Overview
Meara Kelley is a partner in Heidrick & Struggles’ New York office, global lead of the Industrial Goods & Technology Sector, and a member of the Industrial Practice. She helps clients in their search for CEO, president, GM, COO, and commercial leadership talent.
Experience
Meara’s client work focuses on advanced manufacturing, engineered products, industrial technology, and aerospace and defense. She has extensive experience advising clients across the broader industrial technology landscape, working in close cross-industry partnership with the consumer, automotive, technology, and life sciences sectors. This breadth of expertise helps her identify and attract leaders who can navigate complex engineered product environments while providing customer-centric perspectives from adjacent innovation-driven markets.
Meara focuses on CEO, COO, CSCO, commercial, and adjacent operating executive roles for public and private companies. She prioritizes developing trusted relationships, providing client-centric advice, timely execution, and a thoughtful and measured approach to talent assessment.
Before joining Heidrick & Struggles, Meara spent 23 years in banking, most recently serving as head of industrials and corporate and investment banking at Wells Fargo.
In this role, Meara advised clients on significant M&A events, capital markets transactions, lending and financing, and strategic initiatives, including energy transition, supply chain resilience, and digital transformations.
Education
NYU Stern School of Business - Langone Program, M.B.A.
Vanderbilt University, B.A., Economics, Human and Organizational Development