Meet the Staff
Gerard Bush
Tim Dannels
Fletch Rickman
Tracey Duke
Brooke Ledwig
Auburn Rickman
Gerard Bush, Managing Partner
Gerard J. Bush is Managing Partner of Sanford Rose Associates - Summerfield Executive Search firm. The
Sanford Rose Associates - Summerfield practice has a primary focus on placing senior level positions in Business Process Management, Manufacturing and Financial Services companies.
Prior to joining
Sanford Rose Associates®, Gerard had over 18 years of experience in Six Sigma/Quality Management, Engineering Management, Materials Management, and Operations Management primarily in Financial Services, Consumer Goods, Food, and Appliance Manufacturing. Gerard’s career transitioned from Engineering Manager, Production Manager, Director of Supply Chain to Six Sigma Master Black Belt.
Founded in 1959,
Sanford Rose Associates® serves the needs of corporate and institutional clients from over 65 offices in North America, Europe and Asia. Rather than search generalists, each Sanford Rose Associates office specializes in a particular industry or function and conducts its searches on a national and international basis. Using our Dimensional Search process, our search professionals guide each assignment from initial development of client needs-through the identification, presentation and placement of the right individual.
Gerard holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Industrial Engineering and Management from North Dakota State University. Gerard is a member of the Institute of Industrial Engineers (IIE) and American Society for Quality (ASQ).
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Tim Dannels, Managing Partner
Tim Dannels joined the Sanford Rose Associates - Summerfield team after an extensive career in the commercial manufacturing sector. He has 15 years of manufacturing management experience, as well as 4 years of active duty military experience.
Prior to joining
Sanford Rose Associates®, Tim was the Division Manager, Business Systems and Six Sigma for BWXT Pantex, a company responsible for the assembly, disassembly, maintenance and surveillance of the nation’s nuclear weapons stockpile.
Before Tim was with BWXT Pantex, he was the Plant Manager for the largest operating site in the Composite Solutions Business division of Owens Corning Corporation. Prior to that, he was a Business Team Manager for the security hardware group of the Black and Decker Company. Tim came up through the ranks at Frigidaire Home Products where he started out as a Process Engineer and quickly advanced to Product Line Manager for the ISO-certified Laundry Division of the Appliance Group. Tim started his career with the Newell Company as a Manufacturing Engineer.
In addition to his professional experience, Tim holds a Six Sigma Black Belt certification and is both a Certified Quality Engineer and a Certified Reliability Engineer through the American Society for Quality. He has held Top Security Clearances for both the Department of Defense and the Department of Energy. He belongs to the Institute of Industrial Engineers and the American Society for Quality and has served the past 5 years on the Governing Board of the United Way of Amarillo. Tim has been published professionally twice and his works are currently present in many college-level marketing text books.
Tim had 4 years of active duty military service as a Captain in the Ordnance Corps. He received a minor in Military Science from Iowa State University and proudly served in Operation Desert Storm as a logistics officer for a multi-functional support battalion.
Tim holds a BS degree in Industrial Engineering and an MBA, both from Iowa State University.
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Fletch Rickman, Managing Partner
Fletch has an extensive background in business and operational excellence across a variety of mid-to high-tech industries. Since Fletch has been both a hiring executive and search professional, he knows that finding the right person for executive and senior level positions can often be time-consuming and even frustrating when the candidates presented miss the profile time after time. Fletch and his team understand what it takes to get the assignment completed correctly by utilizing his in-depth knowledge of his clients’ industry, an extensive network of relevant contacts, the incorporation of best business practices and continuous improvement to the executive search field - as well as incorporating
Sanford Rose Associates'®proprietary Dimensional Search
® process.
Throughout his career Fletch has gained vital knowledge, experience, and increasing responsibility by working for some of the most admired corporations in industry, General Electric, American Standard, Allied Signal (Honeywell), and Hughes Aircraft (Raytheon). He has held a variety of senior and executive level positions within these companies and has assisted these corporations with developing and implementing their business and operational excellence organizations (6 Sigma,Lean/Kaizen, VSM, and TPM).
Fletch was awarded a BS degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Tennessee and a MBA, with a focus on international business from LaGrange College. He has certifications in Six Sigma as a master black belt and project management. Fletch is a member of the National Association of Personnel Services (NAPS) and the International Society of Six Sigma Professionals (ISSSP). In addition, Fletch’s work has also been published in several management texts and journals for work in ergonomics, operational excellence, ethics and leadership.
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Tracey Duke, Senior Executive Search Consultant
Tracey joined Sanford Rose Associates - Summerfield in 2006 as a Senior Executive Search Consultant. She is certified as a Professional in Human Resources and is a member of SHRM and PHRA.
Her business background includes 15 years of experience in Manufacturing, Sales and Marketing, and Human Resources with notable companies such as Square D, Siemens, Novartis, Phillips Manufacturing and Shell Oil.
Tracey focuses on recruiting for mid to senior level positions within the fields of Engineering, Manufacturing, Operations and Human Resources.
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Brooke Ledwig, Office Manager
Brooke Ledwig is the Office Manager for the Sanford Rose Associates - Summerfield team. Brooke manages the day-to-day office operations as well as provides research and recruiting support.
Brooke has 7 years of experience in the food and medical industries, where she gained valuable skills in customer service and administration. She also worked as a marketing representative for Models West, a model and talent agency.
Brooke is currently attending Amarillo College in pursuit of a marketing degree.
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Auburn Rickman, Search Consultant
Auburn joined Sanford Rose Associates - Summerfield team as an executive search consultant. She is experienced in sourcing qualified candidates, interviewing, and filling critical roles for our clients' needs. After working with several customer service, marketing, and manufacturing organizations, Auburn has gained a thorough understanding of what our clients are looking for in qualified candidates. She possesses a background in both customer service, Six Sigma, and Lean manufacturing principles, which enable her to work with both clients and candidates to find the right fit for each company. Auburn holds a Bachelor of Arts from McGill University in Montreal, Quebec, where she was an honors student and member of the nationally ranked women’s lacrosse team.
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