Ethos Club & Leisure, a real estate advisory and investment firm dedicated to club and leisure assets, acquired GSI Executive Search, a leading recruitment firm in the private club and hospitality industries on June 17.
GSI, which was located in St. Petersburg, Fla., will be headquartered in Dallas, Texas and led by Robert Jones, a founding partner of Ethos Club & Leisure and a 30-plus year veteran of the private club and real estate development industry.
Jay Salem will be the firm’s Chief Operating Officer. Dallas Addison, another founding partner of Ethos Club & Leisure and partner in Addison Law, will assume a leadership role with GSI as Managing Director.
Founded more than 20 years ago, GSI has provided an array of executive search and placement services for 500-plus private clubs, community associations, hospitality organizations and real estate developers throughout the U.S. As an Ethos Club & Leisure Alliance company, the firm will offer clients an integrated suite of human capital management, operational consulting and legal advisory solutions in addition to its core executive placement services.
All current GSI principals, including Scott McNett, Dan Farrell, Ned Welc and Sharlyn Moore, will remain with the firm.
“Of all the factors that made GSI Executive Search an attractive target for inclusion in our alliance of firms, three in particular stand out,” Robert Jones said. “First, its principals are highly experienced and talented professionals; Second, the firm’s search process is the industry’s most thorough and time-tested. GSI Principals adhere to it with complete fidelity, and it delivers executive placements that stand the test of time. Third, the firm has built a very strong brand — they’ve earned the trust of hundreds of client clubs and organizations.”
Jones and his management team will focus on strengthening existing relationships in GSI’s core markets, as well as building new relationships in underserved markets throughout the continental U.S. and beyond.
“On behalf of my GSI Executive Search Principal colleagues, we are very excited to begin this new chapter as part of the Ethos family,” said Senior Principal Scott McNett, a 10-year veteran of GSI Executive Search. “We share a strong synergy with our Alliance partners, and we look forward to leveraging our combined expertise for the benefit of current and future clients.”