Hay & Company was founded by William E. Hay in 1982. Prior to forming the firm, Bill spent 12 years with Ernst & Young as Midwest Regional Head of Executive Search Consulting. A native Chicagoan, Bill received a bachelor's degree in management from the University of Illinois-Urbana and an MBA from DePaul University. After teaching full-time at DePaul for several years, he joined the adjunct faculty in the Graduate School of Business, Public Service Program and serves as an advisor to the School for New Learning. His teaching focus has been in the areas of organizational design, planning, fitting structure to strategy and leadership assessment and selection. In 2006, he was awarded an honorary Doctorate from the University's College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.
Bill is a Board Director for DePaul University, The Union League Club of Chicago, The Hope Institute for Children and Families and Career Transitions Center. He is also active with Mercy Home for Boys and Girls.
Beth Smoots is a successful business leader and strategic advisor, bringing the combined benefits of over 25 years of practical management and consulting experience. Prior to focusing on executive search, Beth was the chief executive of a publicly-held national valuation, financial advisory, and litigation support firm with offices across the country. She had previously built the firm’s Midwest regional operations, led its national and international marketing efforts, and was integral to its ultimate sale and assimilation into a publicly-held parent. Her role encompassed strategic positioning of the firm, national business development and consulting service delivery. She advised executives from Fortune 500 companies to sole proprietorships in a wide variety of industries. Beth earned her MBA in quantitative analysis at the University of Chicago and her undergraduate degree in finance and management summa cum laude at Northern Illinois University.
Beth serves on the Board of the Illinois Finance Authority. She is also on the capital campaign committee for Maywood Fine Arts, a center for affordable, high-quality arts and fitness education for low-income families and is active with Bethesda Nursing and Retirement Center, having chaired its board and now serving as an advisor in an emeritus capacity.