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ABOUT US

Steve Lavner Executive Search & Talent Advisory is a boutique executive search and talent advisory firm specializing in senior-level Communications, Marketing, and investor-facing roles. We partner with companies that value high-impact communicators, with a focus on financial services, private equity, wealth management, investor relations, and fast-growing professional services firms, including VC- and PE-backed organizations building leadership teams.

Our practice is built for clients who want more than résumés. We deliver a consultative, research-driven approach that sharpens the brief, clarifies the role’s business impact, and brings forward candidates who can move the needle.

Meet the Team

Founder and Principal

Steve Lavner

Steve Lavner is a strategic talent acquisition leader and executive search specialist with over two decades of experience building high-performing teams across communications, marketing, corporate affairs. With a reputation for insight-driven, human-centered search work, Steve has supported agencies, global brands, and growth-stage firms in hiring talent that drives reputation,

transformation, and results.

Most recently, Steve served as SVP of Talent Acquisition at Edelman, where he led hiring for Edelman Smithfield, the firm’s financial communications boutique. During his five and a half

years with the group, he scaled the team by over 40%, led searches from entry-level to Managing Director, and helped create the Edelman Smithfield Associate Program, a

rotational initiative for early-career talent.

Earlier in his career, Steve held leadership roles at Heyman Associates, a boutique search firm focused on communications and public affairs, and at MediaLink, where he was part of the executive search practice supporting senior leadership roles across media, tech, and consumer sectors. He also gained foundational experience at Heidrick & Struggles, CTPartners, and Diversified Search, working on retained searches in marketing, communications, and technology leadership.

A Certified Strategic Professional Career Coach (SPCC®), Steve also advises professionals through career transitions with a blend of strategy and empathy. His background includes a stint on Broadway, where he performed as LeFou in Disney’s Beauty and the Beast—an early chapter that honed his storytelling instincts and ability to connect with audiences of all kinds.

Principal

Matt Hepler

Matt comes to Steve Lavner Talent with over 20 years of experience as a senior-level marketing executive adept at finding creative, actionable and cost-effective solutions to a wide range of strategic imperatives.

Most recently, Matt was a Senior Advisor at the boutique branding agency, Public Group. Before that, he was the North American brand strategy lead at Brunswick Group, where he led brand strategy and integrated marketing initiatives for clients as varied as Ares, Davidson Kempner and Genmab, across the New York, Dallas, San Francisco and Chicago offices.

Prior to that, Matt was Managing Director of Addison, a boutique design firm based in NYC. In this role, he oversaw the agency’s largest clients, from GE to Raytheon, working with strategists, designers and producers to help companies simplify and create more compelling messages and experiences across a wide range of brand touchpoints, from websites and employee engagement campaigns to investor reporting and naming.

Before joining Addison, Matt partnered with the global advertising agency McCann Erickson to develop the positioning and messaging for the US in foreign markets and helped establish the brand practice for DRAFT FCB. Matt started his brand career at Interbrand where he led the AT&T naming and messaging work and the team that developed the name and positioning for Microsoft’s Bing.
Matt received a BA in Philosophy from Georgetown University and an MBA from NYU. He also received a Marketing AI certificate from Cornell University.

AREAS OF SPECIALIZATIONS

Investor Relations & Financial Communications
Investor relations, corporate communications, special situations, crisis, public affairs, capital markets content—supporting searches from analyst through SVP leadership.

Marketing & Brand Leadership
CMO, VP Marketing, Director/Manager roles across brand, digital, demand generation, content, and product marketing—especially within RIAs, private equity platforms, and founder-led firms.

Strategic & Executive Communications
Chief Communications Officers, internal communications, executive visibility, speechwriting, corporate reputation, and complex stakeholder engagement.