In case you’re new, here’s a quick recap of what you may have missed. For 15 years, from 2009 through 2023, Pekarsky & Co. quietly but confidently built our reputation, skillfully firing our slingshot at the Goliaths of the executive search community, trying our best to do great work, stay engaged in the city we call home, mentor and develop our tenured team, and generally behave ourselves. Then, in late 2023, we had our mid-life crisis.

Eager to grow and intrigued by the advances of others, we merged our firm with Humanis, a fledgling growth story with roots in my hometown of Edmonton. It seemed like such a good idea at the time, and the story on offer was compelling. For a serially monogamous firm, this was a brave new world for us. Today, 20 months after joining Humanis, I’m writing to let you know that we’re leaving it.

We now find ourselves on a new, though familiar, path. One that allows us to pursue the best alignment for our aspirations and those of our clients. One that honours where we’ve been, reflects what we’ve learned, and points us toward where we’re meant to go next. One that feels, finally, like home.

We are pleased to announce that the Calgary office of Humanis (formerly known as Pekarsky & Co.) is joining forces with Amrop Rosin, a premier executive search firm with deep relationships in boardrooms and C-suites across Canada and around the world. This partnership is the culmination of a nearly 20-year journey—one that began when Jeff Rosin and I first worked together at Korn/Ferry International, he as President of Canada, and I as a Partner in the Calgary office.

With this merger, we have found what we’ve long sought: a world-class firm that is strategically positioned, culturally and ethically aligned, and market-leading in Toronto and beyond—without the bureaucratic sprawl of the global giants (the so-called “SHREK” firms) or the growing pains that come with any new and ambitious venture finding its footing. To paraphrase Bono, we have found what we are looking for.

For the full story—what we’ve learned, where we’re headed, and why it matters—we invite you to read on.

Like a starter marriage, ours with Humanis was a brief, well-intentioned union that, despite the genuine efforts of both sides, ultimately wasn’t built to last. It’s not about failure or fault; it’s about recognizing when a partnership isn’t the right fit and having the good sense to call it a day and the determination to drive on. The usual reaction to such a breakup is typically, “I’m so sorry,” but the real question should be, “Are you happier?” For that is the true measure of whether the decision was the right one – and for total clarity, we are.

Before getting into the story, and I will only share parts, I want to be really clear about something. I write this with no ill will toward our former partners and colleagues in Humanis. It’s just that some kinds of growth come from knowing when to walk away. I choose to believe that in business, as in life, the willingness to reassess, pivot, and realign with what truly matters is a sign of strength, not weakness.

When we joined Pekarsky & Co. with Humanis, we did so with genuine optimism and a shared sense of ambition. The vision was exciting: to bring together complementary strengths, share resources, and create a national firm offering a broad and integrated suite of talent solutions. The idea was to build something greater than the sum of its parts—scale thoughtfully, polish the offering, and, in time, position it for broader growth or acquisition.

As time passed, however, we began to feel a growing disconnect between that vision and the values that had always guided us. The culture, autonomy, and highly personal approach that define our work—rooted in decency, mutual respect, and long-term relationships—struggled to find footing in a model that, however well-intentioned, increasingly emphasized growth metrics over meaning.

Peter Drucker famously said, "Culture eats strategy for breakfast," and our experience affirmed that truth. We saw how, when scale becomes the primary goal, the things that make a firm special—its soul, its people, its purpose—can quietly begin to erode. When a potential buyer appeared early in the journey, eager to acquire the full Humanis platform before it had fully taken shape, we recognized that the foundation simply wasn’t ready to bear that weight. For the Calgary team, it began to feel less like we were building something enduring and more like we were flipping a house.

And so, with respect for those continuing on their path and clarity about what matters most to us, we made the difficult but hopeful decision to step away—not as a retreat to the past, but as a step forward toward the future we had once imagined together.

I believe that success is built on shared values, exceptional client service, and transparent communication. Growth and expansion are admirable, but not if they come at the cost of our core principles. I foreshadowed this concern in the second of three posts about the merger back in late 2023, quoting Spencer Harris from Welcome to Wrexham, who cautioned: