Cherie Shepard

“This was such a great experience. I was banging my head against the wall for four months looking for the right job, then Cherie called and I was working within a month! She was professional, and on the ball. Wonderful!”

“Cherie is an excellent communicator and one of the very best in the recruiting space. She is a trusted partner with a deep understanding of the packaging and material handling space. I highly recommend Cherie and the team at DRI.”

“Cherie is a true professional who places her client’s needs above all else. I had the joy of meeting Cherie through a colleague recommendation, and she quickly went to work for me to find a new position. Because of the professionalism shown to me, I am now working with her to find employees in my new role.”

“Cherie is a professional in all senses of the word. Making the difficult appear easy, making the complicated simple and turning impossible barriers into small bumps. Cherie and the great folks she leads at DRI know the packaging industry very well, which translates into having a pulse on the industry in a way that few others have. Partnering with Cherie, we have successfully found what we were looking for in a short time, which directly assists in our strategic goals and bottom line. Cherie brings this value without ego or complaint. She brings partnership in the truest sense of the word. Professional communication, at the level of team mate and trusted advisor. I’m proud to provide this recommendation to Cherie and happy to confirm it – simply contact me for specific examples.” 

“I have been working with Direct Recruiters for about 15 years now, starting with Dan Charney and now Cherie Shepard. The transition of working with Dan to Cherie was seamless; Cherie picked up the standard that Dan had established and brings the same great attributes that he did. I have continued to work with Direct Recruiters over the years because they are easy to work with; they find candidates quickly, they’re very personable, quick to respond, and they always keep me in the loop as to progress. Most importantly though, is the effectiveness of the candidates Direct Recruiters brings to me. I would recommend Direct Recruiters to others essentially because the screening and recruiting process they use internally works. They deliver the bottom line, and that’s getting highly qualified candidates who are very effective in their position.”

“I have worked with DRI and Cherie for recruiting and executive search services for over 15 years. DRI really works hard to get somebody that they believe would fit the position. DRI understands the needs of the company and our culture- not just the job spec but the softer areas that are hard to establish when looking at resumes. I am completely, 100%, satisfied with DRI. I wouldn’t change the recruiters for anything! Working with Cherie is awesome! She understands our business, she knows our people, she knows what we are looking for and she anticipates our process. Cherie is always positive and she never, ever, throws candidates at us just to throw candidates at us. Working with DRI is an important part of our culture here at Hanel -and the most critical. The DRI team is dialed in to my industry. They know my competitors, not just direct competitors but the long-term personalities within Material Handling. As a member of the Material Handling board and a former member of the round table for NHI, I have recommended DRI to all the high-level CEOs there, powerful people within Material Handling. I don’t make recommendations all willy-nilly, I make the recommendation because I’m sure.”

“I started working with DRI about 7 years ago and it was honestly because Jason Herbert was different from other recruiters. Instead of sending a bunch of resumes that never fit the bill, Jason prequalified and screened candidates to present the right fit. Two of the reasons we continue to work with Direct Recruiters are that they find the talent to meet the position requirements and always provides a follow-up to make sure the person is a good hire. They have made my job as a Director of Human Resources much easier because I have basically outsourced high level sales and engineer roles to them which allows me to focus on the positions that are easy for me to fill quickly. More importantly, we have worked with DRI to hire strategic leaders in our organization that have really helped us grow significantly as a company over the last 5 years. I would recommend Direct Recruiters to others with high-level searches; I have worked with Cherie Shepard in addition to Jason Herbert, and they both provide the same great, consistent service. It is clear that DRI’s core values are instilled in several recruiters because the approach is always the same, which is good.”

“Cherie did a great job of working with her team to present and manage a job opportunity for me. She skillfully balanced my interest and her clients’ to a mutually successful outcome. Cherie is reliable, extremely professional, responsive and manages the process well. I am very happy with her work and give Cherie and Direct Recruiters a thumbs up recommendation.”

