Cindy Nicholls Smith, executive recruiter in Edmonton
Cindy Nicholls Smith
Principal of AVID EXEC Ltd. Executive search and leadership advisory for Edmonton, Alberta and Western Canada.
I have spent two decades placing senior leaders, most of them in commercial real estate across Alberta and Western Canada.
AVID EXEC is an executive search and leadership advisory firm in Edmonton, Alberta. It was built around a single idea: the best search work is personal. The firm specializes in commercial real estate, development, construction, engineering, finance, corporate leadership and not-for-profit.
The work is retained executive search, leadership advisory, succession and outplacement. Every engagement is led by me, with a shortlist that is built against what the organization needs to change, not against a job description.
Designations
- CPCCertified Personnel Consultant
- MHCSMaster Human Capital Strategist
- CCPCertified Coach Practitioner
The market is small. The reputations are long. A search firm is only as good as its last three phone calls.
That is why I do not forward résumés. I return with a shortlist of people who have been spoken with, understood, and honestly represented. The client gets a real choice. The candidate gets a real conversation. And the person who is hired is more likely to stay.
Work Joy
Work Joy is my term for the state where a person's capability, motivation and organizational alignment meet. I built AVID EXEC around it because I had watched too many technically correct hires fail: the right résumé, the wrong fit, and two careers set back by it.
So I assess for self awareness, motivation, capacity and alignment alongside proven capability. A placement is only successful when the person is doing work they are genuinely suited to, in an organization that suits them — and stays.
How that shows up in a search →