MEET OUR TEAM
ABOUT Us
Our intentionally diverse team has a broad range of skillsets, backgrounds, and life experiences, but each of us believes deeply in Changing the Face of Talent. As a remote-first company, we work intentionally to cultivate a culture of open communication, professional authenticity, and collaborative teamwork that helps new people settle in and find their stride quickly. We proudly do things differently from other agencies in our space, creating a better environment for clients, candidates, and our employees.


Kyle Samuels
Founder and Chief Executive Officer


Jared Cozart
Chief Operating Officer
Before joining CTE, Jared cultivated a successful career leading business development and consulting efforts in the executive search space. Throughout his time in the industry, Jared has guided clients through complex initiatives and advised executives on their challenge to identify, attract and retain high caliber talent. Jared is a proud graduate of Southern University, where his years on the baseball team shaped his competitive drive and team mentality. Today, he is a frequent traveler, reader, podcast enthusiast, golfer, and avid Ravens and Orioles fan. Jared currently lives in San Diego with his wife Brittany.


Le Anne Harper
Head of Advisory Services
Le Anne is a lifelong learner who loves to face her fears including a solo safari in South Africa, a 14,000-foot skydive, singing backup for Barry Manilow, and swimming with Galapagos sharks. Her mission is to help organizations and individuals – particularly those that have been historically marginalized – to discover and cultivate their talents so they can grow, prosper, and thrive. She earned her Sociology degree at UCLA, has credentials in Diverse Talent Sourcing and Life Coaching, and completed executive programs at Yale and Cornell.
“I want to discourage you from choosing anything or making any decision simply because it is safe. Things of value seldom are.” ~ Toni Morrison


Demetrios Chirgott
Head of Client Partnerships
Throughout his career, Demetrios has led business development and executive search teams with high-growth startups and Fortune 50 organizations. From serving as Vice President in a prominent boutique search firm in North Carolina to overseeing a high performing branch of a national IT consulting firm in Washington, DC, Demetrios brings a hands-on approach to leadership. He has successfully impacted key projects including IPO readiness, FP&A department overhauls, Agile transformations, enterprise system implementations and various mission critical endeavors. His keen awareness of client culture, future initiatives and business strategy has enabled him to build lasting partnerships with organizations at all phases of growth across industries such as financial services, healthcare, manufacturing, hospitality, food & beverage, CPG and more.
Demetrios resides in the greater DC metro area with his wife and two children. He is a proud alumnus of Catawba College where he graduated with a degree in Business Administration and was a member of the men’s lacrosse team. He is an Eagle Scout and is active in Scouting with both his son and daughter.


David Hipperson
Executive Search Partner
David has partnered with companies of all shapes and sizes (battleface, Twitter, Chipotle) and matched candidates with their dream jobs at all levels (from mid-level engineer to VP of Finance to Head of People and everything in between).
An Oakland, CA native, David graduated UC Davis with a double major in Economics and International Relations. He studied in Madrid, Spain for a year and now speaks *conversational* Spanish. On the weekends you can now find him on the beaches of San Diego, attending comedy shows and keeping up with his hometown Golden State Warriors.


Natalie Coache
Executive Search Partner
Natalie’s expertise in Recruitment and Human Resources was built through progressive leadership roles at JPMorgan Chase, Prudential, and BASF over two decades in Corporate America. She held global roles in the Financial Services industry that afforded her the opportunity to travel throughout Europe, Asia, and the Caribbean prior to committing to Human Resources as a long-term career.
Natalie is passionate about empowering young girls and women and serves as the Chief of Staff for Girlz With Goals, a 501c3 non-profit organization whose mission is to inspire young women to become leaders by fostering a love of learning and empowering girls to realize their full potential.
When not hard at work or catering to her kids, Natalie enjoys traveling the world, music, quality time with friends and family, cooking, and great wine.


Matthew Leitz
Chief of Staff
Outside of work, Matt enjoys reading, cooking, and backpacking with his wife and dog. He is an avid Boston Celtics fan, regularly attends his local Cars and Coffee meets, and rarely misses an opportunity to try a new pizza restaurant.
- Email:Matt.leitz@ctesearch.com


Elliott Davis
Advisory Services Director


Erin Harrington
Executive Search Partner
Erin graduated from Maryville University in St. Louis, MO, with a bachelor’s degree in Marketing. She enjoys spending time in the outdoors and exploring her new home: Salt Lake City.


Hannah Bloom
Executive Search Partner


Brent Mahasi
Research Analyst


Omar Mryan
Executive Search Partner
- Email:Omar.mryan@ctesearch.com


Chloe Deason
Research Analyst
In her spare time, Chloe is an avid home chef, a connoisseur of prestige television, and frequent water sports enthusiast. She enjoys spending time with her husband and cat.


Javier Varela
Executive Assistant


Ally Johnson
Sr. Consultant - Advisory Services


Barbara Ofosu-Somuah
Consultant - Advisory Services