Executive Team
Scott MacGregor, Founder & CEO of SomethingNew, has 20+ years of experience as a top sales performer and VP of Sales & Marketing in the technology industry working for and with Fortune 500/1000 companies. Highlights of his career include:
- Youngest National Account Manager in the history of Fortune 500 Company, Pitney Bowes
- By 29 recruited by tech start up as Vice President of Sales and Marketing
- Finalist for Sales Executive of the Year by the “Oscars for Business”, American Business Awards (2005)
- Awarded “Dealer of the Year” for Outstanding Sales Organization (2011)
- Awarded “Outstanding Sales Program” by imageSource Magazine (2012)
- Advisory Council-Harvard Business Review
- American Business Award Winner for Innovation (2016, 2017, 2018)
- Chairman of the Board for Elevate New York
- Board of Advisors for College Collections LLC
Scott founded SomethingNew based on experiencing firsthand the frustrations in recruiting top talent and in being recruited, which led him to build an organization devoted to delivering better results for companies looking to build high performing teams and the candidates they need to accomplish amazing results.
DID YOU KNOW?
I had a Major League Baseball tryout (look at my LinkedIn profile and you can guess how well it went)
I’m pretty awesome at Brady Bunch and sports trivia and am ready to take on all challengers
Years ago I convinced a co-worker she smelled like chicken and now we work together again (sorry Nicole)
I’ve been to Bora Bora
I own a guitar but can’t play
I have zero and I mean zero sense of direction
I don’t really know how to smile or dance
My lunch is sometimes peanut butter straight out of the jar
I have a relative who for years told her friends I went to Harvard (sorry Aunt Betty)
I hung out with Barry Manilow in Vegas (pictures can be sent on request)
I tried to rescue a seal lion who apparently didn’t need to be rescued in Cabo and it was less than pleased with me (the video can be sent on request).
I’m pretty obsessed with sampling different craft beers and stopped counting long ago at 500.
I don’t believe in ghosts or UFO’s or anything even remotely like that
I’m allergic to cheese but can eat cheesecake which I’ve been told makes no sense
I love the Great Lakes Brewing Co in Cleveland (if you send me Edmund Fitzgerald Porter we are true friends for life)
My wife is awesome and I’m not just saying that
I’ve watched full seasons of The Bachelorette (with my wife) and am only slightly ashamed of it
I cried when the Vikings lost Super Bowl XI (I was 1 day shy of turning 9)
Every year I predict the Vikings are going to win the Super Bowl (I’m obviously no Nostradamus but I am a positive thinker)
I’ve called in sick to work less than 5 times total in my entire career
Education:
Cornell University, Johnson School of Management, Certificate in Marketing Strategy
University of Hartford, Bachelor’s degree, Cum laude, full scholarship graduate.
Meg Kopka, Senior Vice President, Recruiting
DID YOU KNOW?
I once tried out for a lead role in a HS musical and had no idea you had to go LEARN the song for the role… so I faked it to make it. and I can’t even sing well
I worked 3 jobs and earned countless academic scholarships to get through college
It takes me 10x longer to tell a story than a man
My friends taped a pickle under my desk at work and I didn’t find it for 3 days… yet kept asking why I smelled pickles
I love the ocean
I’m half psychic…
People tell me things about themselves that even their closest friends don’t know
I’ve been pooped on by a pigeon twice in my life … which some say is very very good luck.
I am a published poet
I love black and tans
I love wine
I love Tom Brady
I love Brady Kopka
I love the name Kai
I love to practice yoga
I try to practice “no judgment zones” and want to conquer female “body hating” (it’s a real thing)
Because of my snowboarding accident and back surgery, I am super passionate about human body mechanics and function
I believe in all spiritual things .. in nature.. or ghosts.. or bigfoot…
I was poked in the shoulder by John Stone at John Stone’s Inn in Ashland MA. Look it up.
I love Block Island and I love Boston..
