Andrew Gardner, Founder and CEO of AGA Executive Career Coaching, brings a unique combination of skills and experience to executive career coaching. He was a retained-search recruiter for 15 years, working closely with candidates and clients seeking to hire exceptional talent. When coaching job seekers, Andy applies his deep expertise in the hiring process and position advancement from both the individual and management perspectives, as well as the key role played by recruiters in connecting the two. Andy’s leadership experience in a broad range of industry sectors and his extensive network inform his approach to career coaching—as does his background as a serial entrepreneur. Andy understands the essential role of talented individuals in building a successful business. Through AGA Executive Career Coaching, Andy partners with his clients to help them identify and present their unique value propositions, to land great jobs, and to rise to positions of increasing responsibility as they advance in their careers.
Clients appreciate Andy’s depth of recruitment experience, which spans the Marketing, Education, Technology, Healthcare, Consumer, Financial, and Industrial sectors. Andy’s recruiting career began in 2007, when he co-founded Kaplan-Gardner, LLC, a search firm specializing in digital and integrated marketing and media positions. The firm became a unique resource for clients ranging from early-stage companies to Fortune 100 companies.
In 2013, Kaplan-Gardner was recruited to join Boyden Executive Search, a top 10, international, executive recruiting firm. Subsequently, Andy was recruited to join August Leadership, LLC, a global recruiting firm with a strong commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion (D, E, & I). In addition to recruiting, he was also a member of the Talent Assessment Task Force, evaluating different assessment instruments.
Previously, Andy held senior management positions in digital marketing, business development, product management, and mergers and acquisitions. After graduating Phi Beta Kappa, summa cum laude from Yale University and studying at Oxford University, he attended the University of California, San Francisco, School of Medicine. While there, he founded Dolphin Inc., a venture that Andy left medical school to pursue, and eventually grew it to be an award-winning, educational software company. Subsequently, he sold the company to a publicly traded education company and was hired as the Executive Director of Business Development at the Educational Testing Service (ETS), one of Dolphin’s clients. An active member of the Yale alumni community, Andy conducts alumni college admission interviews.
Andy draws on all aspects of his background to help clients achieve their career goals. In doing so, he provides clients with insightful guidance and support in job search marketing strategy, networking for new opportunities, writing résumés and cover letters, LinkedIn profile development, online reputation management, interview coaching, salary negotiation, onboarding, and career advancement.