​Jim Hess is a founding partner of Opus Partners, leading engagements in the Health Care, Not-for-Profit, and Higher Education practices. Over a 30-year career in executive recruitment, he has conducted more than 500 searches in general management, finance, marketing, information technology, human resources, risk management, and investment management on behalf of a wide range of clients. Healthcare clients include Boston Children's Hospital, University of Wisconsin Hospital & Clinics, Rainbow Babies, Partners Healthcare, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, andThe University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston. Higher education clients include Stanford University, Harvard University, Yale University, University of Pennsylvania, University of Washington, and Caltech.

Jim grew up outside of Philadelphia and graduated magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa from Wesleyan University. He then completed his Master's and Ph.D. degrees at the University of Pennsylvania. Before co-founding Opus, Jim was Director of International Operations for Penna Consulting, Plc, a London-headquartered, publicly traded human capital management consultancy. He managed Penna's offices in Paris, Milan, Munich, Stockholm, Oslo, and Dublin. Previously, he served for more than 15 years as a Managing Director of Diversified Search, where he built the higher-education practice and served as a member of the healthcare practice. He began his career as Director of Alumni Career Services at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. He serves as Chairman of Opus’ sister recruitment firm, Cadence Partners, based in London. Since 2011 he has lived in Portland, Oregon where he manages Opus’ west coast office.