In the world of Silicon Valley marketing communications, PR, and corporate marketing, you can ask virtually anyone, from industry veterans to rising stars, who to go to for the most seasoned career advice, counsel, and ideas and one name comes up again and again: Susan Flesher. She knows the technology communications field—the inevitable cycles, the key players, and what it takes to achieve success. Perhaps even more importantly, Susan has built an extraordinary following and a stellar reputation based on her ability to bring the right job and the right professional together for the mutual benefit of everyone involved. Since founding the firm in 1988, her considerable leadership and relationship-building skills have helped position Flesher & Associates as one of the most effective communications search agencies in Silicon Valley.

Unlike most recruiters, Susan brings a strong track record and valuable insider's perspective to the fields of marketing communications and corporate marketing. Before starting Flesher & Associates, Susan managed a business unit that specialized in telecommunications and networking software at Regis McKenna, Inc., one of the premier agencies of the high-technology revolution. Prior to that she held marketing management positions at Activision, a software start-up that went public during her tenure, and also The Gap Stores, a Fortune 500 company.

How did Flesher & Associates emerge? After taking some time off to have her first child, Susan took on a consulting project for Regis McKenna that included staff building. Says Susan, "The experience quickly showed me that there was a strong need for someone with marketing and communications expertise to be the conduit to bring high-tech companies and top communications talent together." For more than a decade, Susan has been helping technology-oriented companies and agencies of all sizes from start-ups to the Fortune 1000 launch new technologies, products, and brands on a global basis by helping them build and grow their communications teams.

While Susan is passionate about technology and the communications field, she's also passionate about achieving a balance with work, family, and community. Susan believes that developing high-quality relationships is critical to creating a successful professional and personal life. Married to her high school sweetheart Jack for more than 21 years, and with three children, Susan has achieved what one of her colleagues calls "the quintessential blend of career and family/life balance." Says Susan, "Our lives are much too full of demands placed on us through work, family and community, but I've learned that the best and most sought out employees and employers are the ones that have found balancing points. These are the companies and people who can go the distance, so I've made balance a priority in my own life." This is exactly the type of person you want finding you a new job, or providing consultation on your next staffing need.

Susan also believes in being an active part of the high technology communications community that she supports. As a result, she is noted as a featured speaker, seminar leader and workshop host at numerous professional associations that she is a member of including Business Marketers Association (BMA), American Marketing Association (AMA), Public Relations Society of America (PRSA), International Association of Business Communicators (IABC), International Association of Corporate and Professional Recruitment (IACPR), and Association of Executive Search Consultants (AESC). She holds a B.S. in business administration and marketing from the University of California at Berkeley, and has completed graduate coursework at Santa Clara University.