Our Expertise and Experience
Venture Talent Solutions is a recruitment firm, with 20 years’ experience. Our primary focus is filling sales, marketing and Executive positions. We have experience in industrial automation, robotics, engineering, operations, quality and manufacturing positions. We keep abreast of new and emerging technologies and enjoy supporting both established and start-up operations.
First-Hand Industry Experience
We have hands-on experience in most of the positions we recruit for. Thomas has personally held a variety of sales and marketing positions with local, regional and international responsibility. This experience is accompanied by having worked very closely with product management, QA, manufacturing, R&D and distribution. This unique insight allows for a more accurate understanding and ability to assess and qualify potential candidates for our clients. This experience coupled with fine-tuned intuition and a high EQ, support the achievement of excellent results for our clients.
Our Team
Thomas Freund
President
Thomas Fruend, President
Thomas began his career in 1989 as a Management Trainee for the global leading provider of industrial electrical enclosure systems. The 2-year program provided first-hand exposure to all facets of a mid-sized, international manufacturer of industrial equipment. The comprehensive program included the areas of manufacturing, sales, marketing, product management, operations, quality assurance, logistics and the executive suite.
After completing the program Thomas was promoted to the position of inside sales manager with 5 direct reports. The team managed the largest international region and Thomas was responsible for directly supporting the global initiatives of ABB Robotics, as well as other notable manufacturers in the automation, shipbuilding, process control and oil & gas industries.
In 1994 Thomas was promoted to the position of International Sales Manager responsible for the development of 9 Central European countries. Within 2 years, 6 new subsidiaries and a wide distribution network had been established. Personnel headcount grew from 10 to 40 and sales grew well above expectations. The established partnerships are still in place today, most of which have been elevated to direct subsidiaries of the parent company.
After hiring and training a successor, in 1998, Thomas was again promoted to the position of Global Key Account Manager, Industrial. This position was responsible for the global coordination of large industrial accounts in excess of $100 Mio. These included Rockwell Automation, Honeywell, Emerson and other large multi-national manufacturers.
In 2000 Thomas resigned his position to join a renowned executive recruitment firm where he developed the Industrial Automation Division. In 2012, Thomas achieved the designation of CSAM (Certified Senior Account Manager) which represents the elite of the Management Recruiter International franchise group. MRI is the world’s largest recruitment firm founded in 1965. Thomas also volunteered his time as a mentor and contributed to the development of rookie recruiters of affiliated offices throughout the country.
After nearly 18 years with MRI, Thomas moved to Maine and founded his own firm, Venture Talent Solutions, LLC, which provides recruitment services for companies involved in robotics and industrial automation.
When not in the office, Thomas likes to spend his time exploring New England with his wife, he volunteers his time with the local historical society where he gives local lighthouse tours to visitors during the summer months. He is also a practitioner of Ashtanga Yoga on a nearly daily basis.
Katrin P. Feick
Managing Partner
Katrin P. Feick, Managing Partner
After completing her formal education in international business Katrin began her career with a high-end corporate marketing company. She was responsible for selling image-based ad campaigns as well as managing the entire project from initial approach to post-print follow up. She became the youngest Team Leader in the company and was responsible for some of the firms most important key account managers.
A few years later she followed her entrepreneurial urge and started her own business in the retail space. The business was successful and subsequently sold, thus opening up the opportunity to realize an international relocation opportunity to the United States.
After a brief period of completing her immigration formalities, Katrin became Marketing Director for a privately held assisted living facility in Florida. Her efforts quickly resulted in the facility reaching capacity and achieving a higher quality of life for the residents, as well as financial stability. In less than 2 years she was offered a position as Executive Director in Training and managed the daily operations during the prolonged illness-induced absence of the Executive Director.
By the following year Katrin had been recruited to the position of Executive Director for an upscale residence with a specialization on dementia care. She spent 15 years as the Executive Director and General Manager with high-end senior care residences, including international responsibility.
In the Fall of 2019, after careful deliberation, Katrin decided to leave the Healthcare Industry to start a new journey in her professional career and joined Venture Automation LLC, as Managing Partner.
This role enables Katrin to apply her expertise in successfully managing a company, hiring and training of associates, team building, quality management, marketing and many more of the responsibilities of daily operations, to bring our firm to the next level, especially during our expansion process.
Katrin enjoys horse back riding, cooking, exploring the outdoors with her husband including biking, hiking and boating, wine tastings and spending time with dogs, her last dog Mogli was a certified therapy dog.
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Thomas was exemplary in his work with me. From our first call, the main concern for him was what I wanted in terms of a position, growth and long term happiness. In addition to those qualities, he worked diligently and efficiently to not only move the process along but through my scheduling needs as well. Lastly his knowledge about the company, interview process and people I was meeting with was far superior than any other recruiter that I have ever worked with and that expertise showed immediately through my interviews. In short, he truly cares about his clients and backs that up with action. I will happily refer any friends who are in the industry and on the hunt for a career change to him and I am fortunate to have worked with him to find the best career move I have made thus far.
