about Huntington Hill Ventures

Leadership during uncertain times

Placing new leadership roles could not be more risky and difficult in our virtual world — really getting to know candidates, evaluating cultural fit, leading remotely, and early performance assessment + alignment has become even more difficult. The risks of placement, as well as holding candidates to expectations set during recruitment, once restrictions lift, are very high. When these involve expectations like relocation, benefits, and perks, these risks can also be expensive.

A flexible workforce makes sense now, more than ever.

Our managing partners and deep network of executives stand ready to be deployed across several key industries and at the most innovative, forward-thinking points of convergence among them.

tech ... mobile, gaming, software, intellectual property
healthcare ... ambulatory, acute, payor, pharma
hospitality, food, and beverage ... including viticulture
entertainment and media
real estate
fitness and nutrition
retail

Unlike consultancies you may have worked with in the past, we judge our success by building your independence rather than by repeated contract renewals between us around the same goals. We build structure so your organization grows from, absorbs, and uses the knowledge we build together.

We offer one of three options:

Option I: we operate as executives in residence for short and long-term appointments – we can facilitate a leadership session over a weekend, deliver an environmental analysis in a few weeks, fill an interim role for a few months, or come aboard full-time in an employment relationship around a set of goals or a formal role. For this, we can contract as individuals or as Huntington Hill Ventures LLC.
Option II: we become investors in your idea and guide you as mentors, board advisors, or as angels
Option III: we offer pro bono services for organizations that are truly strapped and desperately in need of executive talent around a particular set of needs at 501(c)(3) non-profit entities, public charities, foundations, and benefit corporations.

We are highly selective and very discreet.

Typical roles we fill:

Here are some of the typical roles we help you fill, at the Sr. Director level and above:

Chief Strategy Officer
Chief Operations Officer
Chief of Staff
EVP of Retail Operations
SVP of Engineering
Chief Technology Officer
Chief Executive Officer
Executive Director
VP of Finance
Chief Creative Officer
Head of Innovation
SVP of Partnerships
Chief Revenue Officer
VP of Insights
SVP of Product Development
VP of User Experience
SVP, Retail Division
Chief Marketing Officer
Chief Merchandising Officer
VP, Business Development

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About Our Managing Partners...

Sharon Richardson Howell, PhD, MSc, MBA, FACHE

Part of HHV's' original founding team, Dr Sharon Howell is proud of her multiracial heritage and feels blessed to have lived in six countries on four continents. She tirelessly grows, exits, and transforms organizations in Healthcare, Technology (mobile and gaming), Academia, Service, and Hospitality. A highly sought-after executive in residence, mentor, board member, and advisor since 2006, Sharon brings an impressive IRR, an enviable network, and nine remarkable exits with her. In addition to her extensive work with senior leadership, non-profits, board governance, mentorship, speaking, and teaching, she been a long-standing charter and board member on two TiE boards, including the prestigious TiE Global Board, an LP with Elevate who was part of the original team that won them Oregon's Gap Fund, a Global Innovation Advisor with GlobalSTL, and a prolific angel investor. Dr Howell holds a PhD in Management Strategy & Innovation from London's Sir John Cass School of Business (Bayes), an MSc from Harvard Medical School in Clinical Service Operations, an MBA from UC Berkeley's Haas School of Business, and a BSc from the University of Southern California (USC). She is also a Fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives (FACHE) and is trained in an impressive number of operational excellence, experience, change, and transformation methodologies.

Wayne Spears

Armed with an extraordinary wealth of global knowledge and experience across the retail sector and hands-on work with some of the world's most recognizable brands, Wayne Spears and his extensive network of leadership talent rank among some of our most critical assets. Wayne has an ability to effortlessly connect and place people in the most difficult-to-fill roles across virtually all facets of merchandising – and particularly in product development, design, and retail operations. Note that we continue to retain access to manufacturing facilities in the United States as well as offshore. These capabilities and hard assets allow us a number of enviable efficiencies that we are able to extend to our partners. Wayne holds an MBA from the University of Southern California (USC).

Dave Howell

A serial entrepreneur, innovator, inventor, jazz musician, expert witness, and designer of remarkable user experiences, Dave Howell has been a somewhat more recent, but perfect fit for our leadership team. He brings 25+ years of working with powerhouse brands like Apple, Intel, Samsung, LucasFilm, Amazon, and Hasbro before he became a CEO in the start-up world. Dave rounds out our team with tech and engineering leadership – software development, SaaS, UX, mobile app development, and intellectual property. He is an unusual blend of software engineering, music theory, and computer science, with incredible business acumen and academic preparation that includes an MBA from Cornell University a Masters in Computer Science from PSU, and imminently — a Master of Legal Studies from WashU. In addition to his background as CEO of Avatron Software and The Expert Guild, Dave is available for executive in residence appointments, as an expert witness in intellectual property disputes, as an instructor, and as a consultant.