The Connector
Naturally at the center, Kevin is driven to make change happen through people. His knack for making the most of his encounters stems from an endless curiosity and zest for life; traits he’s been known for since childhood. It is a rare day that Kevin isn’t instinctively gathering more people into his circle and mapping out new ways that they might benefit from knowing each other. His intuition for relationships makes him our ultimate change agent – and to borrow a line from his favorite Tennyson poem, a part of everything he has met.
Come, my friends, ’tis not too late to seek a newer world. “Ulysses,” Alfred, Lord Tennyson
As co-founder and managing partner of Acertitude, Kevin’s quest is to unleash the human potential of today’s leading organizations by discovering, connecting, and empowering brilliant people at work.
His 25-year career in search has earned him the role of trusted advisor to many of the world’s top board members, CEOs, and C-suite executives, having led over 2000 searches for notable companies and private equity firms globally. He leads the firm’s global Consumer and Industrial practices, and co-leads the firm’s global Private Equity practice.
Acertitude’s success builds on Kevin’s leadership of O’Neill Consulting, an Acertitude company specialized in management search, which he founded in 1996. Prior, O’Neill spent his early career with investment banks Merrill Lynch and Kidder, Peabody & Co, as well a serving as a top client partner with a major search firm in Philadelphia. He earned a B.A. in Political Science from Marietta College.
Kevin is a board member of Avishkar Holdings, a biotech investment firm, and was a board member and founder of Cargenix, a clinical-stage CAR-t cell immunotherapy company, which was sold to a strategic buyer.
Active in public service, Kevin serves as trustee of his alma-mater Marietta College, trustee of the Bryant University College of Business Deans Council, and director on the board of the World War II Foundation. Previously, Kevin served as regional Chairman of the Board for the American Heart Association and the YMCA of Greater Providence.
Outside of work, Kevin devotes his time to his wife, his four children, and his community. When his whirlwind schedule permits, you’ll find Kevin in activities ranging from enjoying a cigar while boating along the New England coastline to aggressively training for road races and triathlons.