“Direct Recruiters and Cherie Shepard have been my partners for the better part of 13 years, of which 10 I have been in a managerial role responsible for acquiring new talent. I was hired as a candidate through them and now I work to hire through them as a hiring manager and it has been a pleasure working with them throughout the process whether I was a candidate or a hiring manager. Working with Cherie and Direct Recruiters is easy and painless. They’re educated about what they do, they understand the business atmosphere, and they understand the needs of the organization they’re working with. Throughout the process, Cherie continuously follows-up to ensure that our needs are being met. They understand the market, they take the time to understand what my needs are and what my organizations needs are, they vet the candidates very well, and they present me high quality candidates on a consistent basis that meet or exceed my expectations. I highly recommend Cherie and Direct Recruiters, to hire top quality talent.”

In our CEO search, we were looking to fill the role with someone to set the tone for the entire company, with industry knowledge, integrity, and leadership, who could take us to the next level. For such an instrumental and integral position in our company, we expanded our search efforts past our regular executive search firm. After contacting several firms, Cherie Shepard at Direct Recruiters stood out above the rest and really took the time to understand our needs. Cherie was willing to take on the challenge of filling the CEO role, knowing that she might be focusing her whole team on the project, and that’s what we look for in a consultative executive search firm.

Throughout the process working with Direct Recruiters, I was most impressed with the constant and in-depth communication we were provided. Cherie always had our best interest at heart to make sure we found the right candidate and took the time to get to know our company culture from the start, which was very important. She blew us away with her approach and genuinely cared about taking the time to understand our company, the role, and our needs.
Three top reasons I would recommend using Direct Recruiters for high level searches like our CEO search, would be:

1. Ability to adapt quickly. With our unique industry, Cherie was quick to get to know what we were looking for and our industry, which she exceled at because of her communication and dedication to us.

2. Personable communication. It never felt like we were just one of many clients. Communication was efficient, responsive, personable, and we always got the attention we needed from the DRI team.

3. Forward thinking. Cherie constantly went through the strides to prepare us. We had frequent updates from her and she was always ahead of it!

Overall, working with Direct Recruiters for our CEO role was a professional, delightful and insightful experience. We had so much success with DRI that we will continue to use Cherie and the DRI team for our future high-level positions.

“I recently had the pleasure of working with Cherie on a significant career change. Throughout the process, Cherie was a constant source of support and managed everything in a thoroughly professional manner. She was available to talk and help and left nothing to chance. I would have no hesitation in recommending Cherie as great partner for talent sourcing.”

“As we all have experienced, there are contacts in business that do what is required and others that are true professionals. Cherie is one of those that elevates above the crowd. She not only pays close attention to the details but also keeps in personal contact during a negotiation that requires more than email contact.”

“We had used Cherie to fill a very difficult and complex role in our organization. Cherie really helped with the whole process from refining the job description, to identifying key skill sets, and evaluating each candidate. Communication with Cherie was great and I felt extremely prepared during interviews which made our hiring process much easier.”

“Having dealt with several professional recruiters over the years I know that Cherie is the very best. She is professional, open, and very detail oriented. She is extremely knowledgeable about the packaging industry and it was a pleasure to work with her.”

“I’ve had the pleasure of working with Cherie and her team for the past 5 years. It has been great to have her supporting us as we push through our growth period. Given all the priorities and lack of time on our side, Cherie has been able to give us the support we need to make quick hiring decisions and yet be very sensitive to our limited time. Our team would not have been as strong as it is today without her tireless assistance.”

“It has become as important to have a reliable relationship with a professional recruiter as it is to have a solid attorney or CPA. Cherie Shepard has taken the time to truly understand our business and our corporate culture. I have found Cherie to have a strong commitment to understanding our requirements and finding the absolute best candidates available. Cherie is a completion artist that never gives up and has been an outstanding resource to our company.”

“I have worked with Cherie for the last couple of year for personal and for candidate searches and she always goes above and beyond! She is well respected in the industry and is always a pleasure to work with.”

“I have had the privilege of knowing Cherie for several years. We have worked together on some different projects and in my professional opinion, Cherie is a true professional who takes her profession seriously. Cherie treats people professionally yet has the ability to make you feel comfortable in your interactions. Cherie has a broad range of knowledge and considerable experience. It is a true pleasure working with Cherie.”