Spotlight: Blaine Ayres on finding success through hard work, self-motivation

One week after Blaine Ayres joined the Charles Aris team and got acquainted with its Greensboro, North Carolina headquarters, the firm went remote.

The Covid-19 pandemic shaped Blaine’s onboarding experience as an associate recruiter, but it did little to deter him from quickly learning the business, adopting its processes and earning his way to senior associate practice leader, where he now serves tech, media and telecom (TMT) clients in need of top strategy talent from management consulting firms like Bain, BCG and McKinsey.

As a kinesiology major and first-generation college student, Blaine sought a profession that would reward hard work. He says executive search isn’t easy, but, if you can learn the art of recruiting and find your area of expertise, it pays off.

Blaine was born in Seattle and spent most of his life in New Jersey. His interest in sports medicine brought him to the University of North Carolina Greensboro to pursue kinesiology. Upon graduating, Blaine started his job search by evaluating careers that would place a high value on the same work ethic that helped him pilot higher education in his family. A friend recommended Charles Aris, and Blaine quickly found alignment with the high-energy environment, continuous learning and path to success that executive search offered.

What he didn’t anticipate was the challenge of pivoting this work ethic to an online format. Remote recruiting posed a significant challenge to the new associate, but it also forced him to be deliberate in scheduling shadowing opportunities that would occur more naturally in the office. At home, Blaine took the lead in building out his own training agenda and getting to know his peers. This exposure helped him become more confident and find success early in his tenure.

The recruiter also quickly aligned himself with the firm’s Strategy Practice and learned how to recruit management consultants for his clients. After several successful searches, Blaine further refined his recruiting specialty by focusing on the TMT space, where clients often seek consultants to head business development, corporate strategy and other strategic initiatives for their firms. This is the same vertical Blaine is now dedicated to growing in his new role as senior associate practice leader, but with a regional focus on the West Coast and Mountain West regions of the United States.

“After partnering with Blaine on a project in his first year, I knew he’d be a great fit for the TMT vertical,” said Steven Stewart, vice president of TMT and industrials. “He progressed quickly and demonstrated an ability to develop client relationships, so carving out this region for him to build out was a no-brainer.”

When asked about his career growth from recruiter to senior associate practice leader, Blaine says he followed the traditional path at Charles Aris through pure determination. He dedicated himself early in his career to putting in the time, energy and effort needed to be successful in executive search. His mantra: “You don’t know your limit until you’ve reached it, so it’s okay to stretch yourself until you do.”

Associates often call their first year at Charles Aris a “mini-MBA” because of how much they learn about the business world through interactions with clients and candidates. Once the first year is done, Blaine says the rest involves rolling up your sleeves and investing the hours. Now, despite mastering remote work as an early associate, the senior associate practice leader is an office regular and enjoys mentoring his peers face-to-face, an experience he missed out on at the starting point of his career.

Blaine also continues his passion for sports both inside and outside of work. He co-chairs the Charles Aris Wellness Committee, which is responsible for organizing the firm’s annual basketball tournament and Walk-a-Thon, and he continues to compete and exercise in his free time. As his practice continues to grow, Blaine is excited to further his relationships within the TMT industry in the West by helping to fulfill its ongoing need for the best strategy talent.

To learn more about our recruiting capabilities in strategy and TMT, contact Blaine Ayres at blaine.ayres@charlesaris.com or (336) 217-9140.