Global consulting firm J.S. Held announces that Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Jonathon (Jon) Held intends to step down as Chief Executive Officer. J.S. Held President and Chief Operating Officer (COO) Lee Spirer will succeed Jon Held as President and CEO. Jon Held will become Executive Chairman of the Board of Directors. As part of a planned succession, the leadership transition will take effect at the start of the second quarter of 2025.
In his new role as Executive Chairman, Jon Held will continue to provide strategic guidance, ensuring the company optimizes value creation for continued growth. In addition, Jon will increase his client-facing role, providing strategic advisory and dispute resolution consulting, largely focused within the insurance industry.
Since assuming the role of Chief Executive in 1985, Jon has overseen the growth of J.S. Held, from a small regional firm to an internationally recognized global consulting company with more than 1500 professionals operating on six continents. Steve Dutton, Partner at Kelso & Company, J.S. Held’s private equity partner, commenting on the executive transition, shares, “Working collaboratively with Jon and the executive team, Lee Spirer was recruited to make Jon’s decision to transition to the Executive Chairman role seamlessly come to fruition.”
“Lee Spirer’s extensive experience and proven ability to drive strategy focused on financial results and operational excellence positions Lee as the ideal chief executive to lead our team through our next phase of growth,” observed Jon Held. “As we enter our sixth decade of service to our clients, I am excited about this new period of growth for J.S. Held and I look forward to partnering with Lee to advance our mission and vision for the company in support of all J.S. Held stakeholders – our team members, clients, and investors.”
Lee Spirer is a transformational leader with extensive experience creating value for investors in human capital-intensive businesses by focusing on developing innovative, high-impact services for clients and building platforms that attract world-class professionals to maximize their career success. Over his 30-year career, Lee Spirer has been known for keen strategic insight tightly tied to successful plan execution, developing teams, tapping into innovation, and leveraging technology. His teams have balanced organic and acquisition-based growth strategies while driving operational performance. He has operated in public and private companies, acquired and sold businesses, guided a company through an IPO, and interacted with a wide range of investors and boards.
“J.S. Held’s mission for the last 50 years has been to serve as trusted, expert advisors to organizations around the world and to support the continued professional growth of our people,” said Jonathon Held, who added, “Today, we reaffirm that commitment at the highest level of our organization for the benefit of clients and our more than 1500 scientific, technical, financial, and risk experts around the world.”
Lee Spirer, commenting on his transition to President and CEO, shares, “Jon has led this company to an enviable position in its core markets. He has been a tremendous partner and has opted to apply his time to the highest value activity -- focusing on his unique abilities in advising our insurance clients. I consider myself fortunate and seek to build on this platform, evolving J.S. Held for the future, leading a talented team.