Thames is a senior member of the firm’s Board Recruiting practice. He also supports the firm’s Chief Executive Officers, Industrial Technology, and Family-Owned Businesses practices. He is a functional specialist working on board recruiting, corporate governance consulting, and best-in-class succession planning for both board members and CEOs. He serves as a board- and CEO-level advisor assisting clients with ascertaining and recruiting the optimum balance of skills and experience required to build robust and effective boards and corporate governance processes in support of successful businesses. He has more than 17 years of experience executing board search and governance-based consulting engagements. His search practice spans a wide variety of sectors including industrial manufacturing, consumer goods, retail, and financial services. Thames’ clients include Fortune 500, mid-cap, and small-cap corporations, as well private, family-owned enterprises. Prior to joining RSR Partners, he built and led a successful national boutique board practice for a smaller firm. Before that, he worked for 11 years with two global recruiting firms, Heidrick & Struggles and Russell Reynolds Associates. Thames’ earlier career includes experience as a research analyst at Euromonitor International, a global market research firm, and as a project manager at Mitternight Boiler Works, a manufacturer of ASME pressure vessels, distillation columns, and heat exchangers for the chemical and petroleum industries. He also served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Senegal, implementing agro-forestry and natural resources management projects. Thames earned his bachelor’s degree in philosophy from Georgetown University and an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. He and his wife Mary live in Geneva, Illinois with their four children. He enjoys spending as much time with his family as he can. Thames’ other pursuits include bass fishing, bird hunting, cooking, and gardening.