Chris Thornhill
Founder & Managing Partner
Chris Thornhill is a talent strategist and business operator who helps organizations build high-performance teams where people, strategy, and execution align. His background spans executive search, talent advisory, and workforce strategy supporting infrastructure, industrial, and energy organizations.
Chris began his career in human resources before moving into offshore and operations-adjacent environments, later transitioning into commercial strategy roles within oilfield services organizations. This progression provides an end-to-end perspective on talent and organizational effectiveness across complex operating environments.
He subsequently transitioned into management consulting, advising senior leaders on workforce strategy, organizational design, and talent transformation. Chris later joined Spencer Stuart, where he deepened expertise in executive search, leadership assessment, and succession planning.
As Founder & Managing Partner of Hill Search Group, Chris leads executive search and strategic talent advisory engagements, helping organizations design modern talent systems, leadership pipelines, and recruiting operating models aligned to business strategy.
Advisory Board Members
Lauren Folsom
Sales Leadership & Commercial Strategy
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National Sales Manager at a global sealing solutions manufacturer
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Owns a $20M+ industrial portfolio with full P&L accountability
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Proven record of 40% YoY revenue growth and 9% margin expansion
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Built and scaled a market-leading Insulation & Radiant Barrier program, sustaining the #1 national sales record for nearly a decade
Carolina Villegas
Reliability, Asset Management & Global Business Development
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Senior Global Director of Business Development at a global sealing solutions manufacturer
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15+ years driving growth at the intersection of reliability, emissions, and industrial performance
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Led global and regional BD initiatives across the Americas and major industrial markets
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Trusted advisor to operators on deploying and scaling new technologies in regulated environments
Chad Hammock
GTM Strategy, Sales Architecture & Revenue Systems
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Founder & Principal Consultant at StrtrCulture; Certified GTM Operating System Partner
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15 years building and scaling enterprise revenue systems across global markets
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Former RVP at Zscaler, driving 10× ARR growth and disciplined, forecastable execution
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Designs GTM architectures that align sales, marketing, product, and operations for scale
Representative Advisory Engagement
A growth-stage advanced materials company preparing for its next phase of commercial scale and investor scrutiny engaged Hill Search Group to support leadership planning and organizational readiness.
Support executive leadership in evaluating current-state capabilities, competitive positioning, and future talent requirements ahead of a private equity board review.
Hill Search Group worked alongside senior advisors to:
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Assess the company’s current commercial and go-to-market structure
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Benchmark competitor operating models and leadership design
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Identify gaps across revenue strategy, organizational structure, and talent capability
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Develop a forward-looking leadership and talent roadmap aligned to growth objectives
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Executive-ready assessment of current operations
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Competitive and market analysis
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Recommended organizational structure and leadership design
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Talent roadmap aligned to 12–24 month growth plans
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Leadership entered board discussions with greater clarity around organizational priorities, leadership needs, and sequencing required to support future scale.
