Listen to the episode, "A Good Eye for Great Leaders" on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and Google Podcasts.

Partner and co-Head of the Consumer Practice Todd Zangrillo spoke to Imperfect Leaders host Jeffrey Cohn about his path to becoming a leader in the consumer executive recruiting space.  The Imperfect Leaders podcast highlights leaders of their fields, and how they overcame obstacles on the road to success.

Todd said he loves executive search because it allows you to truly understand people on a deeply personal level in a short amount of time.  Part of the search process includes "talking about the most personal things you could ever imagine that even with your friends could take years," said Todd, "your family, your risk tolerance, how much money you make, if you're ready to leave the company, your vulnerabilities, what your head and heart desires."

"Vulnerability is the thing that got me to where I am today."

Todd has been an integral part of True’s growth over the last ten years.  But, as he told Jeffrey, meeting co-founders and co-CEOs Brad Stadler and Joe Riggione for the first time was a bit rocky.  Todd said Brad wanted him on the team… but that Joe "actually didn’t feel the same way about me."

So they went to lunch, ironed out any impressions, and the rest is history.  "Those two chose… to embrace me and to pull me into this firm," said Todd, “And ten years later, we've gone on to do some great things together.”

And when it comes to being an "imperfect leader," Todd said community and vulnerability helped him become who he is today. 

"I think it's pretty clear: I do not have the perfect career trajectory or story, and I'm so incredibly grateful that I landed in something that I love and I had people to help me do that," Todd said.

"We have a really simple pitch, which is we change the rules of search."

"So, if you want to be on the most innovative platform with great human beings, with unprecedented growth, with tools and innovation that other companies don't have, so that would accelerate your ability to bring those things to the clients that you have, and you want to work in a place that there's a bunch of great humans and has a great culture, this is the place to be."

Jeffrey has interviewed leaders like entrepreneur Mark Cuban, Zillow Founder Spencer Rascoff, GoDaddy CEO Aman Bhutani, Wall Street powerhouse Eileen Murray, and Sequoia Capital's Doug Leone.