About us

How it all began

We built our firm on the pillars of objectivity, undiluted ethics, and enlightened aggression.

With a process that’s rooted in relationships, data, and intellect, we’ve provided professional judgments that have made a lasting impact on our partners.

Our judgements are simultaneously inspired by instinct and pragmatism, resulting in balanced outcomes designed to endure.

Our mission and vision

A note from our founder

‘We sit in the mud...and reach for the stars’
- Ivan Turgenev, Fathers & Sons

Each in our own fashion, we sat in the mud in 2012. I had just retired from a 25-year career at Fidelity Investments and moved from Boston to New York. John had just completed his MBA without much of a clue as to how to build his career anew after having toiled for a decade on Wall Street.

With common resolution, an intergenerational conspiracy was hatched, one which allowed us to reinvent ourselves. We reached for the stars in creating a family business. I would find a new creative platform to ply a trade honed over three decades in Boston and John would get a fresh start in a business which he had witnessed me practice throughout his youth.

Thus, Occam was born. A fusion of hard-earned wisdom and amorphous creative vigor. Our collaboration has yielded a richly successful global search firm, one dedicated to helping entrepreneurs realize their vision. Occam’s culture is rooted in intuitive team play, mutual respect, warmth of spirit, uncompromising ethics and clarity of purpose – family values.

Bill Holodnak

Bill & John Holodnak

Values you’ll see embodied
in our practice

01

Professionalism

Driven by discipline
and objectivity

02

Transparency

Guided by open
communication

03

Creativity

Inspired by both improvised
and structured thinking

04

Ethics

Fueled by an unrelenting
commitment to results

BEHIND OCCAM

We built our firm on the pillars of objectivity, undiluted ethics, and enlightened aggression.

The medieval philosopher William of Occam serves as the firm's adopted patron saint. William spoke plainly and his thoughts were infused with rigor and humanity. These qualities yielded elevated ideas that advanced Western philosophy but also got him into a few dust ups with the Vatican.

His enduring concept, Occam's Razor, embodies an unrelenting focus on essentials in problem-solving. His and our solutions strive for elegant simplicity.

FAQ

Discover our most frequently asked questions

We are specialists in recruiting executives and board members for the life sciences but serve a variety of other tech clients as well as venture capital.

With associates in New York, San Francisco, London, and Los Angeles, Occam serves clients across Europe the US, and Asia.

Occam is differentiated by its extensive network, comprehensive search process, enduring commitment to ethics, personal approach, and creativity.

Occam provides global executive recruiting, board placement and leadership advisory services.