Press Release — AltoPartners, the leading entrepreneurial international alliance of independently owned executive search firms and leadership consultants, and Special Olympics, the world’s largest global and grassroots movement for the empowerment of people with intellectual disabilities, today announced a new alliance that will identify and reward outstanding members of the Special Olympics organization around the world; recruit and develop a pipeline of new talent to move the institution forward; and provide long-term leadership stability.

Special Olympics is one of the world’s premier organizations for those with intellectual disabilities, with 5.6 million athletes in 170 countries. The global partnership will be facilitated through AltoPartners’ American member firm, Diversified Search, one of the top ten executive search firms in the U.S.

“The Special Olympics movement offers exciting career opportunities where you can make positive and life-changing impact throughout the world,” shared Timothy Shriver, Chairman, Special Olympics. “Our work creates real and lasting solutions to big challenges—isolation, inactivity, and injustice—and our team see the results of their work regularly. We are excited to have AltoPartners and Diversified Search join us to build the best team to achieve the change we want to make in the world.”

AltoPartners hosted Special Olympics in Stockholm, Sweden as part of the annual AltoPartners international meeting in late June, to both exchange ideas and provide strategy for global leadership development; going forward, AltoPartners will offer training and best practices throughout the Special Olympics organization to bolster leadership from the Board of Directors to ground-level operations. As part of this strategic alliance, it will also:

• Take a leading role in the Special Olympics Diversity Task Force, providing thought leadership and best practices for leadership recruitment and retention around the issue of diversity. As part of this, both AltoPartners and Diversified Search will participate in training with Special Olympics Programs on issues of diversity and recruitment.

• Provide input and structure for Special Olympics awards given within the organization, including the development and marketing of possible new honors in conjunction with Special Olympics’ forthcoming 50th anniversary in 2018. As part of this effort, Diversified Search CEO Dale Jones will take part in the meeting of the Special Olympics International Nominating Committee in Atlanta in November, sharing best practices and thought leadership.

• Provide additional thought leadership and guidance to Special Olympics on a wide range of topics, including succession planning, board development, and recruitment practices for operating roles at Special Olympics programs around the world.

“As people committed to finding tomorrow’s great leaders, we have a moral duty to identify mission- and purpose-driven leaders who will have a global and personal impact beyond themselves,” said Dale E. Jones, the President and CEO of Diversified Search and an AltoPartners Global Board member.

Founded in 1968 by Eunice Kennedy Shriver, Special Olympics is the world’s largest sports organization for children and adults with intellectual disabilities, and is universally recognized as one of the world’s most admired organizations. Special Olympics CEO Mary Davis said she hoped the new alliance would result in strong long-range development of strong board members, executives, and operations managers who will serve Special Olympics long into the future.

About Special Olympics

Special Olympics is a global movement that unleashes the human spirit through the transformative power and joy of sports, every day around the world. We empower people with intellectual disabilities to become accepted and valued members of their communities, which leads to a more respectful and inclusive society for all. Using sports as the catalyst and programming around health and education, Special Olympics is fighting inactivity, injustice and intolerance. Founded in 1968 by Eunice Kennedy Shriver, the Special Olympics movement has grown to more than 5.6 million athletes and Unified partners in 170 countries. With the support of more than 1 million coaches and volunteers, Special Olympics delivers 32 Olympic-type sports and over 108,000 games and competitions throughout the year. Special Olympics is supported by individuals, foundations and partners. http://www.specialolympics.org/

About AltoPartners

Established in 2006, AltoPartners is an international alliance of executive search and leadership consulting firms that combines the reach of a global network with the local knowledge and entrepreneurial spirit of independent partners working together to find the client’s perfect fit. Today the alliance covers 57 offices in 34 countries and is ranked in the Top 25 Global Search Firms that Dominate. The AltoPartners alliance has created a distinctive force in executive search worldwide, giving global coverage across the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia Pacific. www.altopartners.com

About Diversified Search

Headquartered in Philadelphia, Diversified Search is the largest U.S. female-owned and -founded firm in the industry. Headquartered in Philadelphia, the company has offices in Atlanta, Chicago, Cleveland, Miami, New York, San Francisco, Southern California, and Washington, D.C. Diversified is the exclusive U.S partner of AltoPartners. http://www.diversifiedsearch.com/

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Julia Scheffer AltoPartners Communications & Brand Manager Email: j.scheffer@altopartners.com Telephone: +27 (0) 11 728 0105