Search-firm matchmaker help leaders find their niche
He wasn’t a typical matchmaker, but Tom Flannery had a gift for crafting lasting relationships.
As the managing partner of the Pittsburgh office of Boyden Executive Search — one of the largest recruiting firms in the world — Mr. Flannery had the reputation for finding just the right fit for leaders and the opportunities that best suited them.
Unafraid of hard work, the Ivy League-educated Mr. Flannery could often be found pumping gas and checking oil at the two service stations he owned for years in Squirrel Hill.
As a recruiter, he paired executives with some of the top organizations and companies in Pittsburgh, including UPMC, the Allegheny Conference of Community Development, Wabtec Corp. and the Pittsburgh Technology Council.
But, more than that, Mr. Flannery contributed his expertise — gratis — to retired Steelers’ Pro Bowl linebacker Ryan Shazier, who was seeking help recently in starting his Ryan Shazier Fund for Spinal Rehabilitation to help those recovering from spinal injuries, such as himself.
“He’s helped me tremendously,” said Mr. Shazier, who was told by doctors that he had a 20% chance of walking again after he suffered a spinal contusion during a football game against Cincinnati on Dec. 4, 2017. Within a year, he was able to walk, run and even dance again, although Mr. Shazier said his rehabilitation continues. “He connected us with key pieces for the foundation and helped us to grow to where we are now. Tom was a blessing to everybody that he touched.”
Mr. Flannery, of Fox Chapel, died Friday of a sudden heart attack. He was 75.
His skills went beyond just assessing resumes and CVs, said Doug Heuck, editor and publisher of Pittsburgh Quarterly Magazine and longtime friend of Mr. Flannery.
“He had an inherent ability and people skills, and over the decades he became good at matching candidates to organizations,” said Mr. Heuck, a former Pittsburgh Post-Gazette staff writer and editor. “Those are skills that you hone and develop — that’s why he was so sought after.”
“He was the guy in this town that really helped to shape companies and nonprofits by putting their leaders in place,” said his son Bill Flannery, of Shadyside, also a partner in Boyden. “He had a larger-than-life personality that allowed him to make contacts and connections with a lot of people in the business community. Walking into a company boardroom and convincing them to pay you a lot of money to find their next CEO isn’t an easy thing to do. He was good at that.”
One of the key ingredients that Mr. Flannery looked for among executive candidates was not necessarily a high IQ, but rather a strong EQ — or emotional intelligence.
“He thought EQ was important in the candidates he sought to place in high level jobs,” Mr. Heuck said. “Obviously, leading an organization is not just vision and strategy — it’s working with other people and leading them.”
Growing up in Fox Chapel, his brother was an outdoorsman and natural athlete with a brilliant mind, said Mr. Flannery’s older brother, Roger Flannery.
“He was a writer initially, and a very good one,” said Roger, of Fox Chapel. “He was also a good drummer and had a band when he was 13 or 14. Tom had a great joie de vivre.”
At 6- foot- 4- inches and weighing about 230 pounds, Mr. Flannery made an ideal lineman for Dartmouth College, where he played as a student before graduating with a degree in English in 1967.
For the next 10 years, Mr. Flannery worked in marketing for Gulf Oil Corp. in upstate New York and Boston, but he grew tired of the monotony, his son said.
“He decided he was not a corporate guy, so he went the entrepreneurial route,” he said.
Mr. Flannery moved back to Fox Chapel, where he purchased an automotive parts distribution company from Gulf, along with two service stations in Squirrel Hill, including a very busy one at the corner of Forbes and Murray avenues.
Getting dirty and pitching in by serving customers was not a problem for his father, Bill Flannery said.
“You might think he would be a stuck-up guy, but that was not the case whatsoever,” he said. “He was the most down-to-earth guy you can imagine.”
Shortly after coming home, he met Stephanie King on a blind date set up by mutual friends. The couple recently celebrated their 42nd wedding anniversary. By the early 1990s, Mr. Flannery again reinvented himself, this time by joining Resources for Management, an executive search firm started by his brother, who stepped aside for other opportunities.
“Tom thought it was a very interesting business, and he did far better with it than I did or would have done,” Roger Flannery said. “He took it and ran with it and it went really well. He was good at pairing up people, because he was very engaging and interested.”
In 2001, Mr. Flannery merged Resources for Management with his newly acquired Boyden office, one of more than 75 in the world.
A plainspoken man who didn’t brook nonsense, he understood the art of pairing people and finding connections, said Trina Gordon, Boyden CEO, who has struggled with the passing of her friend.
“He had an unerring eye for talent and for seeing people’s strengths and foibles, and he would tell it to you straight,” said Ms. Gordon, who knew Mr. Flannery for 21 years. “He never believed in anything but a straight and direct and honest conversation. It’s a loss and a very personal one for me.”
Mr. Flannery placed Stefani Pashman as CEO of the Allegheny Conference on Community Development more than three years ago, but he continued to keep in touch with her and follow her career — as recently as last week.
“He was a wonderful connector and we certainly got to know each other,” Ms. Pashman said. “Tom really made it personal. He checked in on me and he was just really supportive. He put a lot of care into the process.”
Bill Kassling, lead director of Wabtec Corp., where he formerly served as president and CEO, became good friends with Mr. Flannery after hiring him for a number of executive searches.
When Mr. Shazier spoke of plans for his foundation, Mr. Kassling steered him to his old friend.
“The first person I thought about was Tom, because Tom was such a good guy to help organize something like that,” Mr. Kassling said. “He has an unbelievable network around Pittsburgh, not just the movers and shakers, but the doers too.”
Mr. Flannery helped to organize a board for the foundation, and made introductions to people who could help put together a business plan, along with messaging and marketing.
His help was invaluable, Mr. Shazier said.
“I just had lunch with him on Wednesday,” Mr. Shazier said late Tuesday, after attending a reception in Mr. Flannery’s honor. “We talked about other things too, like just helping people in general and just being kind. He was a friend, but also a partner, and he was just a great person. We lost a friend, but God gained an angel.”
Along with his wife, son and brother, Mr. Flannery is survived by his daughter Erin Franklin, of Fox Chapel; his sister Sally Hardon, of Oakmont; and three grandchildren.
A Mass of Christian Burial is planned for Wednesday at 10 a.m. at St. Jude Parish, Sacred Heart Church, 310 Shady Ave., Shadyside.
The family suggests remembrances may be made to the Women’s Center and Shelter of Greater Pittsburgh, www. wcspittsburgh.org.