The short answer: MarketSearch was retained to find an on-site Head of Marketing for Valley Vet Supply in Marysville, Kansas. We recruited an accomplished eCommerce leader from a highly complementary national retailer who helped lead a true digital transformation, contributed to 30%–40% year-over-year revenue growth and was ultimately elevated to CEO.

That is what a successful retained search should look like. It is not simply about filling an open position. It is about finding a leader who can change the trajectory of the business.

Client Situation

Valley Vet Supply is a national omnichannel retailer of animal health products and supplies. Founded by practicing veterinarians in 1985 and headquartered in Marysville, Kansas, the company serves three core customer groups: pet owners, equine enthusiasts and livestock producers.

Its business reaches well beyond a traditional online store. Valley Vet offers prescription and over-the-counter medications, vaccines, supplements, dewormers, tack, equipment, grooming products and other veterinary and farm supplies. The company also operates an in-house veterinary pharmacy and offers recurring delivery through its Auto-Ship program.

The company had strong roots, trusted customer relationships and a meaningful position in animal health. It also had an opportunity to modernize how it reached customers, integrated eCommerce with traditional channels and turned marketing into a much stronger revenue driver.

We were brought into the search through an investment partner with whom we had already completed multiple impactful marketing leadership placements. That prior work mattered. They knew our process, knew the quality of leaders we could reach and trusted us with a role that was highly strategic to Valley Vet’s next stage of growth.

The Leadership Challenge

This was not a simple Head of Marketing search.

Valley Vet needed a leader who could respect what had made the company successful while moving an established business into its next era. The mandate required deep eCommerce expertise, a practical understanding of brick-and-mortar retail, and the ability to connect digital marketing, customer acquisition, merchandising, brand and store traffic.

There was also a non-negotiable requirement: the executive needed to work on site with the team in Marysville, Kansas.

That immediately changed the search. The right candidate needed the experience to lead a major transformation and the genuine willingness to build a life and leadership presence in Marysville. A broad national search was necessary, but relocation could never be treated as an afterthought.

The Search Mandate

MarketSearch was retained to identify a senior marketing leader who could:

• Own marketing and eCommerce as commercial growth functions
• Modernize an established, traditional business without losing its trusted identity
• Integrate digital, catalog and brick-and-mortar customer experiences
• Use eCommerce and performance marketing to drive revenue and store traffic
• Build a more sophisticated, measurable approach to customer acquisition and retention
• Lead teams through substantial operational and cultural change
• Partner closely with the CEO, investors and the broader leadership team
• Work on site in Marysville and become part of the business and community

The winning profile could not be built by checking industry boxes. We needed a leader who had already transformed a complex, multichannel retail organization and understood customers whose lives and purchasing decisions were connected to animals, agriculture and the outdoors.

The MarketSearch Process

We started with the business outcome, not a stack of resumes.

Working directly with Valley Vet’s CEO and its investment partner, we defined what the leader had to accomplish in the first 12 to 24 months. From there, we mapped adjacent industries and companies where eCommerce, direct-to-consumer, catalog and physical retail already worked together at national scale.

Cabela’s stood out as a highly complementary talent market. Its customer base, outdoor orientation, national store footprint and omnichannel model created far more relevant experience than a title-for-title match from an unrelated online retailer.

Our work included:

• A national market map centered on proven eCommerce and omnichannel leaders
• Direct outreach to passive executives who were not actively applying for jobs
• Detailed assessment of transformation experience and measurable commercial results
• Early, direct conversations about relocation and on-site leadership in Marysville
• Close calibration with the CEO and investment partner throughout the search
• Careful evaluation of leadership style, adaptability and long-term potential—not simply functional credentials

This was exactly why retained search mattered. The strongest candidate was not sitting in a local applicant pool waiting to be found. We had to identify the right adjacent experience, make the opportunity compelling and assess whether the executive could lead well beyond the original job description.

The Placement

MarketSearch recruited a former Head of eCommerce from Cabela’s whose background lined up exceptionally well with Valley Vet’s needs.

The candidate brought serious eCommerce depth, but that was only part of the fit. This leader also understood how digital channels and physical retail reinforce one another—how online marketing can build national demand, strengthen customer loyalty and drive traffic into stores.

Most important, the candidate had already helped take a more traditional business through meaningful digital transformation. That gave Valley Vet a leader who understood how to modernize systems, teams and customer strategy without dismissing the history and culture that made the company valuable in the first place.

Measurable Outcome

The placement became a major success for Valley Vet, its investors and MarketSearch.

Under the placed executive’s leadership, Valley Vet achieved:

• A substantial digital and eCommerce transformation
• Stronger integration across eCommerce and brick-and-mortar retail
• High double-digit business growth
• Revenue gains reported at approximately 30%–40% year over year
• Broader enterprise leadership from the executive we placed
• The placed candidate’s eventual promotion to CEO

The CEO who led the business at the time of our search later exited, and the marketing and eCommerce executive we recruited was selected to lead the company.

That final outcome says more than any résumé ever could. We were retained to find a Head of Marketing. We found a future CEO.

