Verbatim client survey comments from Steve Shindler, Chairman & CEO of NII Holdings, Inc. (fka Nextel International), regarding the Board Director search executed by Jefferson Partners. Mr. Wellman’s placement was Charles Herington, President & CEO of AOL Latin America.

"Basically, we're a company that's newly public, having come out of a restructuring last year. One independent outside Director who was signed up had to step down because a job conflict came up. We decided to contact an executive recruiter, Mike Wellman, to start a Director search for us.

"Overall, Mike did an outstanding job for us. What was most effective was the way he explained the process, his diligent follow-through, and his updates of what was happening. The number of candidates he presented, their backgrounds, etc., was very good. Every candidate on the initial "long" list showed good qualities for this position. His quick study of our company and the cultural aspects of the existing Board showed he understood what we needed.

"I have been trying to think of any way that this project could have gone even better. The only item, in retrospect, that we left out was to have Mike present the initial search game-plan to the Board at the start of the project. Mike offered to do this, but I did not take him up on it. It would have added value to the Board’s understanding of the process, and would have set expectations even better. Instead, I relayed as best I could what Mike and Jefferson Partners' approach was going to be. Perhaps he can use this as an example to urge future clients that this is a step that would be of great value.

"I view Mike's search and consulting skill set and his firm as highly specialized to address the top tier positions – CEO, President, CFO or Board of Directors. I would certainly recommend him highly."

Verbatim placement survey comments from Charles Herington, President & CEO of AOL Latin America, and new member of the Board of NII Holdings, Inc.:

"I can tell you it was one of the best search processes I’ve ever been part of. Several elements working together contributed to this. Mike and I met and established a relationship over 4 to 6 months ago. We met face-to-face and immediately had a good rapport. The opportunity that Mike presented to be a Director on the Board for Nextel International (NII Holdings) was aligned with my background and expertise. Mike identified a good fit for us both.

There were two superior elements with Mike in his role of executive recruiter: 1) the entire process moved a much faster than with other recruiters, in my experience. In fact, another recruiter had contacted me during this time for a Board position with AT&T, a prestigious and even better-known company. The person told me that the whole process would take about one year, and I immediately thought that was too long. 2) Mike had a great amount of knowledge about what was going on internally with Nextel."

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