Press Release
Jennifer Herrmann honored with 2026 AESC Award of Excellence
New York, NY, May 7, 2026 – The Association of Executive Search and Leadership Consultants (AESC), the global association representing the + billion executive search and leadership consulting profession, presented Jennifer Herrmann, lawyer and partner at Spencer Stuart, with the AESC Award of Excellence.
“Jennifer Herrmann represents the very best of executive search and leadership consulting,” said James Edmund Datri, President and CEO of AESC. “Through her exceptional judgment, integrity, and deep commitment to quality, she has elevated the practice of general counsel search and strengthened the profession more broadly. Her career reflects the highest standards of client service, candidate care, and trusted leadership advisory.”
Jennifer joined the firm in 1997 in its Philadelphia office and has spent nearly three decades advising general counsel, boards, CEOs, and the broader C-suite. Her work has focused on Fortune 500 general counsel and senior in-house legal leadership roles across the financial services, insurance, industrial, and consumer sectors.
Jennifer has made significant contributions at Spencer Stuart. From 2010 through 2025, she led Spencer Stuart’s North America Legal, Compliance & Government Affairs Practice and co-led the practice globally, helping build its reputation for exceptional quality, rigor, and trusted advisory partnership. Jennifer previously served on the firm’s governance task force on behalf of the firm’s partnership, helping to evolve Spencer Stuart’s own governance model, and also led its Philadelphia office.
“Jennifer’s career reflects the very best of our profession, from her deep expertise to her sustained impact,” said Jordan Brugg, Chief Executive Officer of Spencer Stuart. “She is widely respected for her candid, practical guidance, grounded in a deep understanding of leadership excellence, clients’ business needs, and what drives individual leaders to succeed. Jennifer represents the lasting value our profession delivers when practiced at its best.”
Jennifer is widely regarded as one of the leading general counsel search professionals in the country. Her career has been defined not only by placing exceptional legal talent into some of the world’s most prominent organizations, but by helping shape the general counsel search discipline itself. As the role of the general counsel has evolved from a primarily legal position to a strategic leadership role, Jennifer has helped clients assess legal leaders for judgment, enterprise leadership capability, governance expertise, and the ability to serve as true partners to boards and CEOs. Her impact extends beyond leading general counsel and senior legal searches. Jennifer serves as a long-term leadership adviser to clients on succession planning, team effectiveness, governance best practices, and board effectiveness.
Jennifer has also been an influential practice builder, mentor and innovator. She was an early pioneer in building a dedicated legal and compliance search practice at Spencer Stuart, recruiting, developing, and mentoring colleagues across the team. Many of those professionals have gone on to become respected search consultants in their own right, extending her impact well beyond her own client work. Jennifer has also created convenings for general counsel that foster community, accelerate learning, and advance best practices in governance and leadership.
Jennifer is a six-time recipient of Spencer Stuart’s annual Quality Award, established to honor colleagues who embody the best of the firm and consistently deliver the highest levels of quality work and client service. She is also a recipient of Spencer Stuart’s People Development Award, which recognizes colleagues who help strengthen the firm by developing internal talent.
Throughout her career, Jennifer has embodied AESC’s values of integrity, quality, professionalism, and trusted counsel. She has consistently upheld rigorous assessment standards, provided candid advice in moments of complexity, and prioritized long-term leadership outcomes over short-term gain. Her influence as a mentor and role model has helped ensure that high professional standards are carried forward by the next generation of consultants.
Through her decades of service, practice leadership, and steadfast commitment to excellence, Jennifer Herrmann exemplifies the purpose of the AESC Award of Excellence and stands as a model for the executive search and leadership consulting profession.
About the AESC Award of Excellence
The AESC Award of Excellence recognizes an AESC Member who has made an outstanding impact on the profession through innovation, leadership, and a steadfast commitment to the highest professional standards. Recipients of this honor represent the pinnacle of achievement within executive search and leadership consulting, exemplifying AESC’s Professional Practice Standards and its mission to elevate the profession worldwide.
About AESC
AESC Member firms place and advise the world’s board directors and C-suite leaders. Founded in 1959, AESC represents the global gold standard in executive search and leadership consulting, bringing together over 16,000 professionals in more than 80 countries. AESC Members are rigorously vetted to meet the highest standards in the profession, with only the top tier accepted into Membership.
To serve and promote its Members, AESC holds exclusive multi-day events and summits across the globe; provides in-person and online educational seminars and courses; operates the BlueSteps platform connecting candidates with AESC Member firms; publishes extensive industry research, as well as Executive Talent magazine; and provides access to exclusive Insight Exchanges and partnerships to assist Members with virtually every part of their business operations.