I am passionate… I mean.. obviously
I have an odd and perhaps inappropriate obsession with boy bands and Twilight boys
I think i’m white and never see myself as Chinese
I want to learn how to surf and jump in a shark cage because that is one of my biggest fears
Diane Ristau, Vice President, Recruiting
DID YOU KNOW?
I LOVE to dine outside in the summer.
I’m a coffee snob. I like really good, dark roast coffee.
I am not a wine snob. Give me a good glass of $5 chardonnay and I am happy.
The song Take It Easy by the Eagles always makes me smile.
I’ll go up against anyone in parallel parking contest and will probably win.
I love fitness! One of my favorite places to be is at the gym or exercising outside.
Traveling is one of the best medicines out there. I highly recommend it! Especially in the middle of a Minnesota winter.
I have my MBA but find spreadsheets extremely boring.
I believe God created each of us for a purpose. Only when we find it are we fulfilled.
Three kids = busy, fun, rewarding, crazy life.
Favorite family past time – Cabin time, where the business of life goes away and we can truly relax and enjoy nature.
Music feeds my soul and helps me run faster… everything from Usher to Tim McGraw to Tobymac to Van Halen and even a little Justin Bieber!
My first job was working at McDonald’s.
If I’m crabby, two things always fix it = prayer and exercise!
I love dogs, especially labs.
I find New York City fascinating.
Bucket list = sky diving.
I once roller bladed 75 miles over two days.
I have no rhythm.
I’m competitive.
I’ve learned that most people have a lot more to offer this world than they know. Sometimes it just takes a little encouragement from ONE person to give the courage they need.
Joanne Schwartz, Advisor
DID YOU KNOW?
I love Broadway musicals (The Toxic Avenger and American Idiot not withstanding!)
The entertainment at my 6th birthday was a local kid who called himself “Davino”. Today he calls himself David Copperfield!(Pictures available on request)
I love audiobooks, Scrabble and WordsWithFriends.
I have absolutely no sense of direction.
I prefer Dunkin Donuts to Starbucks, Vanilla to Chocolate and Reeses’ to Godiva.
I listen better when I’m doodling.
Teachers never believed #7.
I think in spreadsheets.
I love arts and crafts.
I am a news junkie.
I don’t believe in haunted houses – but would not want to spend the night alone in one!
I know just enough Spanish to get myself in trouble.
I cry at most movies and even some commercials! This cracks my daughter up!
Favorite gadget: “Alexa”
I don’t like shopping or going to the mall.
I’ve been happily married for 24 years and yet still cannot fathom that my husband chooses to do 140.6 miles of straight exercise in just for fun”!
We have two amazing kids that bring lots of laughter, sunshine (and laundry) into our home!
On my first-ever day of work (@ NJ Bell), I showed up in a suit only to be told that I needed to wear a hard hat and steel tipped shoes moving forward! (ß Boy, I sure could have used a good recruiter back then!!!) J
I am grateful every day for my family, my friends, my customers and my colleagues and I take none of this for granted.
Phil Boeding, Vice President, Recruiting
DID YOU KNOW?
Grew up one mile from SomethingNew CEO Scott MacGregor!
Got a paper route in 3rd grade because I wanted to buy Puma Clydes
Had a lawn mowing, leaf removal and snow plowing business with my brother from 6th to 10th grade
Was an exchange student to the Philippines between my junior and senior years of High School. One of the greatest years of my life.. Ask me some stories about being a 17 year old kid in a third world country.. I’ve got some doozies.
Spent a year and a half at Georgia Tech before transferring. They really are still fighting the Civil War!
I traded ETFs and futures during the dot com bubble burst and the credit crisis. Absolutely amazing experience.
Was at ground zero during 9/11. We were told to stay in the basement of the American Stock Exchange until the President of the Exchange said “Run for your lives”.
I’m an investor in a wine shop, but really love beer. Even prefer sake to wine. Oh yeah, sake and beer together—forget about it.
