STRATEGIC EMPLOYMENT PARTNERS - Key Persons
Adrian was born and raised in Moreno Valley, California. He pursued his degree in business with an emphasis in Marketing from the Cal State Fullerton University. He knew early on within his college education he had a desire to pursue a career in sales. Immediately after graduation, he landed an entry level sales role doing IT recruiting at SEP in the midst of 2008 recession.
Adrian built his career in the Orange County office where he moved through the ranks and serves as Junior Partner to date. His strengths have always been centered around giving his staff the same opportunities he had. Mentoring staff not just operationally but lending a voice of support outside the office as well.
With Adrian serving Orange County for over a decade, it's allowed him to establish strong partnerships within the Orange County tech environment as well as candidates and companies alike. Those relationships have allowed him to gather insight on the unique needs of the market and guide his office accordingly.
Outside of work, he enjoys international travel, rooting for his favorite sports teams, and finding new brunch spots in the city of Long Beach where he resides. Adrian is also a huge fan of live music, so don't be surprised if you find him at concert venues around the city.
Albert De La Vega began his career with SEP in 2007 after graduating from the University of California, Davis with a degree in Sociology - Law and a minor in Political Science. He learned the ropes of recruiting as an entry-level associate during the economic downturn of the Great Recession, and credits his success during this time due to his work ethic, determination, and having a growth mindset. Albert takes a holistic approach to business, seeing things from multiple angles and bringing long term thinking into solving short term challenges. He has successfully helped Fortune 500 companies hire hard-to-find executives and matched Enterprise SaaS companies with long-term employees across a variety of roles.
In addition to helping his clients successfully grow and scale their business, Albert became very passionate about mentoring and growing the internal staff of SEP. He takes pride in being able to adapt his training and management style to help staff members of all personality types and experience levels. He leveraged his leadership skills to become a successful Practice Manager, Division Manager, and eventually a Partner in 2013. Desiring to drive SEP's growth, he moved to the East Coast in 2014 to open up the Boston office and aid in the development of the NY office. In 2019, he moved back to Los Angeles to serve as a Principal Advisor for SEP's Professional Services division, while also mentoring the Boston, Los Angeles, New York, and Chicago offices.
Outside of work, Albert enjoys spending time with his wife, son, and dog named Bane. He recognizes the value of living a healthy lifestyle and enjoys learning as much as he can about fitness, nutrition, and martial arts (Muay Thai, Krav Maga, and Mixed Martial Arts).
Darren Mabashov began his career in recruiting in 1998 specializing in technology placements. With a work ethic that can't be matched, Darren expanded his expertise into accounting, marketing, and sales among other specialities.
Darren is a strong believer that one must practice what they preach, and that success requires hard work and adding value where others cannot. He continues to mentor internal employees on building skill sets that will push their career forward, knowing the foundation of a company is only as good as the employees that represent its name on a daily basis. It's with that mindset that Darren uses to help clients and candidates alike achieve their goals. Darren exemplifies the very dedication and vision he encourages as a mentor and advisor.
With a resume that includes building out entire tech teams for various companies and providing turn-key hiring solutions for start-ups to enterprise-level clients, Darren has the experience and skill to build organizations. Helping people and companies reach their full potential is both his day job and his passion.
His current focus is serving as a Principal Advisor for SEP's Professional Services division in Los Angeles while also being a Partner with interest in all SEP office locations. Darren currently lives in Los Angeles with his wife, two sons, and their dog. He is a huge history buff which makes sense given his degree in History from California State University, Chico.
Debbie Potter grew up in Connecticut and holds a BS in Psychology and Sociology from Framingham State University. She began working in the recruiting field in 1997, with a personal interest in helping others reach the pinnacle in their careers, and an insatiable drive to provide a superior experience to clients.
