Our People
Over the past 25 years David has earned the reputation as “expert” in the field of retained search, corporate recruitment and workforce consulting. He has worked extensively with human resource staffing system design from both the corporate and consulting perspectives. David’s strong knowledge of organizations and human capital needs grew in the human resource departments within two of Minnesota’s Fortune 500 companies: Honeywell and Pillsbury Company (acquired by General Mills) and Farm Credit Services of Saint Paul, part of a nationwide network of lending institutions serving agricultural-related and specialized service organizations. As principal, David has further used his knowledge to establish Abeln, Magy, Underberg & Associates as a respected partner in recruiting key talent within a large array of business: family owned and non-profit organizations, high technology and food related business, manufacturers, and multi-national corporations. David is a nationally recognized speaker and blogs on matters related to search, staffing and ethics.
David is very active in the community, working as a “friend of the board” within three non-profit organizations doing natural disaster cleanup, special projects, and working with youth camps. He is married to a fire fighter and has three children. David enjoys many hobbies and pursuits including martial arts and motorcycles.
Linkedin – David Magy
Rick has successfully built partnerships with businesses from the smallest entrepreneurial niche business to the largest multinational corporation. Rick is just as acquainted with the talent needs (staffing challenges) in a variety of business sectors: manufacturing, distribution, information technology, financial services, as well as non-profit and engineering firms. He particularly understands the sales and marketing and operations management role that have a direct interface with the customer, learned and mastered during his years in business management and consulting as President of Doherty Employment Group, and Managing Consultant with James Bissonett & Associates, Inc., both leaders in the human resources and employee benefits field. Rick’s background also includes several years as a Vice President of a national distributor of music, video and computer software for major retailers such as Target, Wal-Mart, and Sears. Over his tenure as Principal and executive recruiter with Abeln, Magy, Underberg & Associates he has effectively placed hundreds of professionals and C-level leaders who have added long term value to their organizations.
Rick, a Red River Valley native, prefers the wide open spaces and is an enthusiastic traveler; relishing in the trip itself and the planning process. Lately, he has added international mission trips on his travel schedule. He also enjoys walking, playing tennis and spending time with his family.
Linkedin – Rick Underberg
Ken’s career as a successful entrepreneur, educator, business executive, and consultant is the foundation for networking and sourcing capabilities that are very effective for our clients. Ken’s unique combination of Finance, Accounting, Career Management Consulting, and Teaching experience provides our clients and candidates with valuable expertise in effectively matching candidates to the position requirements of our clients, resulting in the “fit” that will be the cornerstone of a lasting and productive employment relationship. Prior to co-founding Abeln, Magy, Underberg &Associates Ken founded Career Dynamics, Inc., a Career Management and Performance Consulting firm, and AAD & K, Inc., a Vocational Rehabilitation Consulting firm. Ken also served as Vice President of Finance of a corporation with manufacturing and service subsidiaries, and several years with Deloitte & Touche, one of the “Big 4″ Public Accounting and Consulting firms, where he managed varied consulting and auditing engagements, and was active in Staffing and College Recruiting.
Ken enjoys a variety of activities. A lifelong learner, he is enrolled in history courses at the university level, and enjoys genealogical research and reading. He has restored several classic automobiles and is active in classic automobile organizations. He plays the saxophone in a community band. Among his other pursuits are running, gardening, and motorcycling.
Christi, with her unique combination of recruitment strategy and the technological tools available in research, helps our firm conduct efficient and successful searches. She is adept at understanding clients’ needs and assessing talent to match their strategic goals.
Christi has gained national recognition for her expertise in employment market research and utilizing technology in the recruiting process, bringing a methodology and structured approach to secure successful outcomes. Christi has led the research team at Abeln, Magy, Underberg and Associates to develop new tools in the arena of social media and professional online networks to uncover passive candidates. Christi continually widens the array of traditional sources by adding specialized tools and conducting market research to optimize the search process. Christi, as a Search Consultant and research expert, continues to build her professional experience as a successful corporate recruiter within academia, human resources, and individual contributor roles.
Christi resides in Minneapolis with her husband, two children, and two Airedales. She a fitness enthusiast enjoys gardening and the great outdoors lifestyle. She serves the community through her involvement with SouthEast soccer club and serves on the leadership team for Women’s Ministries at her church.
Linkedin – Christi Thompson
Mary Lee’s Human Resources background, combined with her breadth of industry experience, provides valuable insight to sourcing candidates and managing the search process for our clients. Before working in retained search, Mary Lee served as a career and outplacement consultant and has held human resource positions in many industries including government, insurance, manufacturing, and distribution where she was responsible for recruitment, staffing and administration. She draws from her business perspective and understands what it takes to work in a variety of industry sectors; her special interest being sales and marketing, manufacturing, distribution, retail and healthcare. Mary Lee joined Abeln, Magy, Underberg & Associates after serving as a consultant with Career Dynamics where she applied her employment knowledge and staffing expertise to assist clients with workforce management.
Mary Lee lives in Eden Prairie with her husband and two daughters. In addition to being a soccer mom, she continues to hone her Spanish language skills to more fully enhance her travels and interest in the Latino Community and South American culture. This passion also leads her to take on leadership roles in various cultural organizations.
Linkedin – Christi Thompson
Debra combines investigative research skills with a broad knowledge of business to collaborate with her associates in developing qualified candidate pools. She uses a variety of research tools to conduct market intelligence as well as develop research strategy to identify appropriate candidates for our clients. Formerly working in the energy services industry, Debra has developed expertise within the disciplines of project management, targeted marketing and resource development to ensure the growth and success of businesses. She currently studies information services and likes the challenge of directed research to identify the best possible range of candidates to ensure productive placements.
Debra likes reading, creative writing, yoga, cooking and walking the family dog. She makes time to help with community projects surrounding literacy and nutrition. Debra and her husband live in Plymouth and enjoy spending time with their three children.
Linkedin – Debra Palmquist
