Happy Six Years to Gobu Associates!

Well, that went quickly — we just celebrated our anniversary of six years at Gobu Associates. Starting off at 875 Third Avenue in the heart of midtown in New York City, where I grew up, went to college, and spent most of my career — the majority of it in #executivesearch (one of my clients in my first job in investment banking was a search firm, and I was intrigued, so I answered an ad in The New York Times).

I went through a battery of tests and interviews to land that job — my tests repeatedly showed that I had a big personality, huge empathy, but needed to be structured — and to this day, I guess that is still true.

I decided to name the firm — for many of you who don’t know — after my father, Dr. Elia Toueg (the most caring man, despite his going through a lot in his life, and a physician). His nickname was Gobu, and I knew even though he had died six years prior, he would be proud of me and my accomplishments.

In 2022, we redomiciled permanently down to Fort Lauderdale, Florida — although I had always wanted to live there and kept apartments there on and off throughout the years. Winters in New York seemed to drag on and on, and there is something to be said about wearing shorts in February. With that said, we are part of a network with offices throughout the world — many in New York.

When people ask what our focus is, I say: working with smart people — typically those who, much like myself, go through the “what’s next” question and have worked in professional services, whether that be investment banking or management consulting — typically with an advanced degree, although not always. Several people I place who never went to business school but started their careers doing modeling all night or solving cases for clients are now CFOs/COOs/CEOs or part of the C-suite and executive leadership teams, whether for public, private, or PE/VC-backed firms.

We are industry agnostic — which I set up purposely in case there were economic shifts — and it also kept the business more interesting.

I always say that it takes a village, and that is definitely true. People who have worked with (not for) me have always upped my game, and for that, I will always be grateful.

This coming Sunday, July 13, will mark 12 years since my father died. I thank so many people that I have placed — many of whom are now clients — and our clients for continuing his legacy.