After 20 years, stopped drinking coffee. Now I get my buzz from energy drinks made from guayusa. Amazon rainforest leaf. Check out Runa—Nothing like RedBull.
Favorite vehicle—International Scout. Had one before I got married.. Still kicking myself for getting rid of it.
Love the question—Beatles or Stones.. That’s easy—Zeppelin!
It’s too bad I love golf because after 20 years I still suck. But some of the greatest moments in the last two decades have been my annual golf trips to Ireland, Scotland and here in US. Have played 20 of the top 50 courses in the world with a bunch of crazy knucklehead hackers.
This wouldn’t be a proper bio if I didn’t say I HATE HATE HATE the winter. Yeah, I know I should move!
My average one way commute is 2 and a half hours Thank god for WiFi and laptops.
Addicted to exercise. Been working out since I was 12. If I miss 2 days in a row, I’m nasty. It’s a natural anti-depressant
Very lucky to have a super supportive wife who is my rock and 2 great girls who are my inspiration.
Rachel Scott, Vice President, Recruiting
DID YOU KNOW?
“You can’t measure success if you have never failed. My father has taught me that if you really do want to reach your goals, you can’t spend any time worrying about whether you’re going to win or lose. Focus only on getting better.” Stephi Graf
My favorite books are War and Peace, The House of Spirits and, The Many Lives and Secret Sorrows of Josephine B
I am on the board of WestieMed, we help Westie rescues financially when there is extensive medical costs
My favorite place, other than the tennis court, is the ocean – sailing, motoring or sitting on the beach
My first love in life was horses; as a junior I competed in the hunger/jumpers
I am always the last person to get a joke, if I even get it at all
When I drive I find that my speed is proportional to the volume of the radio
I back packed solo throughout Europe for 3 months after college
I have three rescue fur babies; Allie, Buttons and Rascal
If I am not working I am playing tennis or at the gym
Things I love: wine, NPR, classic films & backgammon
I played on my college tennis team
I love animals especially terriers
I have flown in a Navion aircraft
My first job was at a bakery
I enjoy pet photography
I am loyal to a fault
Kathy Leckey, Vice President, Marketing and Communications
DID YOU KNOW?
I have seen the sunrise over the Grand Canyon.
I have had a guitar for 20 years and cannot play. Scott and I would make a terrible duet.
I have seen U2 and Liberace in concert, not at the same time.
I love chocolate and peanut butter, especially when they accidentally get mixed together. See example
I used to drive a 14 passenger Tour Bus at Niagara Falls.
I was a speaker at the 2014 TEDxYouth at Buffalo Conference.
Earth day is my favorite holiday.
“The Office” still makes me laugh out loud.
I never text lol, always hahahaha.
If I could have two wishes, they would be to be able to sing and swim.
Someday I would love to swim with dolphins.
Two awards I am most proud of: Ice Cream Scooper of the Month at Friendly’s in college and a Green Peace essay contest to Save the Seals in 5th grade..
I volunteered with the Red Cross for 3 weeks in Miami after Hurricane Andrew.
I always wanted to join the Peace Corps.
I love the Foofighters.
I once joined a support group for sugar addicts, where we fought our addiction “one day at a a time.”
My happy place is a campfire on a beach at sunset.
I coached the Yankees for one winning season of t-ball.
I am full of gratitude.
Haley Rahn, Director of SomethingGood
DID YOU KNOW?
I am a real Chicago Cubs fan, meaning I loved them even when a World Series was nowhere in sight.
I always said that I wanted to live in the city after college. I was definitely talking about Chicago, but here I am in NYC!
I am passionate about all things bread and cheese, so obviously pizza is a key part of my life.
I am a proud aunt to a very cute, sweet, smart and sassy one year old. I love my little Josie!
In high school I played field hockey in the fall and soccer in the spring and had a shin guard tan line for 4 straight because of it.
One of my stress relievers is walking through Target.
