Partnering for Impact: Insights from Pacific’s Advisory Board Member Sameer Pagnis

As Pacific International continues strengthening its C-suite executive search capabilities, we proudly welcome Sameer Pagnis as the second distinguished member of our newly formed Advisory Board. With a career spanning over three decades across multiple industries and global markets, Sameer brings a wealth of knowledge, leadership insight, and a deep commitment to talent development, values that align closely with Pacific’s mission.

In this conversation, Margaret Jaouadi explores Sameer’s perspective on what sets Pacific apart in the executive search landscape, the evolving expectations of modern leadership, and how sound judgment, cultural fit, and purpose-driven alignment are key to sustainable business success. Sameer’s thoughtful insights offer a compelling view into the leadership qualities that matter most today and how organizations can unlock exceptional value by partnering with a search firm that truly understands people and potential.

Join us as we welcome Sameer to the Pacific International Advisory Board and delve into the value he brings to our clients, candidates, and future endeavors.

Margaret Jaouadi  
What drew you to Pacific International and makes you passionate about championing its mission and approach to leadership search?

Sameer Pagnis  
Over the years, I’ve had several conversations with your colleagues—David Howells, Adam Nuzie, Ellie LaFountain—and yourself, Margaret. These conversations and my interactions with other leading executive search firms over the decades have given me a clear perspective on what differentiates Pacific in this space. What stands out is your deep understanding of talent and the strong relationships you build with clients. This approach enables you to anticipate their needs and find the right fit so that both the talent and the organization can achieve their highest potential for success.

Such a process is not simple. At its core lies a spirit of partnership and accountability for delivering sustainable results in the long term. That approach resonated deeply with me because, throughout my career, I’ve always valued talent development as the single most significant driver of sustainable business results—and perhaps the most critical legacy a leader can leave behind.

What makes me passionate about Pacific’s work is your differentiated approach. You take a genuine interest in understanding talent beyond a specific role search, building deeper relationships than just filling positions. Through this process, you become a partner in thinking about what’s best for the talent and matching it to the right opportunities. I also see how you apply this same philosophy on the organizational side—understanding their needs deeply, sometimes even before they fully recognize them themselves. By the time there’s a role on the horizon, you already know the talent well enough to ensure an ideal fit.

Having worked with several executive search firms over my career, I can confidently say that this approach sets Pacific apart from everyone else. When I saw how closely your mission aligns with my own belief in the importance of talent development as a lasting legacy, it was an easy decision for me to engage in this process and join Pacific’s advisory board.

Margaret Jaouadi  
You’ve had leadership experiences across multiple industries. What common leadership qualities are essential for driving sustainable success regardless of the sector?

Sameer Pagnis
Many attributes differentiate great leaders—business acumen, communication skills, strategic thinking, talent management, ambition, vision, and the ability to balance between zooming in on details and zooming out on the bigger picture. However, if you step back and think about it, all these qualities converge at one focal point: the quality of judgment.

Every scenario where a leader exercises one of these attributes culminates in a judgment call that drives action. I’ve found that consistently successful leaders are those who possess exceptional judgment. They are curious and engage in Socratic debates to challenge assumptions and clarify possibilities. This approach enables them to navigate the uncertainty of markets and environments, make sense of “what is possible,” and decide their organization’s direction.

We often derive leadership qualities from iconic leaders like Steve Jobs’ mantra of “stay hungry, stay foolish” or Jack Welch’s focus on accountability and incremental progress. These are admirable traits, but they’re part of a larger framework. Leadership competencies studies have identified dozens of qualities, perhaps 75 or more, contributing to success. The value of specific attributes can shift over time based on circumstances. For instance, business acumen might be critical in one moment, while communication skills or strategic vision might take precedence in another.

At the end of it all, though, it comes down to judgment. Whether deciding on an investment, a hiring decision, a joint venture, or launching something new—judgment is the tool that ties everything together. Leaders who consistently make high-quality judgment calls are the ones who succeed across industries and market spaces.

When I think about talent for leadership roles, I always evaluate their quality of judgment through that lens. It’s not just about their competencies but how they apply them to decisions that drive sustainable success. This perspective shapes my conversations with talent and influences how I assess their readiness for critical roles or opportunities for development.

Margaret Jaouadi
What enables great leaders to make sound judgment calls consistently? Since no one can be an expert in everything, what approach is most effective for making good decisions, especially when facing essential choices with limited expertise?

Sameer Pagnis
Let me answer your question about how people can enable themselves to drive higher-quality decisions. I believe nobody is brilliant on all 365 days of a year. There are days when you are on top of your game, and then there are days when you are not at your best. That’s just reality.

