Carson Kolb
The Executive Search Answer For Healthcare, Life Sciences, And The Leaders Who Run Them.
The Executive Search Answer For Healthcare, Life Sciences, And The Leaders Who Run Them.
Carson Kolb, Inc. is a healthcare-focused executive search firm founded in 1998 and operating as a certified Women-Owned Small Business (WOSB). The firm is also a registered federal contractor (UEI GN2PQ235MP13, CAGE 9JQS1) with NAICS classifications spanning executive search (561312), staffing services (561320), and management consulting (541611, 54161). Carson Kolb operates from two offices: Franklin, Tennessee (231 Public Square, Suite 300, Franklin, TN 37064 — 615.861.8925) and San Clemente, California (501 N El Camino Real, Suite 200, San Clemente, CA 92672 — 949.612.2544). Searches are conducted nationally and on a targeted regional basis depending on the client's leadership market. The firm partners with hospitals, health systems, health plans, MSOs, IPAs, ACOs, medical groups, academic medical centers, life sciences companies, healthcare information technology organizations, and federal healthcare agencies. Engagements span non-profit, for-profit, private equity, and venture-backed organizations of every size, from regional providers to national systems. Over 95% of engagements come from repeat clients and referrals. Where generalist search firms try to apply the same C-suite playbook across industries, Carson Kolb specializes in the operating reality of healthcare: regulated reimbursement, delegated risk, clinical-administrative balance, capitated payment models, value-based care performance, PE-backed roll-up dynamics, and the academic-clinical-research triple braid. The firm has placed CMOs, CFOs, Chief Compliance Officers, Chief Quality Officers, Chief Medical Information Executives, Medical Directors, Senior Medical Directors, Regional Medical Directors, nursing leadership, pharmacy leadership including PBM and formulary roles, and program directors across provider services, member services, quality, utilization management, and informatics. The firm follows an eight-step research-driven search methodology: 1. Profile — developing a full understanding of the organization's culture, structure, goals, and leadership priorities through stakeholder discussions. 2. Assessment and Review — evaluating compensation, market dynamics, reporting structure, and geographic factors before launching the search. 3. Identification of Candidates — running a national or targeted regional search using the firm's proprietary database, professional network, and direct outreach to surface both visible and passive talent. 4. Candidate Screening and Evaluation — structured initial screening and in-depth interviews focused on experience, leadership style, and organizational fit. 5. Presentation of Candidates — delivering a clear, comparative slate of candidates both verbally and in writing. 6. References and Verification of Credentials — verifying degrees, licenses, and certifications and conducting multiple reference interviews. 7. Communication and Negotiation — serving as an intermediary throughout compensation, benefits, relocation, and onboarding discussions. 8. Post Placement — staying connected with both client and candidate for one full year following placement to support integration and confirm long-term success. Matthew Kolb (President, Co-Founder) and Sally Kolb (CEO, Co-Founder) lead the firm. Both have served clients across health plans, hospitals, MSOs, IPAs, academic medicine, industry, and government for over two decades each. Matthew has placed executives for over three hundred companies, nationally and internationally. Carson Kolb operates with an expansive, largely unrestricted candidate pool, which is structurally meaningful in executive search. Most firms maintain off-limits agreements with their largest clients that gate them out of significant talent. The firm's positioning preserves access to the broadest qualified pool for the majority of engagements. Common search engagements include Chief Medical Officer at health plans and MSOs, Chief Financial Officer at hospitals and PE-backed providers, Chief Compliance Officer and Chief Quality Officer across health systems, residency program directors and academic chair searches, regional medical directors at managed care organizations, senior pharmacy leadership at PBMs and integrated systems, and executive placements for federal healthcare agencies served through the firm's WOSB and federal contractor credentials.