After many years of helping companies attain their goals, Debbie came to SEP in 2015 in search of an opportunity to have ownership in multiple entities and truly enjoy all the benefits of her skill and experience. She credits SEP with the opportunity to turn her career dreams into a reality, and is passionate about seeing the same for others. She gains immense satisfaction from knowing that she's done everything in her power to make an experience better, whether that's for an employee, company, or candidate.
She has made a huge impact within her time, and has risen to become a Partner with a focus on Sales and Operations for the East Coast market. She spends her free time with her children and family, enjoying vacations on Duxbury Beach or in the mountains of New Hampshire. She lives passionately to be in good health whether that be taking restorative Yoga classes or getting conditioned with her personal trainer. When she does have the extra time, she loves to get lost in a good Netflix series.
James Kennedy graduated from University of Wisconsin-Madison with a degree in Psychology, and left Waukesha, Wisconsin for Los Angeles. Soon thereafter, James took an opportunity to join SEP in 2013, in a role that would allow him to impact growth for both companies and candidates.
With the mentorship and guidance he received from the organization, paired with his grit and dedication, James moved through the ranks from entry level employee to Partner very quickly. Among his successes is the guidance he was able to provide to a Fortune 500 company, allowing them to finally land and keep the top talent they'd been searching for.
He describes his career at SEP as being centered on relationships - he excels in seeing potential in people and organizations, and helping others see that potential too. James has had the opportunity to manage different offices over the years, from Los Angeles, to Boston, and Chicago, and has earned the respect of his staff and peers through his unwavering commitment to achieve any goal he sets forth.
James currently serves as Partner and Division Manager of the Chicago office. He likes to spend his free time playing basketball, biking, and spending time with his wife, dog, and daughter. He also likes to carve out some time at the end of the day to make himself a nice martini.
Matthew Browne has always enjoyed competition, and sales / consulting was a career path he had a high amount of interest and curiosity in. So upon graduating from UCLA with a degree in Biology, he joined SEP in 2012 and hasn't looked back since.
In the span of his tenure, he has worked in Los Angeles, Boston, and New York and became an expert in the demands of each market. Always willing to try new things and challenge himself, Matt was one of the first employees to explore a new market when SEP first expanded east by establishing the Boston office. He now serves as a Senior Partner and the Division Manager of the New York office.
Matt has a talent for truly understanding both people and organizations, allowing him to see opportunities that others would pass by. His adaptability and openness to trying new hiring strategies gives him an edge when it comes to matching candidates and companies. One of Matt's best accomplishments was helping an early stage startup hire one of their first engineers. This company went on to receive multi-millions in funding from Series A, B, and C, and the candidate, who had started off as a Lead Engineer, went on to serve as Chief Technology Officer.
When Matt isn't working, he enjoys listening to music, exploring with his dog, oscillating between Lifetime and horror movies (but never finishing either), upcycling clothing, hiking, visiting farms, and searching for memorable experiences.
Misael Vazquez grew up in Montebello, California and holds a Bachelors in Business Administration from Loyola Marymount University. He then traveled to Germany for the World Cup after graduation and returned unscathed to start with SEP in 2006.
Misael Vazquez is a Partner at SEP, and oversees operations for our San Francisco, Denver, and Orange County branches. Misael built his career during a pivotal time in the economy, digging deep and finding the success necessary during the Great Recession, that led to the expansion of SEP's second office in San Francisco. He later became instrumental in the success of our west coast operations while keeping a very hands on approach with SEP's mentoring and training curriculum.
Misael is constantly iterating and striving for transparent, mutually beneficial partnerships with clients and candidates alike. His clients say he has an uncanny ability to get into their minds and truly understand what they are looking for in order to build out their teams and expand their businesses. A byproduct of his ability to truly understand the needs of his clients? Misael holds the record for top producer in SEP history.
Misael believes that his rise to partnership is owed to the SEP management staff who came before him, who he was able to mimic and seek advice from. Now, as a leader, he seeks to empower his own staff, reminding them that the desire to succeed has to exceed your fear of failing.