About the author William Vanderbloemen is an entrepreneur, pastor, speaker, author, and CEO and Founder of Vanderbloemen Search Group, an executive search firm serving churches, ministries, and faith-based organizations. William has combined over 15 years of ministry experience as a Senior Pastor with the best practices of Executive Search to provide churches with a unique offering: a deep understanding of local church work with the very best knowledge and practices of professional executive search. Prior to his founding Vanderbloemen Search Group, William studied executive search under a mentor with over 25 years of executive search at the highest level. His learning taught him the very best corporate practices, including the search strategies used by the internationally known firm Russell Reynolds. William also has experience as a Manager in Human Resources in a Fortune 200 company, where he focused on integration of corporate culture and succession planning. All of these experiences have come together with his pastoral work to form a unique gift for helping churches and ministries build great teams by finding their key staff. Prior to executive search, William led growth and innovation in churches in North Carolina, Alabama, and Houston. During his time in Alabama, William had the chance to help rebuild and relocate an ailing congregation and lead them to new levels of growth. At 31, he was elected Senior Pastor for the First Presbyterian Church of Houston, a church of about 5000 adults and 1500 children strong. It is Houston’s oldest congregation. William is regularly invited to speak across the country in both church services and as a resource to churches and conferences on leadership. He is a regular contributor to several major publications including Forbes where he covers topics about having a strong faith and building a business, Fortune, and Outreach Magazine. He has also been published through Fast Company, Entrepreneur, and Inc. His book "Next: Pastoral Succession That Works" on effective pastoral leadership and succession was released through Baker Books in September 2014. His most recent book, "Search: The Pastoral Search Committee Handbook," the practical guide to the pastor search process, was released through B&H Publishing in June 2016. William holds degrees from Wake Forest University and Princeton Theological Seminary. Besides helping connect churches with key staff, William enjoys spending time with family and connecting with people. William is an avid social networker. Whether connecting with friends, candidates for searches he is doing, or church members, he loves to network, and he would love to interact with you through Facebook and/or Twitter at @wvanderbloemen. William, his wife Adrienne, their seven children, and poodle Moses live in Houston. In his free time, William enjoys running, working out, and caddying for his kids, who are now better golfers than he is.