I am a bargain hunter, so naturally I am a huge fan of Trader Joe’s 2 buck chuck.
I met my husband the day I started college.
I enjoy re-watching movies and TV shows, and often prefer to re-watch a favorite over starting a new one.
Throughout college I was a Young Life leader. The girls I led are now freshmen in college and I absolutely adore them.
When I was about 4, I cried when my aunt told me that I was a “peach.” I have affectionately been called “Peach” by my family since then.
I know every word and note in Whitney Houston’s “I Wanna Dance With Somebody” and I can’t help but sing along when it comes on.
I am not a neat freak, but I thoroughly enjoy cleaning my apartment.
My mom moved to the U.S. from the Philippines when she was 9. During college, I was able to spend 6 weeks there for a mission trip.
I love hosting. Even if it’s just having people over for pizza, I am a firm believer in the importance of gathering and eating together with people you love!
Advisory Board
SomethingNew is blessed to be guided by a diverse Advisory Board filled with brilliant business rock stars that provide us unlimited access for vetting business strategies and solving problems. The board is made up of top CEO’s, successful entrepreneurs, graduates from schools like Harvard, Duke, Yale and Dartmouth, even an Eagle Scout and most importantly overall wonderful people who share our passion and our purpose.
Scott and his team at SomethingNew have created a unique venture that provides maximum benefit for companies and candidates. I consider it a truly holistic approach to recruiting.
SomethingNew cares more about what they’re doing than any other recruiter I’ve worked with.
Optimal hiring is a complicated endeavor, particularly as it relates to sales and sales leadership. SomethingNew brings rigor and creativity to the search process, ensuring suitability and fit for both the hiring entity, as well for the sales professional seeking a new platform.
Scott MacGregor is an outstanding professional in every respect — his integrity and intelligence inspire complete trust, is highly effective in everything he devotes himself, and has won the respect of those who have been fortunate enough to work with him. He’ll be a great asset to the companies and the Talent that he places with each other.
Scott and his team are really changing the game when it comes to recruitment. I’m excited to see SomethingNew’s growth and expansion – which is sure to be swift!
SomethingNew has a strong team led by Scott that offers a unique and refreshing approach providing the highest level of integrity and a systematic data driven process.
Mark Gerson
Mark Gerson is the Chairman of Gerson Lehrman Group (GLG) with approximately 1000 employees in 22 offices globally, which he co-founded in 1998 and of Coverago, which he co-founded in 2008. He is also the Co-Chairman of Thuzio along with Tiki Barber. Mark is the author of two books as well as essays in newspapers and magazines including The New Republic, Reader’s Digest, USA Today, The Weekly Standard and the Wall Street Journal. He is the Chairman of United Hatzalah (the network of first responders that treat victims of pre-hospital trauma in Israel) and the Africa Mission Healthcare Foundation (which supports the work of medical missionaries performing clinical care throughout Africa).
Todd Seniff
Todd is currently serving at The Pentagon as the Executive Assistant to the Under Secretary of the Navy. He has served as a U.S. Navy SEAL for over 28 years. He has deep executive level experience leading large, complex organizations that specialize in synchronizing globally dispersed teams. Todd has commanded at every level of Special Warfare leading tactical and operational organizations in combat in Iraq, Afghanistan and the high seas, built purpose-driven task forces from scratch as well as served on Navy, Joint, Special Operations and Embassy staffs of every echelon in the Middle East, Southeast Asia and Europe. Todd is very experienced in recruiting individuals of unique and outstanding character in order to build and lead specialized and high-performing teams in uncertain and ambiguous situations.
