Buffkin / Baker Names Nat Sutton Partner in Nonprofit Practice

newsBuffkin / Baker Names Nat Sutton Partner in Nonprofit Practice

Buffkin / Baker Names Nat Sutton Partner in Nonprofit Practice

Former Heidrick & Struggles vice chairman bolsters New York team

NASHVILLE, Tenn., Nov. 29, 2017 – Buffkin / Baker, a leading national retained search firm, is pleased to announce that Nathaniel J. Sutton – former partner and vice chairman of Heidrick & Struggles – has joined the firm as partner and head of its nonprofit practice.

“Nat has more than 17 years of executive search experience, and has been immensely successful in the nonprofit, higher education and philanthropic arenas,” said Craig Buffkin, managing partner of Buffkin / Baker. “Nat is also an innovator in the banking industry, where he advanced leading-edge public affairs and customer service strategies for Citgroup. We are thrilled to have him leading our nonprofit practice.”

For seven years, he headed the education and non- profit practice of Heidrick & Struggles, where he grew the practice from $3 million to $17 million in annual revenue.

During his tenure at Heidrick & Struggles, Sutton served major education, arts, cultural and philanthropic organizations, as well as leading corporations. His clients have included The American Red Cross, Make-A-Wish Foundation, Columbia University, Dartmouth College, Howard University, Yale University, the University of Connecticut, The Cleveland Museum, Jazz at Lincoln Center, Norton Museum of Art, the Miami Art Museum, as well as The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, the MasterCard Foundation, the Robin Hood Foundation and the Marion Ewing Kauffman Foundation, Ford Motor Company, Raytheon, Bank of America, Citigroup/Citibank, and US Trust.

Sutton also previously served as vice president and director of corporate communications for Citigroup. At Citi he oversaw the corporation’s internal and external communications, investor communications, new media and creative services. As head of the corporate customer affairs group, he developed Citibank’s first global customer service strategy and five-year public affairs plan. During his tenure BusinessWeek recognized the company’s public relations group as one of the world’s 10 best.

He is a board member of the League of American Orchestras, the Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America (CADCA) and the Harvard Business School Club. Sutton is a former board member of the American Folk Art Museum, former board chair of Opus 118 Harlem School of Music and a former trustee of the Metropolitan Opera Guild.

Sutton holds a bachelor’s degree from City College of New York, and a diploma from Centre d’Etudes Industrielles in Lausanne, Switzerland. He is an alumnus of the Harvard Business School’s Advanced Management Program (AMP).

“Buffkin / Baker has had significant growth as a retained search firm, and has bolstered its nonprofit, higher education, health care, digital, media and entertainment practices,” said Sutton. “This success – especially in the nonprofit sector – was very appealing to me, and I am eager to join the leadership team to continue building the firm for the future.”

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