Hunting Heads for the Perfect Fit

By Karen-Janine Cohen

Outside of romantic matchmaking, the internet has disrupted no sector more than corporate staffing. Uploaded resumes and job opportunities are the norm. Yet room remains for the bespoke firm that creates a tailor-made employer-employee fit. That is what Raul Duarte (MBA '21, BBA '14), founder and CEO of RTD Talent Solutions, has crafted.

"We fill the need, not the position," said Duarte, who opened the firm in 2022, as the COVID-19 pandemic ebbed, but massive undulations still roiled the labor market. The Duarte difference is cultivating deep relationships with firms for which he finds employees – be they short-term or permanent. Companies return as their needs evolve.

Duarte mainly focuses on high-level executives, yet for core clients he will find anyone from a receptionist to an executive assistant. RTD also provides project support – bringing in a crew for example, if a company needs IT expertise for new software, or a bank needs accounting help with a government-requested audit.

The son of Cuban immigrants, Duarte knows the South Florida market down to bedrock. Both of his parents ran their own businesses: dad was in construction and development, while mom owned an assisted living facility.

"I had the full Miami experience," said Duarte, who attended Belen Jesuit Preparatory School, then FIU, where he earned both undergraduate and graduate degrees. Along the way, he made and kept friends now active in the Miami business community. After earning his BBA, he spent several years in accounting and finance at live event audiovisual services provider Southern Audio Visual.

When it was time to seek new opportunities, Duarte worked with recruiting firm Robert Half. The company ended up hiring him. He reached the assistant vice president level, learning to assess a company's strategic needs, and not, as he put it, "work off a typical job description." He brings clarity to a situation once executives explain their needs. "I try to position myself as a true business partner rather than a traditional headhunter," he said. He has worked with close to 300 South Florida companies and made about 800 placements.

The pandemic catalyzed Duarte's decision to start RTD as talent displacement created a strategic opportunity. Meanwhile, he earned his MBA degree in the FIU Business Executive MBA program.

Duarte is doing his part to boost the South Florida business infrastructure, seeking home-grown talent before looking outside the region. "I find the perfect executive with an FIU degree," he said.

He is on the FIU Business MBA advisory board. When he is not working or spending time with his wife, a nurse practitioner, Duarte is involved in area charities, particularly Camillus House.