Nexus Search Partners Announces Sean Kelley as Senior Partner
Written by Acadia Munari
Sean is, by definition, a catalyst, a dreamer, and a connector (and his career is nothing short of impressive).
He joins Nexus as a cross-functional global leader who brings operational and executive-level insights to our growing executive search firm in Charlotte, NC.
Read the full press release about Sean’s announcement here.
As the founder of Sage&Sea Ventures, Sean is an active angel investor and advisor for bioscience and human resources tech/talent start-ups led by diverse founders. He has deep roots as an ally and advocate for underrepresented populations, spending several years as an advisor to the CEO of the National Center for Women in Technology and as co-founder and executive director of Duke University’s Veteran Transitions Research Lab at its Fuqua School of Business.
“With Sean joining Nexus’ leadership team, we aren’t just gaining a senior partner with a remarkable track record,” said Nexus founder and Managing Partner Thaddeus V. Jones, “we’re gaining a dedicated ally who understands that ID&E isn’t just a box to check, but a fundamental strength to be embraced. His perspective and passion for leveling the playing field for underestimated talent – particularly veterans – and creating opportunities at the executive level align seamlessly with Nexus’ core values. There are people who care about ID&E because it’s part of their job, and then there are people who care about ID&E because it’s part of their soul – and Sean is the latter.”
A graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy and a distinguished Navy veteran, having served as a Navy supply corps officer and submariner from 1989 to 1995, Sean has played a pivotal role in spearheading military affairs strategies for both Microsoft and Amazon – firsts for each company, which established both as global industry leaders.
He spent 16 years with Microsoft including leading talent acquisition for the Cloud & Enterprise division, leading global diversity programs, and later spearheaded the development of the Microsoft Software & Systems Academy, a first-of-its-kind program designed to create opportunities for military veterans, reservists and their families. The Academy served as an innovative roadmap for today’s industry standard skill bridge programs in military veteran transition efforts. Sean testified before the United States Congress about the MSSA program and his expertise in military transition programs.
Sean’s success at Microsoft paved the way for his role as talent acquisition director at Amazon, where he built a dynamic and integrated talent systems strategy for Global Operations, leading a team of over 1,000 recruiters in 15 countries, significantly enhancing the company’s diverse talent pipelines, acquisition and integration. His teams successfully scaled new businesses like Amazon Air and Amazon Logistics, recruiting tens of thousands of professionals yearly and all technology teams to support operations. Following his role at Amazon, Sean built an impressive leadership advisory firm, working with enterprise clients as well as pre-seed and early-stage start-ups to deliver operational excellence while building healthy, human-centric teams.
“I believe that leaders can deliver operational excellence while using power for good to make a positive difference in the world,” Sean shared. “As a talent acquisition and diversity leader, I’m known as an innovator, visionary strategist and collaborator across organizational boundaries, unafraid to challenge the status quo to open the door more widely to the technology industry and beyond.”
In addition to a BS in economics from the U.S. Naval Academy, Sean also holds an MS in global leadership from the University of San Diego. Driven by his passion for mentorship, collaboration and inclusive excellence, Sean currently serves as a start-up advisor with Sage&Sea Ventures to Karat, Iterative Health, Purepost, Disclo and Guild Education, and is a national trustee of the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation.
“I’ve been fortunate throughout my career to be a stalwart ally for inclusive leadership and to create values-driven change with people and companies I deeply admire,” shares Sean. “When Thadd first approached me with his vision for Nexus and the very real possibility to transform executive search, I knew it was an organization – and role – I wanted to sink my teeth into. My life’s work parallels Nexus’ mission to create opportunities for diverse leaders at the executive level, and I’m excited to spark candidate-centric, systemic change in the executive search industry.”
In his position at Nexus, Sean will continue his roles with Duke University’s Veteran Transitions Research Lab and Sage&Sea Ventures serving start-up founders and their missions while opening doors to opportunities for veterans, their families and diverse leaders.
If it’s not evident already, Sean’s career is a prime example of “walking the walk” when it comes to fueling the future success of leaders and the organizations in which they serve. His life’s work parallels Nexus’ mission to create access for diverse leadership at the executive level while actively mentoring and supporting leaders.
Sean is an ally through and through, and Nexus is delighted to have such an innovator join our executive search firm as a Senior Partner.
Interested in partnering with Nexus Search Partners? Contact us at info@nexussearchpartners.com or call us at (704) 718-3235.