Shawn Banerji
Shawn Banerji is the Managing Director, Global Technology Officers Practice at Russell Reynolds Associates, one of the largest executive leadership and search firms worldwide. Shawn is a trusted advisor to clients seeking to navigate the convergence of talent and technology and its implications across all facets of the evolving digital enterprise. His extensive experience extends to business process outsourcing, process improvement, SaaS, digital transformation and shared services. His clients include high growth as well as large corporations, along with extensive work for investors and their portfolio companies. He is a former board member of the Society for Information Management (SIM), an Advisor to Columbia University’s M.A. Technology Program and a contributor to MIT’s Annual CIO Symposium. Prior to joining Russell Reynolds, Shawn held positions at The Landstone Group and Ogilvy & Mather.
Noah Houghton
Noah Houghton is the CEO & Co-Founder at Voray. Noah has over 15 years of experience in international finance and entrepreneurial endeavors starting at KPMG and including founding an international investment firm where he is currently a managing director and was CEO & Founder of NOKA Chocolate. Noah has served as Executive Director of Strategic Alliances for YPO (Young Presidents’ Organization) and is a past multi-year board member for EO (Entrepreneur’s Organization). He is also actively involved in several non-profit organizations.
Ben Thibeault
Ben Thibeault is currently an Enterprise Sales Leader at LinkedIn helping the largest Enterprise Companies in the world in their quest to understand and maximize the social landscape. During his tenure at LinkedIn Ben has been recognized as a top performer by achieving multiple President’s Club awards as a Sr. Enterprise Account Executive on their Sales Solutions team helping clients to leverage their Sales Navigator tool as well as a Sr. Enterprise Account Executive, Hiring Solutions. In 2012 he was recognized with the #1 Results Award. Prior to joining LinkedIn Ben was a staffing consultant at Unilever and recruiter for Oxford Health Plans.
Michael Schimmel
Michael Schimmel is the CEO & Founder at S2 Brands, Inc. an internet media company operating specialty brands in the sympathy, memory sharing and occasion verticals including eCondolence.com, shiva.com and NJMW.org. Michael is also a shareholder and practicing attorney at Schimmel PA, a boutique business law firm and is a member of the New York Bar, The Florida Bar and The Illinois Bar.
Edward Oliver
Ed Oliver is an Associate Director, Operations at Dataminr, Inc a real-time social media analytics company. His 16 years of experience in the financial services market included positons at Citigroup where he served as a Director, VP/Trader – US Cash Equities, VP/Floor Assistant – NYSE Floor Brokerage, Trader – US Listed Trading.
Debora Lehrer
Debora is the World Baseball Classic Senior Marketing Strategist for Major League Baseball. Prior to joining the MLB, Debora was the Director of Marketing at Thuzio. Thuzio provides businesses and professionals with an all access pass to celebrity talent and influencers through a comprehensive online platform, talent procurement services and event series.
Kay Bradford
Kay Bradford is the Manager of Enrollment & Corporate Partnerships for eCornell. Kay is well versed in Social Media, Marketing and Strategy development and has worked with many organization including TravelShark, TurnerPR and Zenzi where she was a private social media contractor.
Rich Schulte
Rich Schulte is the Co-founder of Salesbroom, a company providing human data entry for CRM, and also serves on the Board of Directors for CMED Virtual Staffing. Rich’s extensive background in sales and marketing started at MCI and includes working with several start-ups and taking them through acquisitions – Pingtone Communications where he was Executive Vice President, Sales & Marketing, BlueRidge Networks where he was VP of Sales and Tritex where he was VP of Marketing and Business Development as well as Co-founder.
Michael Stramaglio
Henry Aery
Henry Aery is currently the People & Operations at Bread Finance. Bread builds powerful financing tools to boost merchant sales. Prior to that Henry joined Ernst & Young’s IT Risk and Assurance group where he had previously interned. As an undergraduate Henry was selected to the Dean’s Mentoring Program, served as an Academic Peer Advisor and was a National Finalist in the PwC xTax Competition (top 5 of 640 teams). His undergraduate experiences also included working as a project manager at reBold Binghamton, management consulting for Manley’s Service Learning Projects, Process Improvement Intern – Finance Operations at GE Capital and accounting intern at American Cruise Lines. Henry is also an Eagle Scout.