Furst Group

Executive Search & Leadership Consulting in Chicago

Furst Group is a premier executive search and leadership solutions firm headquartered in Chicago, exclusively focused on the healthcare and life sciences industries across the US. For more than four decades, we have positively transformed organizations by acquiring talented executives and developing high-performing teams. Furst Group has been consistently ranked among the Top 10 executive search firms by Modern Healthcare and among America's Best Executive Search Firms by Forbes.

As a member of the MPI family of companies, we offer a distinct advantage: the ability to integrate executive search with the deep leadership consulting expertise of our companion company, NuBrick Partners. This holistic approach allows us to align talent strategies directly with the complex transformation agendas of our clients, from large integrated health systems to venture-backed life science innovators.

Furst Group is the exclusive member firm of IIC Partners in Chicago. Through this partnership, we combine our specialized national expertise with the global reach of over 450 consultants in 40 major business centers worldwide.

Our Services

• Healthcare Executive Search: We identify and recruit top-tier executives for key leadership positions. Our process is dedicated to mitigating risk and ensuring long-term success by assessing not only technical competency but also cultural alignment and transformational capacity.
• Leadership Solutions: Through NuBrick Partners, we provide integrated talent management services that extend beyond the hire. This includes executive team performance, succession planning, and individual leadership development to ensure new leaders accelerate their impact.
• Board Services: We work with the boards of publicly traded companies and non-profit organizations to identify and hire directors with the specific expertise the board needs, whether clinical, financial, strategic, or operational. We also provide in-depth guidance on board configuration, governance, dynamics of new-member acquisition, and culture.

Industry Expertise

Our deep roots in all facets of the healthcare ecosystem enable us to guide organizations through the nuanced challenges they face. We maintain specialized practices across the following sectors:

• Healthcare Providers: We partner with Hospitals & Health Systems, Academic Medical Centers, and Medical Group Practices to find leaders who can navigate shifting reimbursement models and new care modalities.
• Payers & Insurance: Our work with Managed Care Organizations and Insurance Companies stretches back to the dawn of the HMO era. We recruit executives who can drive value-based care and population health initiatives.
• Life Sciences: We serve Pharmaceutical, Biotechnology, and Medical Device firms, identifying leaders who excel in product commercialization, market access, and regulatory compliance.
• Healthcare Services & Technology: We work with nimble, disruptive organizations — including Private Equity and Venture Capital-backed firms — to recruit growth-oriented leaders who can scale innovation.
• Post-Acute & End-of-Life Care: We are a leading talent partner for Hospice, Palliative Care, and Home Health organizations, finding leaders who balance mission-driven care with operational excellence.

Our Approach

Adding a new executive is a transformation that impacts the entire team dynamics. Therefore, our approach pushes past the surface to match talent to the specific transformation needs of your organization.

• Business Strategy Aligned: We align your talent strategy with your business strategy. Whether you are addressing health equity, expanding consumerism, or integrating digital technology, we find leaders who have the specific competencies to execute that vision.
• In-depth Assessment: By leveraging the psychological expertise of NuBrick Partners, we evaluate the "whole person". This allows us to predict how a candidate will fit within your existing culture and how they will perform under the specific pressures of your environment.
• Onboarding Support: We are dedicated to reducing the risk associated with executive hiring. Our unique process extends six months beyond your new executive leader's start date, ensuring outstanding results and long-term retention.

Market Insights in the US Healthcare Sector

Here are three key trends from our recent report, Emerging Trends in Healthcare Leadership.

1. Value-Based Healthcare: The industry is decisively moving toward value-based care models that prioritize outcomes over volume. Future leadership strategies must align with these aims: improving patient experience, population health, cost reduction, clinician well-being, and health equity. As Medicare drug price negotiations and site-neutral payment discussions advance, organizations require leaders who can establish equitable reimbursement based on quality outcomes and stakeholder value.
2. Strategic Workforce Development: With competition for talent intensifying, developing and training the workforce has become a strategic imperative. Clinical staff are facing mounting administrative burdens and reimbursement shortfalls, requiring executives to rethink retention and team culture. Success depends on leaders who can bridge the gap between clinical and business priorities to build teams that are both highly engaged and high-performing.
3. The Transformation of Care Delivery: Clinical innovations and AI are expanding care delivery into homes, pharmacies, and outpatient facilities. This shift demands agile leaders who can reimagine delivery models while navigating complex relationships with emerging market participants, such as retail health providers. Executives must possess the capacity to think outside the traditional format to effect efficiencies and lower costs without sacrificing quality or access.