Turnkey Search and President & CEO LEN PERNA have emerged since the company’s '96 founding as "major players in the endless and increasingly sophisticated war for talent in the sports industry, from colleges and conferences to professional teams and leagues, and all sorts of ancillary roles," according to Bill Shea of THE ATHLETIC. Perna said that Turnkey has helped fill more than 1,200 jobs, and the company has a "database of 25,000 job candidates." Shea noted about 75% of Turnkey’s searches are for "team and league executives, and the remainder are coaches and athletic directors." LSU football coach ED ORGERON is one of the firm’s "notable successes," while it also placed ADs at Alabama (GREG BYRNE), USC (MIKE BOHN) and Minnesota (MARK COYLE). Combing the database for potential candidates "takes a few weeks, and after about a month, and plenty of calls, emails and face-to-face discussions, the vetted pool of candidates is winnowed to two." Perna said that Turnkey is "in the room for the formal interviews, and by the sixth week of the process is when an offer is usually made." Coaching searches are "about half that time, or less." Dolphins President & CEO TOM GARFINKEL said, “Len has great experience in understanding the client’s needs and what is out in the marketplace and trying to find the right fit. He’s not just trying to transact. He’s trying to find the right fit for both parties. Ultimately, this business is about relationships and Len understands that and there is a lot of trust involved” (THEATHLETIC.com, 3/3).