“The best retained searches do more than solve today’s hiring problem. They bring in a leader who can grow with the business, change its trajectory and earn the right to lead at an even higher level. That is exactly what happened at Valley Vet.” — David Honig, Founder, MarketSearch Executive Search

Client Quote

Investment partner. “David Honig and his Team understood that we needed more than a conventional marketing executive. They found a leader with the eCommerce, omnichannel and transformation experience to help move Valley Vet forward and the leadership range to ultimately step into the CEO role.”

Why This Retained Marketing Search Worked

We searched for transferable success, not an identical industry label

The strongest candidate did not need to come from another veterinary supply company. The better comparison was a scaled, national, multichannel retailer serving an outdoor-oriented customer. That insight opened the right talent market.

We treated location as part of the leadership fit

Marysville was not a footnote to discuss at the offer stage. We addressed on-site expectations and relocation from the beginning, protecting everyone’s time and improving the odds of a durable placement.

We assessed for the company’s next chapter

The initial title was Head of Marketing, but the business needed enterprise leadership. By evaluating commercial judgment, transformation ability, cross-functional influence and growth capacity, we found someone capable of taking on far more.

We had earned the investor’s trust

The investment partner had seen our work through multiple prior placements. That gave us direct access, fast calibration and the confidence to challenge a narrow profile when the business outcome called for something better.

What Hiring Managers and Private Equity Leaders Can Take From This Search

Hiring the right senior marketing leader is a revenue decision—not simply a recruiting task.

For private equity-backed and growth-stage businesses, the best candidate often sits just outside the obvious industry target list. The key is knowing which experiences truly transfer, which accomplishments are repeatable and which leader can grow into the needs the company will have two or three years from now.

Valley Vet also demonstrates why difficult location requirements do not make a search impossible. They make precision, honest candidate engagement and a compelling business story much more important.

Why MarketSearch Executive Search

MarketSearch specializes in retained executive search for senior marketing, growth, demand generation, product marketing, digital, eCommerce and customer leadership.

We work directly with CEOs, private equity firms, boards and heads of talent when a marketing hire is too important for a job post and too specialized for a generalist recruiter. We build the market, reach passive candidates and assess leaders against the commercial outcome the business needs—not just the words in a job description.

Our searches are hands-on, confidential when required and led directly by David Honig. You get straight answers, consistent communication and a partner who understands the difference between a good marketing résumé and a leader who can actually drive growth.

Confidential Consultation

If you need a CMO, Head of Marketing, VP of Growth, eCommerce executive or digital transformation leader, let’s talk before the search becomes urgent.

Speak directly with David Honig about your leadership mandate, target market and the outcomes the new executive must deliver. The first conversation is confidential, practical and focused on whether MarketSearch is the right partner for the search.

David Honig
Founder, MarketSearch Executive Search
Call: 617-835-0444
Email: MarketSearch29@gmail.com
Website: www.marketsearchrecruiting.com

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Frequently Asked Questions

What did MarketSearch recruit for Valley Vet Supply?

MarketSearch was retained to recruit an on-site Head of Marketing for Valley Vet Supply in Marysville, Kansas. The mandate centered on eCommerce growth, omnichannel marketing, digital transformation, customer acquisition and stronger integration between online and physical retail.

Why was the Valley Vet executive search difficult?

The search required a rare combination of large-scale eCommerce experience, brick-and-mortar retail knowledge, digital transformation success and willingness to work on site in Marysville, Kansas. MarketSearch conducted a national, retained search and addressed relocation with candidates from the start.

What type of candidate did MarketSearch place?

MarketSearch placed a former Head of eCommerce from Cabela’s. The executive brought highly relevant experience across eCommerce, national retail, customer acquisition, store traffic and modernization of a traditional multichannel business.

What business results followed the placement?

The placed leader helped drive high double-digit growth, including revenue gains reported at approximately 30%–40% year over year. The executive’s responsibilities continued to expand and the candidate was ultimately promoted to CEO.

Why did Cabela’s experience translate to Valley Vet Supply?

Cabela’s was a strong adjacent talent market because it served an outdoor-oriented customer through eCommerce and a national brick-and-mortar footprint. That experience translated well to Valley Vet’s mix of online retail, catalog, pharmacy and physical-store operations serving equine, livestock and pet customers.

How does MarketSearch recruit executives for hard-to-fill locations?

MarketSearch builds a national candidate market, targets passive leaders with directly transferable experience and discusses location expectations early. The firm evaluates the professional opportunity and the personal realities of relocation together, which helps create durable on-site placements.

Does MarketSearch work with private equity firms and portfolio companies?

Yes. MarketSearch partners with private equity firms, operating partners, portfolio company CEOs and boards to recruit senior marketing and growth leaders. Searches are built around value-creation priorities, measurable business outcomes and the leadership needs of the company’s next stage.

What senior marketing roles does MarketSearch fill?

MarketSearch recruits CMOs, Heads and VPs of Marketing, Growth, Demand Generation, Product Marketing, Digital, eCommerce, Performance Marketing, Lifecycle/CRM and Marketing Operations leaders through retained executive search.

David Honig
MarketSearch Executive Search
Call: 617-835-0444
Email: MarketSearch29@gmail.com
Website: www.marketsearchrecruiting.com