Search on for next Greater Topeka Partnership CEO

TOPEKA (KSNT) - The Greater Topeka Partnership (GTP) is searching for its newest CEO this year and is getting some help from an executive recruitment firm.

Bob Ross with the GTP said it has chosen Winner Partners of St. Petersburg, Florida to help it look for a new CEO to lead the Topeka organization. Winner Partners is an executive search firm with offices across the nation that specialize in serving nonprofits, public-private partnerships and others.

Washburn University President JuliAnn Mazachek will help guide the search as it progresses. She will work alongside Winner Partners to find the best fit to take the helm at the GTP.

“We are fortunate to have exceptional internal talent and will be attracting some of the best in the industry through this national search,” Mazachek said. “The community can be confident that the candidate ultimately selected will be the one best positioned to sustain and elevate the transformational progress our region has achieved.”

The previous GTP CEO, Matt Pivarnik, stepped down in May this year. He left his position with the GTP to pursue a role as president and CEO of the Myrtle Beach Area Chamber of Commerce in South Carolina.

Stephanie Moran, senior vice president of innovation and entrepreneurship at the GTP, will take up the role of interim CEO. Ross said she brings a wealth of experience to the role and has previously served as president and general manager of Nutri-Shield Preservative and spent 18 years in a leadership position with Payless ShoeSource.

“We are deeply grateful for Stephanie’s willingness to step into this interim role,” Mazachek said. “Her steady leadership will ensure day-to-day operations continue seamlessly as we conduct this important search.”

Ross said the search will continue through to July this year. The GTP will announced its new CEO that month.

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