Victor Arias, a leading national search executive in the area of Board of Directors and C-Suite diversity and inclusion, has joined Diversified Search as a Managing Director. He will be working in the Board of Directors practice and assuming the role of Co-Practice Leader of Diversified Search’s Consumer and Retail practice. In addition, he has recently opened the firm’s first office in Texas, specifically the Dallas-Fort Worth region, where he will be based.

“Victor Arias is everything you could ask for in a search executive: intelligent, congenial, tactical, and with deep connections in the world of boards and leadership,” said Dale E. Jones, the CEO of Diversified Search and a member of the AltoPartners global operating committee. “We are excited that his passion for diversity and inclusion, especially around the advancement of Hispanic leaders into the C-Suite, mirrors the core values of our firm.”

“Diversified Search embodies what trusted advisors mean for clients,” said Arias. “The firm’s culture of collaboration, respect and inclusivity are values that fuse together my own personal and professional objectives. It’s an incredibly unique firm.”

Arias comes to Diversified Search from RSR Partners, where he had been a managing director in the board of directors practice. Prior to his time at RSR, Arias worked at Korn Ferry, where he served as senior client partner in the board of directors practice and global leader of the Diversity and Inclusion Initiative. Previously, he served as a partner at Heidrick & Struggles and also at Spencer Stuart.

Arias served on the board of Popeye’s Louisiana Kitchen (NASDAQ: PLKI) for 15 years, until 2016. He is also a past president and co-founder of the National Society of Hispanic MBAs (now Prospanica), a former member of the Notre Dame Institute of Latino Studies board, former member of the Pepsi Advisory Board, and a founding board member of the Latino Corporate Directors Association, a membership group of Hispanic corporate directors.

Arias also serves as a trustee emeritus for the Stanford University Board of Trustees, as the current chairman of the Stanford Latino Entrepreneurship Initiative, and is a prior member of the Stanford GSB Advisory Council. In addition, he serves on the Development Board of the University of Texas El Paso, and is a former White House Fellows Commissioner. He is currently a trustee for the Catholic Foundation of Dallas, and was recently elected to the board of the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.