I’ve been a real-estate developer, a politician, and a headhunter, so my friends accuse me of having a checkered past. What I’ve been doing all these years is feeding my passion for helping people and organizations excel in a changing world.

As a Deputy Mayor of Los Angeles, I built economic and workforce development strategies to help set the stage for the millions who’ve come here from across the globe to create a better life for themselves and their kids. Now as a headhunter, I help my clients to focus on the future of their markets, to plan for the talent they need, and to hunt down that talent.

As I recently relayed to the Los Angeles Times in their profile on me, the most important search of my life resulted in my husband Dave. He, and our new daughter Pip, give me the love and clarity to make everything else possible.

Thank you for making the time to visit my blog.

Official Bio:

Joy Chen is the founder of Chen Partners, Inc., a Santa-Monica based executive search and training firm. Prior to forming Chen Partners, Joy was a Principal with global executive search firm Heidrick & Struggles, where she was consistently recognized for her exceptional client service, and where she served as a worldwide trainer of her fellow partners in leading-edge executive search practices. In conjunction with her search practice, Joy is frequently called on to work with executives and HR professionals on implementing best practices in recruiting and interviewing across client organizations. Joy’s work on addressing corporate human capital challenges has been cited in the Financial Times, Business Week, the Economist and other leading business publications.

Joy’s work in human capital spans public and private sectors. Joy is a former Deputy Mayor of Los Angeles, where she spearheaded major education and workforce development initiatives which since have become national models for addressing regional skills shortages.

Prior to entering public service, Joy worked for 10 years in commercial real estate development, creating innovative urban development projects throughout Southern California.

A 2004 American Marshall Memorial Fellow, Joy earned MBA and MA in Urban Planning degrees from UCLA, and a BA from Duke University.