Our leadership’s diverse background provides a foundation of reasoned advice and counsel for a dynamic set of organizations.
Jay Knowles
President
Jay Knowles serves as President and Founder of Dragonswood Advisors, Inc. Founded in 1999, Dragonswood is a retained executive search firm. He is responsible for business development, engagement management, and executive identification and evaluation.
Jay also served as Executive Vice President for DHR International (the nation’s fifth largest search firm) where he was instrumental in raising the Pittsburgh office’s profile and executing searches for various leaders nationally and locally. Mr. Knowles worked for Boyden Global Executive Search where he provided all facets of executive search: research, client profiles, candidate identification and interviews, candidate profiles and evaluations. Earlier in his career, he worked in sales and marketing at mutual fund giant Federated Investors and served as an economic and financial consultant with Arthur Andersen.
Before graduating Cum Laude with B.A. degree in history from the University of Pittsburgh, Mr. Knowles served four years in the United States Marines Corps where he participated in Operation Desert Storm.
Mr. Knowles is an active member in The Association for Corporate Growth. He is also active in fundraising for the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute and serves on the Board of Directors of Allegheny and Homewood Cemetery.
Mr. Knowles resides just outside of Ligonier, PA.