Jim Lawson leads the firm’s Financial Officers Practice for the Americas region. He is a trusted client advisor, specializing in senior financial officer assignments across a broad range of industries, including industrial, consumer, media and technology, healthcare and financial services. Based in New York, Jim also serves as the firm’s leader for the Philadelphia region and is part of the Board and CEO Advisory Group, recruiting executives with financial expertise serving on audit committees. His clients range from Fortune 500 organizations to portfolio companies of leading private equity firms. Jim also works closely with the firm’s Leadership & Succession Practice, taking part in the assessment of financial officers across leading organizations.

Previous Experience

Prior to joining Russell Reynolds Associates, Jim served as the global leader of financial planning and analysis at a publicly traded consumer products company. Reporting to the CFO and executive leadership team, he focused on key projects including acquisitions, divestitures and short and long-term strategic planning. Previously, Jim was a Manager with PwC, where he worked in the Assurance Practice servicing Fortune 500 clients, and in the Transaction Services Practice, performing financial due diligence for both financial and strategic buyers. While at PwC, Jim took part in building a formal talent management function and was a significant contributor to the firm’s recruiting and staff development efforts.

Education

Jim received his BS in accounting from Villanova University and is a Certified Public Accountant.