Meet Our Team Old

Ralph Roberto

Ralph chairs the board of directors for Keystone Partners. Previously, he served as President and CEO of the firm; he founded the Essex Partners division in 1999. He has deep experience in the human capital aspects of organizational leadership, organizational restructuring, and executive coaching.

Recognized as a leading authority on executive career issues, he has been featured in the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Boston Globe, Boston Business Journal, and Human Resource Executive.

Ralph is the former Chairman of the Nominating Committee of the Board of Directors at Direct Federal Credit Union, where he was also a board member. Ralph has served on the Executive Committee of the Board of Trustees at the former Deaconess-Waltham Hospital.

Ralph received his MBA from Boston University’s Questrom School of Business and a BA in History from Boston College. He has completed the Consumer Marketing Program at the J.L. Kellogg Graduate School of Management and the Advanced Leadership Program at the Center for Creative Leadership. He is also a Certified Executive Coach by the Center for Executive Coaching.

Mary Fay Kattman

Mary Fay oversees the daily operations of Keystone Partners, and has more than 20 years’ financial management experience.

Previously, Mary Fay co-founded Store to Door, where she served as CFO, Secretary, and Treasurer and was instrumental in determining the strategic direction of the company. She was also involved in two other start-ups, both of which were successfully sold to large public companies.

She holds an MBA from Babson College and a BS in Accounting from the University of Vermont. She is also a CPA.

Mary Fay was a founding member of the Mobile Self Storage Association and served on the Board of Directors as Treasurer for four years. She is a member of the Treasurers Club of Boston.

Tim Baldwin

Tim is responsible for Career Management, technology, and driving operational efficiency at Keystone Partners.

Tim has nearly 20 years’ experience in growth strategy, operational improvement, and change leadership with technology-enabled business models.  Most recently, he has held senior operating roles at Cengage Learning and itslearning.

Tim holds an MBA from the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College, an MS in Engineering from Dartmouth College, and a BS in Biomedical Engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.

Elaine Varelas

Elaine brings more than 20 years’ experience consulting to organizations focused on resolving complex career management issues, including leadership development, and workforce planning, redeployment, and multisite restructurings. She has expertise in career consulting, executive coaching, and leadership development programs, and has worked with executive management teams to improve organizational effectiveness. Her experience spans a broad range of industries and businesses, including Fortune 500 companies, start-up ventures, and not-for-profit organizations.

In her role as Managing Partner at Keystone Partners, Elaine spearheads all sales and marketing activities nationally.

A graduate of the Management Development Program at Boston University, Elaine holds an MEd from the University of Vermont and a BA in Psychology from the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, where she also served on the Board of Trustees. She is a Certified Executive Coach by the Center for Executive Coaching and MBTI certified.

Highly regarded for her industry experience and insights, Elaine is frequently sought after for her advice and writes regular columns for The Boston Globe’s Ask the Job Doc.

Elaine Varelas

Elaine brings more than 20 years’ experience consulting to organizations focused on resolving complex career management issues, including leadership development, and workforce planning, redeployment, and multisite restructurings. She has expertise in career consulting, executive coaching, and leadership development programs, and has worked with executive management teams to improve organizational effectiveness. Her experience spans a broad range of industries and businesses, including Fortune 500 companies, start-up ventures, and not-for-profit organizations.

In her role as Managing Partner at Keystone Partners, Elaine spearheads all sales and marketing activities nationally.

A graduate of the Management Development Program at Boston University, Elaine holds an MEd from the University of Vermont and a BA in Psychology from the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, where she also served on the Board of Trustees. She is a Certified Executive Coach by the Center for Executive Coaching and MBTI certified.

Highly regarded for her industry experience and insights, Elaine is frequently sought after for her advice and writes regular columns for The Boston Globe’s Ask the Job Doc.

Matthew Abbatacola

Matt brings over 25 years’ experience in the Chicago market in the HR, Media, and Hospitality Industries. He has partnered with Fortune 500 companies headquartered in the Midwest and worked with many firms among the Am Law 100.

Matt has extensive experience in sales strategy, new business development, as well as building client relationships. He joins us from Wolters Kluwer and ADP to create and develop new partnership opportunities while supporting existing clients to align with their changing and growing needs.

Matt lives with his fiancé and their four boys in the northern suburbs of Chicago. He is an active volunteer in his community’s youth sports programs. Matt’s daughter is a 2022 graduate of the University of Illinois Master of Social Work program. In his spare time, if he has any, Matt is an avid home chef, pitmaster, and mixologist.

Chad Brantner

Chad has nearly 18 years’ experience working with some of the largest technology-based Fortune 500 companies in the world.

He is responsible for the development of new client relationships, as well as working with established clients to create solutions for their needs.

Chad has extensive experience in sales strategy, account management, and client support through his various leadership roles at Expansys and Brandpath.

In addition to his professional experience, Chad holds a seat on the board for the Burlington, IL Central Youth Football League. He enjoys lending his free time to the local youth athletes in his community.

Chad holds a BS in Business Administration and Information Systems from the College of Business at Illinois State University.

Robert J Byron

Rob has over 15 years’ experience in executive search and recruiting, closely partnering with technology and HR executives and leaders on talent acquisition strategy and execution. This experience enables Rob to be a trusted advisor to organizations in the areas of career transition, executive coaching, leadership development, and training.

Previously Rob led the executive search practice at Longford & Company focused on technology executive and leadership searches in the biotech/life sciences and high-tech sectors. Prior to Longford & Company, Rob was a Partner at WinterWyman in their technology search division.

Before starting his career in executive search, Rob served as a Naval Flight Officer for 9 years, including multiple deployments and combat missions over Iraq. He earned an MBA from the University of Rhode Island and a BS in Computer Science from Stonehill College.

