON · OCT 19, 201110 · Start a confidential conversation
Ninety-plus years of cumulative Partner experience, 488 assignments, and the networks that surface diverse, non-traditional candidates for the searches that can't afford a miss. One call, strictly confidential.
FOUNDERS-ONLY TRACKER — /home/user/leads-tracker.md + /home/user/prompts/ALL_PROSPECT_EMAILS.txt. Founders' emails only; non-essential contacts removed (wraysearch.com / bob.gershberg@wraysearch.com — never re-add). Outbound cadence is CAN-SPAM clean: physical address in every email, opt-out via reply "STOP" ($53,088-per-email penalty respected), subject lines kept to 2–4 words to survive mobile truncation.
VERIFIED-ONLY SUMMARY: FOUNDED 2018 (ALL SOURCES) · 11 EMPLOYEES APOLLO / 10 ROCKETREACH / 13 CONTACTOUT / 1–10 ZOOMINFO / 2–10 LINKEDIN · 90+ YRS CUMULATIVE · 110+ YRS TEAM · 70%+ POST-SECONDARY · 488 ASSIGNMENTS · 8 + 9 PRESIDENTIAL · 17 DECANAL U15.