You have to realize that no matter what kind of leader you are, no matter how many years of experience and successful background you have, there will be days when your decision quality will not be good and when your decision quality is excellent. I think knowing that is the foundational aspect of how you can develop yourself.

I go back to the Level 5 leadership characteristics where you say a great leader is humble yet willful. What does that mean? It’s not just about how they present themselves – though, of course, that’s part of it – there’s a deeper meaning behind this humble but willful characteristic.

In my opinion, when somebody’s humble, they don’t start with judgment. They begin with curiosity because they want first to understand. When you start with curiosity, you allow yourself to ask questions. You allow others to express themselves and leverage the team around you. If you’re a great leader, you’ve already hired great people with valuable perspectives.

So you approach a situation with that humility, which drives curiosity, which spurs debates and discussions. Then, you have a range of viewpoints on the table. As a team, you look at the plethora of information available. That’s when the willful part comes in – directing toward taking a decision, having the fortitude to stick with it, and driving relentless execution.

You move along this continuum: being humble, leveraging the team and their expertise, collecting enough information and perspectives, spurring debate, and then shifting toward being willful, where you make decisions and execute.

This process has an inherent advantage because you bring your team along as you move from the humble side toward the willful side. If you had directly jumped to the decisive or willful side, the team would be left behind and still be thinking about the problem while you’ve already decided.

When you bring the team along on that journey, you’ll eventually see more people emulate that approach. More people get comfortable with it. Trust and respect build, and instead of relying on a single leader or talent, the whole organization becomes a network of talent who have effectively leveraged each other’s expertise.

I believe you can unleash tremendous potential if you cultivate this approach.

Margaret Jaouadi  
Having operated at the C-Suite level, what are the most prominent challenges organizations face today in securing high-impact leaders?

Sameer Pagnis
Let me talk about the challenges in hiring a leader today. I would categorize them into two different buckets.

The first bucket clearly shows the uncertain environment in which we operate. Both you and I have been in the industry for quite some time, and you’ll notice that industries used to have predictable cycles. Automotive had a seven-year cycle, aerospace and defense had a 12-year cycle, and so on.

Those cycles have vanished in the last four or five years. We’re seeing the COVID-19 pandemic, war, floods, snowstorms, and all kinds of supply chain disruptions coupled with geopolitics, which isn’t going anywhere in the near future. We’ve started to see countries become more aware of internal manufacturing capabilities or what some call “friendshoring” models.

All these things constantly evolve, and people call it VUCA, or the new normal. The reality is that conventional wisdom will fail you if you try to apply it today. If you attempt to use a solution that worked 10 years ago in today’s situation, the chances are it will either fail or give you results that are far from optimal.

You need to learn, adapt, and leverage the talent around you. Going back to my earlier point – nobody is brilliant every day. So leveraging the entire team around you becomes crucial.

When you look at new hires at the leadership level, we focus on learning about past experiences, what they have done, and what they have achieved. I believe there should be a section addressing how candidates adapt to volatility. How do they drive change and success when everything around them is unpredictable? These questions will become pivotal for most organizations to help them spot high-impact talent.

The second major challenge is cultural fit. I’ve recently seen leaders joining companies, even at the C-Suite level and one layer below, who quickly leave their assignments within a few months. Publicly, they may cite different reasons, but the reality behind these departures often comes down to cultural misalignment.

The issue is the keyhole camera view you get in a one-hour interview, where the talent is desperately trying to gauge the organization’s culture while the organization is desperately trying to determine if the talent is the right cultural fit. It’s just a one-hour window into each other.

Executive search firms like Pacific are vital in aligning leadership talent with organizational culture. Because leadership styles vary across different environments, finding the right cultural fit is just as important as finding the right skills. As trusted partners to organizations and candidates, firms like Pacific have a unique vantage point—understanding current needs and what lies ahead. This insight allows you to consistently identify and match leaders who fit culturally, helping avoid one of the most common pitfalls in hiring: misaligning values and work styles.

Margaret Jaouadi  
As a Pacific International Advisory Board member, how do you see your experience and insights helping clients attract and retain transformational leaders?

Sameer Pagnis
I have been fortunate to have worked and interacted with many exceptional people who have grown as leaders in various industries. Also, my experience of leading businesses through different cycles and building great teams has helped me understand what good looks like, what works, and what has the potential to fail.

Before accepting the position, I thought about this opportunity, and I’m privileged that you considered me for this role. My bigger question was whether I would bring value to you.