Traci Delgado

Traci brings more than 15 years’ experience as a talent development leader across a wide range of industries. She builds and fosters relationships, consulting with clients about leadership development and career transition opportunities and challenges.

Traci partners with HR Executives and C-Suite Leaders to build global learning and leadership development strategies and solutions that align to the organization’s top talent management initiatives.

She holds an MA in Education from Kent State University and a BS in Marketing from the University of Toledo.

David Hennessy

With 19 years’ experience in management, training, and sales, Dave consults on employee transitions/outplacement and advises organizations on robust leadership development and executive coaching programs.

Dave hosts “The Hennessy Report” podcast – a free flowing conversation with leaders in Human Resources talking about the industry, themselves, and their work. “The Hennessy Report” is produced by Keystone Partners in cooperation with NEHRA.

A member of NEHRA’s Board of Directors, Dave also serves as Chair of the Board of Commissioners for the Reading Municipal Light Department, a municipal utility serving 29,000 customers in four towns north of Boston. He holds an MBA from Boston University’s Questrom School of Business and a BS in Mathematics and Philosophy from the University of Massachusetts Amherst.

Kim Littlefield

Kim has more than 20 years’ experience in business development in the human capital consulting space where she advises organizations and executives on complex workforce planning, leadership development, and career transition issues.

Kim provides a strategic approach to career management and works with global organizations to guide the development of successful programs for retention, leadership development, executive coaching, team building, and management training.

Before joining Keystone, Kim was a certified senior trainer with Dale Carnegie where she taught courses on human relations, communication, leadership, sales, and presentation skills.

Kim is a sought-after speaker on topics including networking, negotiating and personal branding. She has also written and contributed to articles on networking, resiliency, and Stay Interview programs.

Kim holds an MS in Adult and Organizational Learning from Suffolk University and a BS in Business Administration from Bryant University.

Omar Saldana

Omar serves as a trusted advisor to organizations to achieve their business goals through leadership development and career management.

He joined Keystone Partners with more than 20 years’ experience in management and human resources, with expertise in performance management, leadership development, career development, and compensation. Previously, Omar worked in the biotechnology, professional services, technology, and higher education sectors for organizations including Harvard University, Genzyme, and Cubist. He is SPHR certified and is fluent in Spanish.

Omar is an active member of NEHRA and HRLF, and serves on the Board of Directors of the Girl Scouts of Eastern Massachusetts as well as its Board Nominating and Development Committee, and its Membership Committee. He holds an MBA from New York University’s Stern Graduate School of Business and a BS in Consumer Economics from Cornell University.

Paul Schneider

Paul brings over 25 years’ professional HR experience in a variety of industries, from the plant level to corporate headquarters.

Previously, Paul was a Partner at Strategic Talent Solutions, President and CEO of Grant Alexander, an executive search firm based in Chicago, and the founder of Scherer Schneider Paulick LLC (SSP). Paul’s corporate experience includes Reynolds Metals Company, International Harvester, USG Corporation, and Griffith Laboratories.

He served on the Board of Directors and was a Secretary for HRMAC, a Board Member and Secretary for the International Association of Corporate and Professional Recruiters (IACPR), on the Board of Advisors for Loyola University, and on the Board of Directors for Outplacement International Partners. Paul is a former trustee for Adler University in Chicago and is currently on the Board of Directors for Dominican University’s Brennan Graduate School of Business.

Paul received a MSIR in HR from Loyola University Chicago and a BS in Political Science from Benedictine College.

Brenda Stanton

Brenda consults with organizations on corporate workplace, career management, and leadership development. She advises HR leaders on complex, multi-site global restructuring and outplacement needs, C-level executive transitions, and talent and leadership development initiatives including executive coaching, team effectiveness, and management training.

Brenda has served as a career transition consultant and trainer, advising professionals at all levels to define career targets and up-level opportunities, and successfully achieve their career aspirations.  Prior to Keystone, she spent 15 years in business development and marketing roles at publishing, advertising, and technology firms.

Brenda is an active member of New England Employee Benefits Council (NEEBC) and frequently speaks to professional associations including NEHRA and DisruptHR Boston. Brenda is a certified career coach with Coach Training Alliance (CTA). She holds a BBA from the University of Massachusetts Amherst, Isenberg School of Management. She is also a Certified Executive Coach by the Center for Executive Coaching.

Linda Sweet

Linda brings more than 15 years’ organizational development, talent management, strategic HR and organizational consulting, business development, and coaching experience.

Linda manages client account relationships, providing strategic solutions in the areas of leadership development, career transition, executive coaching, and succession planning.

Linda began her career in the Energy industry, managing the training and development function at MidCon Corporation, a natural gas transmission company. Linda built and managed an in-house learning and development function at Galileo International, and consulted with and conducted training for Motorola, Inc. and Allstate Insurance. She has volunteered with HRMAC.

She received an MA in HR Development from National Louis University and a BA in Business Management from the University of Illinois at Chicago.

Jim Tam

Jim is a dynamic B2B sales executive known for his customer first approach. He has extensive sales leadership experience having led high-performing teams at Citigroup, Hertz Corporation, G4S, Kastle Systems, and Gnowbe.

He serves on the Board of the Dallas Sports Commission and is Membership Director of the Sales Enablement Society Dallas chapter. He is also a member of Ascend North Texas chapter, NYU Alumni Relations Dallas region, and is an active participant and supporter of Susan B. Komen Race for the Cure.

Jim has an MBA from Dowling College with an emphasis on Total Quality Management. He received his BS in both Finance and International Business from NYU Stern School of business.