Spencer Stuart Bolsters Industry-leading North America Board Advisory Practice

NEW YORK, Sept. 2, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Spencer Stuart, a leading global advisory firm, today announced that Rebecca Thornton has rejoined the firm in its New York office. She will co-lead the Board Advisory Practice alongside George Anderson, who is based in Spencer Stuart's Boston office. Anderson previously led Board Effectiveness, an essential service line within Spencer Stuart's Board Advisory business. Julie Daum, a longtime firm leader in Board Advisory, will serve as Chair of the practice.

Thornton brings 25 years of experience advising CEOs, boards, individual directors and aspiring directors on board recruitment, board design and composition, shareholder engagement and CEO succession. She is a recognized governance thought leader, named to the National Association of Corporate Directors' (NACD) Directorship 100 list of most influential voices in corporate governance.

Anderson has extensive experience advising boards and conducting searches for directors, consulting with CEOs and boards on leadership and governance matters such as CEO and board succession. He has been named multiple times to the National Association of Corporate Directors' (NACD) Directorship 100 list of most influential people in corporate governance and is a recipient of Spencer Stuart's Lou Rieger Quality Award for outstanding client service. Anderson is a frequent speaker at leading governance forums, regularly convenes directors to support their development, and leads Spencer Stuart's New Director Program.

"We are thrilled to welcome Rebecca back to Spencer Stuart, and for her and George to lead our Board Advisory practice in North America, at a time when boards are navigating considerable change and transformation," said Jordan Brugg, chief executive officer of Spencer Stuart. "We bring unparalleled experience supporting boards on governance matters and we are incredibly thankful to Julie Daum for having shaped our Board Practice into what it is today, and for her ongoing guidance and client impact in the years to come," added Brugg.

Previously, Thornton served for seven years at J.P. Morgan as head of Director Advisory Services (DAS), the bank's center of excellence for advising and supporting corporate clients on their board needs. Before joining J.P. Morgan, Rebecca spent nine years at Spencer Stuart, supporting director recruitment across industries. She earned a B.A. with honors from Colby College.  

"I'm excited to return to Spencer Stuart and help further strengthen the firm's position as a trusted advisor in the boardroom," said Thornton. "The expectations around corporate governance have never been greater. I look forward to partnering with George and the team to help companies enhance their own performance to drive sustainable value creation amid the changing corporate landscape."

Before joining Spencer Stuart in 2013, Anderson was a partner at Tapestry Networks, a principal at Toffler Associates and a senior consultant at Accenture. Anderson holds an M.Ed. in human development and psychology from the Harvard Graduate School of Education and a B.A. in philosophy from Haverford College.

"From macroeconomic volatility to technological disruption, boards are facing unprecedented challenges, and I am honored to work with Rebecca and the practice to help boards lift their performance in an increasingly complex world," said Anderson.

About Spencer Stuart
Privately held since 1956, we focus on delivering knowledge, insight and results through the collaborative efforts of a team of experts — now spanning more than 60 offices, over 30 countries and more than 50 practice specialties. Boards and leaders consistently turn to Spencer Stuart to help address their evolving leadership needs in areas such as senior-level executive search, board recruitment, board effectiveness, succession planning, in-depth senior management assessment, and many facets of culture and organizational effectiveness, particularly in the context of the changing stakeholder expectations of business today. For more information on Spencer Stuart, please visit www.spencerstuart.com.

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