Meet Eric Germann
As a Partner, Eric advises Fortune 500 companies and leading private equity investors as they address their most critical talent and organizational challenges. He helps leadership teams move faster from strategy to results through increased alignment, coaching, and talent selection.
In this article, we dive into Eric’s journey to ghSMART, exploring how he found a way to do meaningful work with clients he loves, while building a life that prioritizes family and lasting impact.
Interesting work, but a growing desire for balance...
Prior to ghSMART, I spent many years at a top-tier strategy consulting firm, partnering with management teams to solve pressing operational issues. The work was challenging, interesting, but at times felt empty. I was often on the road 3-4 days a week.
When I was at home, I spent as much time as I could with my wife Lauren and son Noah, hiking, exploring, playing catch/soccer, and having pizza and movie nights. Coming home was a joy, while heading to the client site felt heavy.
Powerful opportunity to do meaningful work at a place that champions freedom and flexibility
I discovered the leadership advisory space through a recruitment email. I typically had filed these away or deleted them without much thought—but this one caught my eye. It talked about work focused completely on leadership, talent, and ensuring the right people were in the right roles. After years of consulting, it had become clear that our team’s work was rarely realized—because client management teams weren’t operating at their potential. I loved the caliber of people I worked with and the intellectually challenging work—but I was tired from travel and from being let down by our lack of significant impact. So, I responded to the email. Little did I know it would alter my career trajectory and provide the freedom and flexibility to spend more time with my family than I had been yearning for.
What sets ghSMART apart in your mind?
I researched who the ‘best’ was in the leadership advisory space, and everything came back to ghSMART. Doing my due diligence, I sent three cold emails to ghSMART strategy consultants—all of them responded within an hour and offered to answer my questions. I learned that ghSMART combined the best strategy consultant managers with the best industrial psychologists. These people were wicked smart, legitimately caring, and excelled at prediction—a powerful combination of team members and mentors who would allow me to apply my consulting toolkit while learning new skills too.
I also learned that ghSMART would allow me to work with who I wanted to, from where I wanted to, and on what I wanted to. Plus, their pay-for-performance model provided flexibility to scale my compensation depending on what was best for my family at any given time.
I came to ghSMART because of its unique culture and model, built on hiring the absolute best and then empowering them to do meaningful work for clients who prioritize talent. I’ve stayed because of the colleagues and clients, who are some of my closest and most inspiring friends. I look forward to calling this firm home for years to come.
Executive coaching, private equity firms, high-stakes C-suite hiring
At ghSMART, you can work on a broad range of items or decide to spend your time on one solution. Personally, I love the people I work with and the impact our work has, so my plate tends to be full. The wonderful thing about ghSMART is that you have the option to choose your focus.
My client portfolio spans the full breadth of opportunities that ghSMART offers. I help lead work with some of our largest Private Equity clients and partner closely with leadership teams for many large and well-known corporate clients we serve. My week is filled with executive coaching conversations, colleague mentor chats, firm-building activities, assessments for high-potential executives, high-stakes C-suite hiring discussions, CEO succession projects, and conversations with prospective clients.
What is the most motivating thing about your work?
Hands down, it’s the opportunity to wake up every morning and work on the most important, most meaningful decisions my clients are making—the ones that have the biggest impact on their personal and professional lives and ultimately how successful they are. At ghSMART, there is an intentional shift from being a consultant to a most trusted advisor. Partnering with executives to help them better understand how they can amplify their unique strengths while exploring ways to refine their approach is incredibly fulfilling and always important. A single project is temporary, but the relationships you build at ghSMART can be transformative and last a lifetime.
Taking control of your career: Freedom to lead, learn, and choose
ghSMART is as close to being your own boss as you can be while still having the support of a firm and incredible colleagues. One of ghSMART’s values is when in doubt, lead. You not only have freedom to choose how to best integrate your work and personal life but also are encouraged to chase down new ideas or come up with better ways of doing things. The firm provides non-stop learning and opportunities to advise some of the most influential leaders in the world.
'Up or out’ is not a thing here—you can choose where you want your career to go at the pace you and your family wants.
Instead of having a “boss” to report to, I have many mentors, formal and informal, who I consult closely with as I think through how to have the biggest impact at work and at home. I can decide when and how often to spend time with my clients to ensure they are getting what they need. If I see an opportunity, I can pursue it.
ghSMART exists to help leaders amplify their positive impact in the world—and that includes yours.
Eric’s bio can be found here.
