- TriSearch has entered into a strategic partnership with Northwest Talent Solutions; founder Nikita R. Steals, SPHR, PMP, CTAS, joins TriSearch as Vice President, Client Success.
- More than 20 years as an award-winning talent and workforce transformation executive across technology, financial services, professional services and the public sector.
- Scaled Capital One's technology organization 66% in 18 months, supporting more than $2 billion in business growth.
- Led an AWS Infrastructure talent transformation that increased technical hiring 72% in one year across North America, EMEA and APAC.
- Drove HR and talent modernization at Conduent that generated $17 million in annualized operating savings.
- A two-time founder: built and exited Ascension12, then launched Northwest Talent Solutions in 2024, which continues to operate independently under her leadership.
Two Decades of Workforce Transformation Leadership
A 66% technology org scale-up at Capital One, a 72% lift in technical hiring at AWS, and $17 million in annualized savings at Conduent--Nikita Steals has spent two decades turning workforce strategy into measurable business outcomes.
Enterprise impact at Capital One, AWS and Conduent
Before joining TriSearch, Nikita held senior leadership roles at three organizations where talent was the constraint on growth--and where the work was measured in business results rather than requisitions closed.
At Capital One, she helped scale the technology organization by 66% in 18 months, supporting more than $2 billion in business growth. At Amazon Web Services, she led a global Infrastructure talent transformation that increased technical hiring 72% in one year across North America, EMEA and APAC--a scope that required aligning sourcing, assessment and hiring capacity across three regions simultaneously. At Conduent, she led HR and talent modernization efforts that generated $17 million in annualized operating savings.
The through-line across all three is the same discipline TriSearch applies to executive search: diagnose the workforce problem behind the business problem, then build the systems and pipelines that solve it at scale.
A career spanning search, strategy and HR transformation
Nikita's experience spans executive search, workforce planning, organizational design, talent strategy, HR transformation and AI-enabled workforce solutions. She has applied that range across technology, financial services, professional services, the public sector and other complex industries--environments where hiring decisions carry regulatory, operational and cultural weight well beyond the individual role.
She holds the SPHR, PMP and CTAS designations, credentials that reflect the combination of HR depth, program execution and talent acquisition strategy that transformation work demands.
A Two-Time Founder with an Operator's Mindset
Nikita has built talent firms twice--securing a $3 million enterprise RPO engagement at Ascension12 before its acquisition, then founding Northwest Talent Solutions in 2024. She has sat on both sides of the table clients are navigating.
Building and exiting Ascension12
Nikita founded Ascension12, an executive search and talent solutions firm, and grew it to the point of securing a $3 million enterprise RPO engagement before the company was acquired by a global recruitment organization. Building a firm that could win and deliver an engagement of that size required the same capabilities she now brings to client partnerships: rigorous delivery infrastructure, credible senior-level relationships and the ability to earn trust with enterprise buyers.
Founding Northwest Talent Solutions
In 2024, Nikita founded Northwest Talent Solutions, an award-winning workforce transformation and talent advisory firm serving organizations across executive search, workforce planning, organizational design, talent intelligence and AI-enabled recruiting.
Northwest Talent Solutions was built for organizations whose talent challenges do not resolve with a single hire--companies restructuring functions, entering new markets, absorbing acquisitions or rebuilding hiring capability from the ground up.
The TriSearch and Northwest Talent Solutions Partnership
This partnership pairs Northwest Talent Solutions' workforce transformation expertise and entrepreneurial agility with TriSearch's national recruiting platform, scalable delivery capabilities and highly customized approach to client partnership.
What the partnership brings together
Nikita has entered into a strategic partnership with TriSearch, joining as Vice President, Client Success. The arrangement combines Northwest Talent Solutions' workforce transformation expertise and entrepreneurial agility with TriSearch's national recruiting platform, scalable delivery capabilities and highly customized approach to client partnership.
Northwest Talent Solutions continues to operate independently under Nikita's leadership. The partnership is additive rather than absorptive--clients of both organizations gain access to a broader set of capabilities without either firm losing the focus that made it effective in the first place.
What it means for clients
Through this partnership, Nikita works alongside TriSearch's team to support clients navigating growth and transformation. That work centers on solving complex workforce challenges, strengthening talent strategy and building the organizational capabilities required to deliver measurable business results.
For organizations scaling quickly, restructuring, or modernizing how they hire, the practical benefit is a partner who has done the work from inside the enterprise, from inside a founder-led firm, and from the search side of the table.
