ZRG Partners, the Rochelle Park-based search and talent recruitment firm, has moved into the sports, entertainment and media sector with the acquisition of Turnkey Search, a top sports industry executive search and talent recruitment firm, it announced Monday.
New York-based Turnkey’s staff and assets will merge into ZRG, with the company renamed TurnkeyZRG and becoming a unit of the New Jersey business. Len Perna, founder, chairman and CEO of Turnkey, will remain the leader of the unit, ZRG said.
“We landed the best sports executive search firm, and the No. 1 talent recruiter in Len Perna,” Larry Hartmann, ZRG’s CEO, said in a prepared statement. “Len started Turnkey 25 years ago, and consistently won gold-standard clients from billion-dollar competitors. Along the way, Turnkey cemented a reputation for integrity, accountability and prioritizing diversity long before others.”
The firm handled 56 searches in the sports, entertainment and media sectors in 2020, including for multiple teams in the NFL, NBA, NHL and MLS.