Matthew Ross, OEM Account Manager at SICK Sensor Intelligence
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Thomas is by far the best recruiter I’ve had a chance to work with to date. Some recruitment agencies will try and place people in positions with only their self-interest in mind, Thomas was just the opposite. What impressed me most was that he ensured the role was the right fit for not only my experience but that I was the right fit for the company. As for the interactions during the hiring process, Thomas was an amazing advocate and kept me informed throughout - I was never left in dark at any point. And by the time my interviews were completed, I knew everything about the company and position which provided the comfort of knowing exactly what I was getting into. If you want to take the next step in your career, I’d highly recommend consulting with Thomas and let his efforts bridge the gap between the job you want and deserve.
Kevin Novak, Account Manager at Molex
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Thomas works very hard and very fast at finding great fits for both companies and employees. He was able to find a great fit for me and helped through the entire process and even followed up after my start date. Thomas will definitely live up to your expectations.
David Allen, Account Manager for Cutting Force (US and Canada) at Kistler Group
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Thomas is one of the best recruiters I have worked with in my professional career. He does an excellent job of communicating updates in a timely matter and he was always available during my hiring process. Thomas provided plenty of advice that made the job search process a breeze.
Joshua Gray, MBA| EE| Partner at JJ Real Estate Group, LLC | Real Estate Specialist| Community Empowerment Leader
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The title “recruiter” fails to describe the value Thomas Freund brings his clients. A year ago I was working for a great company in a job that I enjoyed and for leaders who I respected. Thomas called me, but unlike many recruiters, he asked questions about my goals and was genuinely interested in my career. He listened and answered my questions thoughtfully and insightfully. In the end, Thomas found a role for me in a superb company in which I fit perfectly. The position represented a step forward in my career at just the right time in my life. I have never been happier. Thomas served more as a career counselor than a recruiter helping me understand the steps that turn jobs into a meaningful career. The decision to leave a company can be very difficult, particularly when it’s a role in which you’re successful and that you enjoy. Thomas helped ease the process. He helped me look into the future of my career and put me on a path to ongoing success. I’m sincerely grateful for his work, and I enthusiastically recommend him.
Corey Loeffelholz, Director of Sales at Baumer Group
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Thomas performed with exceptional professionalism in guiding me through the placement process. His deep background in sales really showed in both his sense of cadence and insight into all the personalities involved. The emphasis he placed in providing a detailed description of the professional priorities, personality, and mannerisms of the interviewer were instrumental in preparing a mental image of the interviewer and conducting realistic and intuitive rehearsals of each pending meeting. His obvious professional integrity and trustworthiness made me very confident that my decision to accept the presented offer was the right thing to do. Working with Thomas was far and away the best recruiter experience I've had. I look forward to any opportunity to work with him again.
Kevin Speed, Business Unit Manager, Critical Infrastructure Security
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Thomas is an excellent recruiter of talent for our organization. He has helped me fill several technical sales positions in locations throughout the United States. Thomas understands our needs and provides timely updates throughout the search process. He provides a well filtered list of top prospects, saving me time and allowing us to focus on only the most qualified candidates. I continue to use Thomas and highly recommend him.
Ron Baysinger, Vice President at Automation24, Inc.
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Quite knowledgeable recruiter in Automation and Industrial Controls
John D. Alexander, Business Development Manager at AVG Automation
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As a recruiter Thomas is one of the best. He is not only professional in his communication and representation of his clients he is a continued resource even after finding that key person or position. I highly recommended Mr. Freund to anyone who is searching for highly skilled professional as well as for those highly skilled professionals who may be looking for a change.
Jeff Gaspar, EIT, Acting Corporate Account Manager
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Thomas and I began working together once I took the position at Wieland Electric as National Sales Manager and have continued to work together now that I am at WAGO. I have utilized his knowledge of the industry and local sales regions to assist us in locating Regional Sales Managers as well as Application Engineers. He is very systematic in his approach which allows me as a manager to work with him to define the need and timeline. Once that is done he will work to make sure you are presented only qualified candidates that are ready to take that next step of joining the organization. He is also very focused on the candidates and how they work through the interview process. His communications to both the individual and the company he is working for are a great asset. I will continue to utilize his service as the value that it gives our organization is very hard to replace.
Ted Naylor, National Sales Manager at WAGO Corporation
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Thomas was excellent to work with and provided only candidates that fit the requirements. We have developed a strong relationship over the years and I would not use any other recruiter because of the trust and confidence I have experienced in working with Thomas. He is a highly qualified individual that you and your company can count on to provide well rounded candidates to fit your requirements.
Ron Bezz, Global Account Manager at SMC
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Thomas is a very professional recruiter. He brought a job opportunity to me that ended up being my current job. During the process, he was on top of all the details when it came to communication, negotiation, and planning. I was never left wondering what was happening, he always had an answer or an update for me before I could even ask. I would recommend Thomas to any company or person looking to have fast and genuine results.
Sergio Resendiz, President and General Manager