I thought about two things, Margaret. First, in my journey over the past 30-some years, I have worked for, worked with, and connected and collaborated with many exceptional leaders or talents. I know people who have grown to significant positions or are in the process of developing or will grow in the future. There are many people I believe will do great things in the future. This network that I’ve built – I can bring that strength to Pacific.

In terms of connecting these people, fulfilling their hiring needs, and addressing their growth needs along their career arc – I think this network will help Pacific understand where great talent is, how to attract them, what their needs are, and how you can fulfill them.

So, the network strength is one element. The second element is that you are in the business of talent development. As I’ve mentioned, the highlight of my career, the most fulfilling part of my career, has been talent development. I think that’s where our minds meet. I’ve had experiences identifying, hiring, developing, and then seeing talent take flight to greater heights.

I can bring this talent development experience to the table at Pacific. But at the same time, I have to recognize that what was part of my job is a full-time career for Pacific. So, I’m also looking forward to learning from Pacific because I’m sure you have many great stories I can learn from.

Margaret Jaouadi  
How do you think leadership expectations are evolving to meet the demands of a more sustainable and purpose-driven future? And how do companies attract the right talent to align with this shift?

Sameer Pagnis
When you think about sustainability, I’m thinking more about sustainable success, and with purpose-driven, I’m thinking more about a company’s purpose and why it exists. There’s another angle to address this question from the green planet element, but let me address it from my earlier thesis.

Several years ago, it used to be a luxury for senior leaders where you are at a stage in your career where you can choose what role you want to do. You sit there at that beautiful, privileged position in your career and say, “I’m looking for a role that would allow me to do this, this, and this; that would allow me to join a company that does this, this, and this,” and so on.

If you decipher them, many considerations would go towards value creation. It would go towards what the company does regarding its purpose on the planet and what it creates for customers. It has a philosophical aspect, and, again, it is a luxury afforded by senior-level talent.

What I have seen increasingly – and I have a daughter who is soon going to work, and I have seen it in her behavior as well – is that the new entrants into the industry, even at their entry-level jobs, think a lot about the company’s purpose. They look at the financials, the career growth opportunities, and the products the company delivers. But there’s an evident view around “I will not work for this specific industry because…” versus “I would love to work for this industry because they are in this space and they’ll create a future like this.”

Margaret Jaouadi  
Let’s say we get a C-Suite project from a company without a clear purpose. How would you help then?

Sameer Pagnis
Everybody has a purpose, and it is just a matter of deciphering it. I think every organization has a purpose, and there is no doubt about that. That’s why they exist.

I would argue why they need a purpose statement, explaining and advocating how purpose statements can be powerful even when dealing with precarious decision-making in the M&A world. You can look back at your purpose statement, which is your North Star, and conclude what is right and wrong for you. That can help guide the strategy in the future.

But if a company, for whatever reason, is not in a position to state a deliberate purpose statement and propagate it through the organization – and that can happen because of conflicting priorities – what I would do is create in my mind a purpose statement for the organization during my conversations. When working on a talent search project with the senior leadership team, having this mental model would allow me to create a template for the talent who will fit that role.

There are ways to address this situation. I would never miss an opportunity to stress the importance of purpose to any organization. Everyone deals with the VUCA environment, and the conflicting priorities are real.

Margaret Jaouadi
We act as our clients’ brand champions for every project we work on. Our job is to present the company and role in an appealing way to talent. This aspect requires the skill to distill information and communicate it professionally and truthfully. It’s about extracting the essence of a role and presenting it in a way that attracts high-impact talent to both the position and the organization. What are your thoughts on this?

Sameer Pagnis
The thing is this – back in the day, providing information was considered valuable because information was not freely available. With the advent of the Internet, information has become widely accessible, and with AI, it’s even quicker. You can ask ChatGPT or Gemini, and you’ll quickly get an answer about a company, a business, or an organization.

So, the value of merely communicating information has dramatically dropped because everybody can access it.

From Pacific’s perspective, when you communicate with talent, I think it’s not about giving information about the business. It’s about providing knowledge about the company, and there’s a subtle difference between information and knowledge.

In my head, I explain it as an analogy: information is reading what is written, and knowledge is reading between the lines. Pacific focuses on providing knowledge. A company’s purpose is one aspect of that knowledge. A company’s culture is another aspect, and insight into how talent can become successful in a given environment is yet another. That’s where the value lies in the future.

Margaret Jaouadi
Thank you, Sameer, and I look forward to our collaboration! I do not doubt that many of our current and future clients will benefit from your expertise and knowledge of the challenges facing today’s C-suite leadership teams.

You can connect with Sameer Pagnis on LinkedIn or message him at sameer.pagnis@pacific-international.com