Our Team
Doug Johnson
Founder & President
Joined the Company: 2002
Areas of Expertise: Software sales and marketing. Expert in the art of talking to people.
Education: MA, Clinical Sport Psychology, John F. Kennedy University—Orinda, CA
BA, Psychology, University of Minnesota-Duluth—Duluth, MN
Doug founded Valor Partners in 2002 after spending six very successful years with Management Recruiters International-Sales Consultants. At MRI, Doug was twice named the National Account Executive of the Year and was a Top 10 Account Executive nationally for five-consecutive years (out of 5,000+ peers).
He earned his undergraduate degree in psychology from the University of Minnesota and holds a Masters degree in Sport Psychology from John F. Kennedy University in Orinda, California.
When not working, Doug likes to spend time with his kids, travel, think, read, and string tennis racquets.
Steve Spencer
Senior Partner, Aerospace & Transportation
Joined the Company: 2010
Areas of Expertise: Aerospace & Defense; M&A, Corporate and Strategic Development
Education: MBA, UNC, Charlotte—Charlotte, NC
BA, Business, UNC, Charlotte—Charlotte, NC
Steve’s recruiting career began with Management Recruiters International (MRI) in 1994 where he was promoted to the level of Senior Vice President. After leaving MRI, Steve built and ran his own highly successful search firm, Strategic Search, in Charlotte from 2000 until 2008. In 2008, he left the search industry and invested in a smart grid technology start-up, Sensei-Solutions, where he continues to be a strategic advisor and major stockholder.
Currently a Senior Partner and the Aerospace & Defense Practice Director at Valor Partners, Steve’s clients appreciate his counsel and advice in highly competitive recruiting projects. In the close-knit world of aerospace, avionics, and defense, Steve’s experience is much valued by top clients like Honeywell, Rolls-Royce, and Boeing.
Although it seems like Steve does nothing but recruit, recruit, recruit (he was a National Top Ten Account Executive at MRI from 1995-1999 and was named a finalist for the MRI 1999 National Account Executive of the Decade), he does like to kick back and relax with his wife and daughter in Charlotte, as well as enjoy a brisk run every morning before work.
Drew Ramsey
Healthcare Practice Director
Joined Company: 2010
Areas of Expertise: Healthcare IT/Software; Biotech; Life Sciences
Education: BS, Business Management & Consumer Studies, Virginia Tech
Some say that Drew has committed his entire network of phone numbers to memory and that he once spent 879 consecutive hours on the phone without a bathroom break—and there is always some truth to exaggeration.
Drew joined Valor Partners in early 2010 as a Project Coordinator and quickly cemented his role as Account Executive. Currently, he leads the healthcare IT efforts as Healthcare Practice Director. Prior to joining the Valor team, he spent several years in contract professional recruiting.
In his spare time, Drew can regularly be found waterskiing on nearby Smith Mountain Lake. He is also a rabid Hokie football fan (which we don’t hold against him) and bleeds his alma mater’s colors of Chicago maroon and burnt orange.
Donna Rader
Director of Client Projects
Joined the Company: 2005
Areas of Expertise: Physical Asset Management Technology, Asset Technology, General Manufacturing Applications
Donna Rader is the Director of Client Projects for Valor Partners. She joined Valor Partners in 2005 and plays a key role in managing client projects and the recruitment of talent for select projects. Since coming to Valor Partners, Donna has built significant relationships with numerous software executives and has succeeded in establishing Valor Partners as the recruiting partner of choice with many of our preferred clients.
Born into a family which has long made their home in the rolling hills of Southwest Virginia, she continues to stay true to her roots and live off the land with her husband and son when not at work.
Jordan Saul
Aerospace & Transportation Project Coordinator
Joined the Company: 2011
Areas of Expertise: Aerospace & Defense
After joining Valor Partners as a research associate, Jordan quickly found himself swept up in the world of aerospace & defense as a project coordinator. While he still spends time researching, he also serves as a liaison between candidates and Steve Spencer, the Sr. Partner who heads up the Aerospace & Transportation team. Since joining Valor Partners, he has been a key coordinator for several high-profile projects including Honeywell and Boeing.
Originally from Roanoke, Jordan spends his time scoping out new music and going to shows, watching foreign and independent films, and urbex (urban exploration).
Jes Gearing
Marketing & Healthcare Practice Coordinator
Joined Company: 2011
Areas of Expertise: Research & Marketing, Healthcare IT
Education: MFA, Poetry, Hollins University
BA, English & Environmental Studies, Emory University
Jes joined Valor Partners in 2011 as a Research & Marketing Coordinator. She previously spent time working as a researcher for the Samuel Beckett Project in Atlanta, Georgia, where she annotated and organized the collected letters of the writer who penned the infamous Waiting for Godot. As a result of spending hundreds of hours sneezing her way through the archives, Jes developed a passion for research and knowledge, an enthusiasm she brings to her job here at Valor.
A native of Atlanta, she completed a double major at Emory University in English and Environmental Studies (focused on the intersection of the environment and literature), and an MFA in Poetry at Hollins University.
Outside of the office, Jes can be found riding her bike on the Blue Ridge Parkway or running the hundreds of miles of trails the Appalachian Mountains provide. An ex-vegan and a former chef of a local foods restaurant, she also runs a successful food blog, Eating Appalachia.