Private club executive search
Finding a new General Manager is one of the most consequential decisions any private club Board or search committee will make. Colin Burns Consulting combines 31 years of highly successful private club leadership with Fortune 500 global search expertise to help your club identify and hire the right leader.
Core principle
Every engagement is led personally by the firm’s principals from beginning to end. No junior associates. No outsourcing. No handoffs. Just experienced advisors focused on finding the right leader for your club.
Executive search only
Colin Burns Consulting brings together two rare vantage points on executive search. Colin spent 31 years as General Manager of one of the game’s most globally recognized private clubs — sitting where every leader we place will ultimately sit, across from a demanding board, a passionate membership, and a calendar that never stops.
Janet Shim ran global search teams inside Fortune 500 companies, serving as the trusted talent partner to CEOs and Senior Vice Presidents as they built out their executive teams — across finance, health sciences, and consulting, three of the world’s most competitive industries for top talent.
The clubhouse and the boardroom, brought together in one boutique firm.
About the search principals
Colin spent 31 years as General Manager and COO of one of the game’s most globally recognized private clubs, overseeing four USGA national championships and a PGA Championship while directing complex operations, capital programs, and long-range institutional stewardship.
He is a founding GM/COO of APOGEE, holds the CCM credential, and maintains active relationships across the USGA, CMAA, NCA, MGA, and the leadership circles of top clubs.
Janet ran global executive search teams inside Fortune 500 companies, serving as the trusted talent partner to CEOs and Senior Vice Presidents as they built out their executive teams — across finance, health sciences, and consulting, three of the world’s most competitive industries for top talent.
Her senior roles at Regeneron, UBS, Deloitte, and CVS Health bring cross-industry perspective, analytical precision, and discretion to every CBC engagement.
"Hiring a General Manager is one of the biggest decisions a club will make. Colin Burns and his partner, Janet Shim, did an excellent job guiding us through the process. They took the time to understand our club’s culture, they listened to what we were looking for, kept us on track, and brought us outstanding candidates, and eventually our new General Manager."
"A unique strength of Colin Burns Consulting is the complementary partnership between Colin and Janet Burns. Colin brings the perspective of an accomplished club executive, while Janet brings a distinguished career in C-suite executive search for many of the nation’s most admired companies. Together, they combine deep club-industry expertise with the rigor and discipline of world-class executive search."
"Colin Burns Consulting brought a thoughtful and highly personalized approach to the executive search process. Both Colin and Janet demonstrated a strong understanding of private clubs and the critical importance of finding the right cultural fit between the candidate and Club. Throughout their curated process, the communication and attention to detail were excellent. I appreciate their partnership and confidently recommend CBC to Clubs seeking experienced guidance in executive search."
"Colin Burns Consulting helped me land my dream role at an exclusive private country club in Coral Gables, and the experience was unlike any other recruiting relationship I’ve had. From our very first conversation, it was clear I was more than just another candidate in a pipeline — Colin and his partner/associate, Janet Shim, took the time to genuinely understand my background, my goals, and what would actually make me happy in a new role, not just what would fill a position. That personal investment made all the difference."
"We interviewed three of the leading national search firms in the business and selected Colin Burns Consulting. Our committee was tremendously impressed by the on-site visit from Colin and Janet, who emphasized that they would personally lead the search and be involved in every step. CBC did not let us down - Colin and Janet were tremendous partners and sourced a fantastic new General Manager who is already on-site and making a difference. I highly recommend Colin Burns Consulting. "
Search benefit
Colin and Janet personally lead each search from first conversation through candidate presentation and selection.
Candidates are evaluated against the realities of a demanding Board, passionate membership, nonstop calendar, and high-service club culture.
Fortune 500 search standards bring structure, discretion, assessment rigor, and disciplined candidate evaluation to every engagement.
C. Burns as 2026 keynote speaker, CMAI Annual Conference, Irish Club Managers Association.
Discretion. Rigor. Stewardship.
CBC combines a trusted private-club network with disciplined executive-search expertise. Each engagement is intentionally limited, highly personal, and focused on identifying exceptional candidates who understand the standards, culture, and member-facing excellence of distinguished private clubs.
Search discipline
Clarify the role, expectations, search priorities, decision criteria, and candidate profile before outreach begins.
Use private club relationships, targeted research, and disciplined outreach to identify qualified, values-aligned candidates.
Evaluate experience, judgment, presence, motivation, references, and cultural fit before a candidate reaches the Board.
Present a curated slate with the context Boards need to make a confident executive search decision.
Confidential inquiry
CBC accepts a limited number of searches so Colin and Janet can remain directly involved from first conversation through candidate presentation.