Rachel Roche, the founder of Smart Search, has over 20 years experience in retained executive search.

Mrs. Roche began her career as a secondary school teacher. She joined the search profession as Research Director with the Chicago office of Staub Warmbold, a New York-based firm. She then spent 10 years with Allerton Heneghan & O’Neill in Chicago where she progressed to the position of Vice President. She was responsible for all phases of search execution: strategy, research, recruitment, candidate development, interviewing, client presentation, and references. Thereafter, Mrs. Roche managed an independent research and recruitment company until, in 1996, she founded Smart Search. Throughout her career, she has designed and implemented training programs covering the full spectrum of search skills for researchers and recruiters and consultants.

Mrs. Roche is a graduate of Northwestern University’s School of Speech.