Meet The Best Executive Recruiters in Philadelphia

Gary Kane – CEO/President

Meet Gary Kane, staffing leader and entrepreneur.  In 1985, Gary co-founded Texcel, Inc., a successful Mid-Atlantic staffing solutions provider, in which he was an integral part of the growth into a $10-million operation.  In 1998, it was sold to a publicly traded national staffing firm, where Gary continued leading the company’s Mid-Atlantic region until 2004.  Gary was recognized as a strong manager and revenue producer, earning him the “Recruiter-of-The-Year” award for 9 consecutive years.

In late 2004, Gary founded Kane Partners LLC, a boutique contingency and retained technical staffing firm serving the IT, engineering, and manufacturing markets.  The focus of The Kane Partners model is for a smaller, more customer focused firm, giving all clients executive level attention. Kane Partners has established a strong client base, and was nominated as one of the 100-fastest growing companies in the Philadelphia area.

Gary’s reputation is firmly established as one of the best executive recruiters and team builders.  Gary derives his success from his work ethic and the recruiting teams he has trained and mentored.

An active member of American Staffing Association, Gary was past Chairman, and Vice Chairman of the American Staffing Association’s Search and Placement Section.  He was most recently inducted into the  Montgomery County Coach’s Hall of Fame to the Community Coaches Honor Roll, recognized for his accomplishments in youth soccer and basketball.  He is also Chairman of one of the most prestigious CYO Basketball Tournaments in the region.  It’s recognized for honoring deceased members of the community, great basketball, community camaraderie, and raising money for families in need and important local organizations.

Gary is a dedicated family man, married to his lovely wife Joanne for 35 years.  Together they have 8 children and 6 grand-children.  He remains active in his church community, coaches youth basketball and township soccer.  In his spare time, he enjoys golf, fine dining, and board games with the kids.

J. Christopher Gormley – Partner

Christopher Gormley (Chris) is a highly experienced staffing executive with over 20 years of recruiting and human resource experience with a specialty in behavioral interviewing.

Chris initiated his staffing career with Texcel, INC.  As an individual contributor, Chris’ performance consistently stood out in the top 10% of recruiters nationwide and he was quickly promoted into management.  Chris was instrumental in leading the recruiting efforts for start-ups to major clients.  Among his accomplishments, Chris was recognized as a top revenue producer in 2003 and named one of two finalists for Manager of the Year.

Chris shifted his career to corporate recruiting at Unisys where he continued to excel as a top performer for the Global Recruiting organization in 2004.  In his first full year, he was ranked third out of 70 recruiters against the heavily weighted TCH (total compensation hired) metric.

In 2006, Chris was actively recruited to Kane Partners as a Managing Director, to aid Kane Partner’s transition from start-up to major player in the technical staffing market.

By 2008 Chris was promoted to Partner in recognition of his innovative approach and outstanding performance.  He continues to lead on multiple levels; including account manager, staff training, mentoring, management, and individual contributor.

Chris is an active member of his Church, past soccer coach (for seven years), and one time member of the Pastoral Council.

Michael Lazrus – Executive Vice President

Michael is Executive Vice President Kane Partners, a regional consulting firm with expertise in IT, Creative and Engineering Disciplines. He is a nationally recognized leader and innovator in the Staffing Industry. As a serial entrepreneur he has helped lead two companies from infancy to IPO. Michael has been a recruitment and talent speaker from New York to Palm Springs and abroad. Michael’s interest for networking has led to his leadership positions with the Greater Philadelphia Senior Executives Group, as Chair of their Technology Subgroup and in 2016 he assumes the role of Technology Advancement Chair. A natural born leader with a personal passion for music and education he has served 6 years on the Executive Board of the Philadelphia Folksong Society (Vice President and Treasurer) and serves as a leader with the Keystone State Boychoir. A University of Pennsylvania Alum, father of three, gourmet chef, and political pundit round out his days.

Kristin Kane Ford – Partner/Director of Social Media

Kristin Kane Ford is a Partner and the Director of Social Media & Recruiting with Kane Partners Staffing Solutions. Kristin directs Kane Partners numerous social media programs, online recruiting efforts and web presence.

Kristin joined NBC Philadelphia’s anchor Tracy Davidson for the ‘Survive and Thrive’ segment as a subject-matter-expert providing career advice for job seekers and discussing social media. Kristin can be seen across Philadelphia and nationally speaking and training on various topics including LinkedIn, Facebook, social media, recruiting, career and networking.

Kristin is active member of the business community. She has previously volunteered time on the Board of Governors for the Montgomery County Chamber of Commerce, Ambassador for the Philadelphia Business Journal, Career Development Chair of the Philadelphia Chapter of the Fairfield University Alumni Association, and coordinator for the Woman-Owned Business Network. Kristin also designed and instructed social media courses for business at Montgomery County Community College.

Kristin is a graduate of Fairfield University. Kristin and her husband live in the suburbs of Philadelphia with their sons Parker and Kellan.