Winner Partners Leadership Team
Cheryl Barruso – Managing Director – Information Technology & Risk Management Partner
Pittsburgh, PA – Send E-mail
Cheryl serves on the leadership team at Winner Partners and has been an integral part of our journey since its inception. She has led the development of our infrastructure with a focus on strategy, financial management, risk management, and technology integration.
Spending over 30 years in the industry developing and managing talent at all levels, Cheryl is the perfect choice to be our lead Talent Development partner. She has interviewed and hired thousands of professionals and has hundreds of mentoring success stories to her credit.
Offering management and executive coaching services, Cheryl can help you take your career to the next level, identify blinds spots that may be holding you back from landing that perfect next opportunity, or take your career in an entirely new direction.
Cheryl graduated with a degree in Finance from Duquesne University, and calls Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania home. Her family is the world to her with a son ready to embark on a new career journey and two amazing parents who are still thriving into their 90’s.
Holly Mcilwain – Talent Development Partner
Greater Pittsburgh Area, PA – Send E-mail
Holly McIlwain leads our Talent Development platform at Winner Partners. She is a subject-matter expert in the usage of behavior assessments as part of coaching and development plans, in addition to talent acquisition engagements. As a Gallup Certified Strengths Coach, working with individuals and organizations to build a better world and sustainable business solutions is her passion. What’s not exciting about that? This enthusiasm comes with Holly into each coaching session, team workshop, search opportunity, and speaking engagement.
Developing leaders who change lives is Holly’s passion and professional purpose. She has studied and written about topics such as: Leadership and Mission, Bravery in Business, and Managing Human Relationships. As a recognized subject matter expert, Holly has spoken at numerous conferences and on Sirius XM Radio. She holds an advanced degree in Organizational Leadership from Robert Morris University, and is certified as a DISC Behavior Analyst and a Driving Forces Behavior Analyst. After studying with Pittsburgh Leadership Foundation, she invested her time and professionalism in the Pittsburgh region, consistently seeking ways to challenge leaders to become fully engaged in transformation. Holly is an expert in the value of dynamic onboarding as part of the foundation for fully engaged employees. Joining Winner Partners allows for this investment to expand even further, serving clients in the global marketplace.
Professionally, Holly functioned as a lead consultant in Organizational Management and Leadership Development for one of the largest non-profits in the world and spent 15 years in the non-profit sector. Recruiting and developing the talent pool for the non-profit sector soon led her to engage as a full-time consultant, and director of leadership development and talent acquisition for a local firm. Holly joined Winner Partners in 2019 to engage even more organizations through the people who lead them. She is the author of “For She Who Leads: Practical Wisdom from a Woman Who Serves”, available here.
Holly has worked with and served on the Boards of Directors for foundations and non-profits, and continues to be a frequent speaker and trainer on topics of leadership and living at Universities, Churches, Conferences, and Workshops. She and her husband, Kevin, are raising two young boys and residing in the greater Pittsburgh, PA area.
Martita Mestéy – Diversity & Inclusion Partner
New York, NY – Send E-mail
Martita Mestéy leads our Diversity & Inclusion focus for Winner Partners. She is a subject-matter expert in the development of inclusive hiring practices designed to attract high-performing women and minorities. Prior to her role in search, she was the VP of Strategic Partnerships representing six membership and trade associations. She is a lifetime member of Prospanica, an MBA association that strives to empower business professionals to achieve their full educational, economic, and social potential.
Martita leverages her multicultural experience and background to execute a US-based recruitment strategy with a global mindset. Recognizing that diversity is an important strategic business enabler, she has helped clients achieve substantial reputational gain and bottom-line growth through successful engagements in specialty practice areas that include diversity and inclusion, human resources, organizational development, strategic planning, sales, marketing and communications, brand development, healthcare, beauty, retail and consumer electronics, and the digital music industry.
As a subject-matter expert on multicultural networking and staffing solutions, Martita has made guest appearances on radio and television talk shows and was the host of a weekly career program on NBC/Telemundo in Chicago. A fluent bilingual communicator, she has been a cited resource for several books and journals on career preparation and career transition in both English and Spanish. Martita is a member of the National Society of Hispanic MBAs (NSHMBA), and National Black MBA Association (NBMBAA), and she actively maintains relationships through member organizations including ALPFA, the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE), Information Technology Senior Management Forum (ITSMF), and is a national officer for National Sales Network (NSN).