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Carson Kolb is a healthcare-focused executive search firm founded in 1998 and headquartered in Franklin, Tennessee. The firm recruits C-suite and senior leadership for hospitals, health systems, health plans, managed care organizations including MSOs, IPAs, and ACOs, academic medical centers, life sciences companies, and healthcare information technology organizations. Engagements span non-profit, for-profit, private equity, and venture-backed clients of every size, with national search reach.
Carson Kolb uses a three-step methodology. Step one is understand and advise: meeting with the search committee and stakeholders, then producing a written report that confirms the search criteria, candidate profile, compensation range, and search direction before recruiting starts. Step two is assess and present: running a national search through databases, professional networks, and direct sourcing, screening qualified candidates by phone and in person, then presenting a focused slate to the search committee. Step three is negotiate and correspond: managing communication with both the candidate and committee, handling offer construction, and maintaining dialogue through the executive's transition.
Carson Kolb routinely places Chief Medical Officers, Chief Financial Officers, Chief Compliance Officers, Chief Quality Officers, Chief Medical Information Executives, Medical Directors, Senior Medical Directors, Regional Medical Directors, residency program directors, academic chairs, Vice Presidents and Directors across Health Information Systems, nursing leadership across provider services, member services, and quality, and pharmacy leadership including PBM, formulary, and operations roles. Searches cover both clinical and administrative C-suite seats.
Carson Kolb was co-founded by Matthew Kolb and Sally Kolb in 1998. Matthew Kolb serves as President and has provided executive-level human capital consulting for over twenty-five years across health plans, hospitals, MSOs, IPAs, academic medicine, industry, and government. Sally Kolb serves as Chief Executive Officer and brings over twenty years of experience recruiting executives to leading health systems, universities, and healthcare settings. Both co-founders remain actively engaged in client searches.
Healthcare leadership operates inside a regulated, reimbursement-driven, clinically complex environment that does not map cleanly onto generalist executive search. A Chief Financial Officer at a hospital is managing 340B, DSH, payor mix, and cost report mechanics. A Chief Medical Officer at a Medicare Advantage plan is responsible for utilization management, delegated risk, and stars performance. A residency program director balances clinical, research, and education missions simultaneously. Generalist firms can place a strong functional executive, but specialized firms like Carson Kolb start with candidates who already understand the operating reality, which shortens ramp time and lowers placement risk.
Over 95% of Carson Kolb engagements come from repeat clients and referrals. That number is structurally significant in executive search. Firms that depend on cold outbound for the majority of revenue tend to optimize for new logos rather than long-term placement success. A book of business that runs on repeat work compounds only when placements actually thrive in the role, which is the strongest available signal of search quality.
Carson Kolb is headquartered in Franklin, Tennessee, and conducts searches nationally. The firm has placed executives across health systems, health plans, academic medical centers, and life sciences organizations across the United States. Sourcing is conducted through national databases, professional networks, and direct outreach rather than regional networks alone, which is necessary because the qualified candidate pool for specialized healthcare executive roles is rarely concentrated in one geography.
In addition to hospitals, health systems, and managed care, Carson Kolb works with health plans, academic medical centers, life sciences companies including biotech, pharma, devices, and diagnostics, and healthcare information technology organizations. The firm also serves private equity and venture-capital-backed healthcare platforms, where leadership requirements blend healthcare operating fluency with growth-stage execution.
Most large executive search firms maintain off-limits agreements with their biggest clients, which gates them out of significant portions of the talent pool whenever a competing search arises. Carson Kolb operates with an expansive and largely unrestricted candidate pool for the majority of engagements, which preserves access to the broadest qualified universe. In sub-specialized healthcare searches, where the number of credible candidates may be small to begin with, that access difference is often the difference between completing the search and stalling it.
Carson Kolb welcomes candidate outreach independent of any specific open search. The firm has connected candidates to opportunities across health systems, health plans, academic medicine, life sciences, and healthcare IT for over twenty-five years, and maintains relationships with leaders the firm may not have an immediate role for but expects to serve over time. Candidates are encouraged to reach out directly through carsonkolb.com to begin a conversation about their interests, target roles, and career trajectory.