The People Behind Every Placement

Joshua Schmitt is the Founder of Praxus Search Group, specializing in building transformative leadership teams for high-growth companies, private equity-backed organizations, and innovative startups. With more than 20 years of experience in executive search, executive coaching, and talent acquisition leadership, he advises founders, boards, and executive teams on C-suite and senior leadership hires that drive organizational growth and long-term value.

Joshua has held executive recruiting leadership positions with Robert Half and Experis, and led executive talent acquisition initiatives at Amazon and Meta. His experience spans executive search, organizational scaling, leadership assessment, succession planning, and building high-performing teams across industries.

Before focusing exclusively on executive search, Joshua held leadership roles at Baker Tilly and consulted with Deloitte, developing deep expertise in business operations, client advisory, and organizational strategy, a foundation that shapes his approach to search as a strategic business partner.

Joshua has also served on boards and in executive leadership roles for emerging companies, including Hibernicor and Omnus Law, giving him firsthand insight into the challenges founders and executive teams face when scaling through rapid growth.

Joshua is dedicated to service beyond his career, having served on the University of Minnesota Medical School's Institutional Review Board and College Admissions and Advancement Committee, volunteered with the Indian Health Board of Minneapolis, supported multiple sclerosis research fundraising, and coached youth soccer and basketball.

Melanie is a seasoned Executive Recruiter with a global perspective, specializing in identifying and securing top-tier executive talent for organizations across the United States. Her passion lies in building high-performance teams that drive business success, with a mission to provide a high-touch, personalized approach to executive search, dedicated to identifying, targeting, and delivering top performers, not merely available talent.

With a rich background in executive recruitment, Melanie brings a wealth of experience in sourcing, assessing, and placing C-suite professionals. Her global exposure has equipped her with a unique understanding of diverse industries, allowing her to tailor solutions to meet the specific needs of each client.

Melanie believes in fostering authentic connections, building robust relationships with both clients and candidates as the cornerstone of her approach. Understanding the unique culture and requirements of each organization ensures a seamless match between executive talent and corporate goals.

Having worked across different continents, Melanie brings a global perspective that enriches her understanding of the dynamics shaping the business landscape, allowing her to offer strategic advice to both clients and candidates on market trends and talent expectations.

With more than 20 years of experience working with upper management within international corporations, spanning CPG, industrial manufacturing, automotive, medical, and technology, Melanie has successfully placed Presidents, CEOs, COOs, CFOs, and more for European and US headquartered companies ranging from $10 million to $350 million in revenue.

As a Global Talent Recruiter, Senior Recruitment Consultant, Executive Search Consultant, HR Consultant, Career Coach, and Recruiting Manager, Victor brings more than 25 years of experience helping organizations attract and retain exceptional talent. His expertise spans a wide range of industries, including information technology, software, telecommunications, engineering, construction, utilities, pharmaceutical, biotechnology, healthcare, legal, life sciences, management consulting, manufacturing, transportation, retail, accounting, banking and financial services, aerospace, energy, oil and gas, defense, fintech, and the public sector. Throughout his career, he has successfully recruited executive leaders, sales and go-to-market professionals, technical specialists, engineers, product development teams, operations professionals, and corporate functional leaders, with a particular focus on strategic, priority, and hard-to-fill roles across all business functions.

Victor is recognized as a trusted business partner and candidate advocate who combines deep recruitment expertise with strategic HR consulting to deliver lasting results. Whether partnering with organizations to build high-performing teams or helping professionals advance their careers, he is committed to creating meaningful connections between exceptional talent and outstanding opportunities while driving long-term business success.