Mark Weinstein
CEO / Managing Partner
Mark Weinstein acquired BrightWell Talent Solutions in 2010 and together with his partners brings over 100 years of Executive Search recruiting and professional staffing solutions experience to the firm. Prior to BrightWell, Mark was Managing Partner at Blackshaw Partners, a 35-year-old international retained search firm. From 1997 to 2010, Mark built and was ultimately appointed Market President at firstPRO, a mid-sized national search firm based in Atlanta and Philadelphia. Under his direction, it grew to become one of the largest professional placement & executive search firms in the United States. While at firstPRO, Mark was responsible for the selection and establishment of over 100 recruiters for eight disciplines in both retained and contingent search in multiple markets.
Prior to entering the executive search profession, Mark was Vice President of Sales for a $200M medical device company where he successfully managed over 100 sales executives selling medical technology into critical care areas of hospitals.
Mark is a 4th generation Atlantan. After his undergraduate studies in management at UGA, he published an honors thesis on International Currency at Georgia State University. Mark is a labor economist and is widely considered to be a search & staffing industry expert. He is a well-published thought leader having authored or been quoted in numerous industry publications regarding hiring and employment trends. Mark has appeared on CNN, FOX and AIB for his expert commentary and has served as an ancillary adviser to the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta.
Weinstein holds fellowships from both Leadership Atlanta and Leadership Philadelphia’s executive developmental programs. He has also served on several advisory boards and committees. Mark is extremely community driven and was appointed by the Fulton County Commission as Deputy Commissioner for the census and has served as a Regional Commissioner to End Homelessness. Mark has also served on several non-profit advisory boards and committees, including the Board of Directors for Jewish Family Services, The Urban League and Carver Homes YMCA.
Mark is married to his wonderful wife Erica and they enjoy two beautiful children, Shevin and Sadie – his most important work to date. The family resides in Atlanta, GA and Philadelphia PA.
Vincent L. Stewart, J.D.
Associate Partner / Vice President of Diversity and Inclusion
Vincent has over 20 years of executive and business development experience. His advisory experience with decision makers has provided a thorough understanding of the business case for diversity.
Prior to joining BrightWell, Vincent served as Vice President of Attorney Recruiting-Legal Division for an international retained search firm. While at that firm, he assisted in the growth of diversity internally by developing a team of legal professionals that represented and recruited within the various subcategories of diversity (including, but not limited to: race, gender and gender preference-LGBT). The team catapulted the Legal Division to the leading division in the company. Under his leadership, the legal recruiting team helped to build the largest minority-owned entity of its kind in the world. Vincent is also a founding member of the Law Pipeline Program, a diversity program uniting corporate interests with the growth and development of inner-city youth. He is also a former board member of the Phoenix (formerly Fulton Industrial) Boys Association.
Mr. Stewart is a non-practicing Attorney. He graduated from The University of Florida.
Ron Slotin
Chief Marketing and Business Development Officer
Ron Slotin has over 25 years of experience in sales, marketing, government, recruiting and international business.
Ron serves in a consultative role with our BrightWell clients to recruit best-in-class talent to help grow their companies. He also is in charge of creating innovative marketing of the firm’s services and client relations.
Previously, Ron served as international sales manager for Mandala International, which works with companies in the pharmaceutical, biotech and medical devices to provide registration and business development internationally, with a focus on Brazil.
Ron also co-founded Trio Media Group, an award-winning advertising, PR, website development and market research company. Prior to Trio, he was the publisher of a prominent Atlanta magazine and producer of an Atlanta-based television series.
Ron is also a former Georgia State Senator. He was elected to the Georgia State Senate representing the city of Atlanta, and he was re-elected two years later for a second term. He was instrumental in working with the state and the city in preparing for the 1996 Olympics, promoting alternative transportation initiatives, initiating efforts to rebuild inner-city neighborhoods and reform public housing. Ron is a graduate of the University of Georgia with a BBA in marketing.
Cheryl Brown
Vice President Client Services
Cheryl is an Associate Partner and Vice President for Client Services in our Atlanta office. A former Marketing and Sales Executive for Estée Lauder and CibaVision, Cheryl has a passion for the consumer products industry. Cheryl has had significant recruiting success for many Fortune 500 Consumer products and retail clients. Her own expertise is in operations and sales and marketing allow her to be consultative as a subject matter expert. Upon her exiting as a senior executive at Ciba, Cheryl was recruited by and became a recruiter for 5 years at a large private national search firm based in Atlanta. She later joined Blackshaw Partners, an Atlanta based Retained Search firm. She is a graduate of the New York University – Leonard N. Stern School of Business.
Justin Lanning
CTO
As an adjunct IT professor and former technology services company founder, Justin really knows his stuff. Highly regarded as a Master Technologist Certified Engineer, Justin runs Technology and Information Systems for all of BrightWell, globally, and he also serves as President of our Business Solutions Managed IT Services delivery division. Prior to joining BrightWell and while teaching technology at night, Justin was a senior Field Technician for Harmony Computing Services where he ran a team providing small business and not for profit IT support in the greater Atlanta area. This included, but was not limited to, server maintenance, installation of software and hardware and remote and on-site user support. Justin holds a Bachelor’s degrees in Information Technology and will soon have his dual Masters of Science degrees in Computer and Information Systems & Security and Information Assurance.
Stu Levitan
Vice President Talent Acquisition
Stu brings decades of highly accomplished management experience to BrightWell Talent. Stu works directly with our clients and our executive level candidates. His wide array of experience as a Senior Executive makes it easy for him to connect to and relate well with anybody he talks to. Prior to joining BrightWell, Stu was President of The Levitan Group, providing a broad range of consulting services to manufacturers and private equity groups, evaluating acquisitions, new product launches and growth opportunities in soft beverages, spirits, beer, ingredient, nutritional products, water filtration and other categories.
A beverage industry and large organization management veteran, Stu has been instrumental in creating a global market for premium-bottled water. Stu has held many senior level positions throughout his career, including General Manager of the Water Products division of Applica Consumer Products, Chief Operating Officer of WaterBank of America, President and CEO of Iceland Spring, and President and COO of Naya, Inc.
Jamila Sampson
Associate Director, Executive Search
Jamila is a seasoned, intuitive search consultant with proven senior level recruiting experience that encompasses food/beverage, CPG, pharmaceutical, manufacturing, distribution, professional services, higher education and non-profit companies. Her proficiency spans across all functional areas, HR, finance, sales, marketing, quality assurance, customer service, engineering, R&D and operations from the individual contributor level to C-suite. She sources and connects with top professionals for an array of positions within mid-tier to Fortune 500 corporations. Jamila is a high impact communicator with a clear understanding of the end to end recruitment life cycle process, lending her expertise to many strategic and successful matches over the past several years.
A lover of the arts, Jamila co-founded h.e.art alliance (Hope Expressed Through Art), a platform for artists to use their creative talents to support charitable causes. She is also heavily involved in her church, serving as a Children’s Ministry Worship Leader and a leader in the Singles Ministry.
Lisa Edelstein
Administrative Executive Assistant
Lisa has been an executive assistant for 20 years. During this time, she has worked for a variety of organizations and businesses, including a former U.S. Congressman, a technology startup company, an international law/consulting firm, and a real estate/home construction company.
Alexandra Johnson
Research Analyst
Alexandra Johnson is an experienced research analyst with experience in Legal, Real Estate, and Finance. Alexandra helps with sourcing candidates, coordinate client meetings, scheduling appointments and helps with office management.