Lois L. Lindauer
President, Lois L. Lindauer Searches

In 1965 Ms. Lindauer developed and founded Diet Workshop, a nationally franchised group weight control company that reflected her personal experience and appreciation for weight management challenges. Widely recognized as an innovator in weight loss, Diet Workshop was the first program to introduce behavior modification into its curriculum and incorporate a focus on fitness. As President and CEO, Ms. Lindauer led a company of women on every level, from instructors to senior management to franchisees.

The first woman in the United States to use the franchise system of distribution to grow her business, she created a unique program that enabled thousands of clients, instructors, and territorial franchisees throughout the United States to achieve their personal and professional goals. By 1991, when Diet Workshop was sold, the system was generating over $25 million in revenue.

Ms. Lindauer created Lois L. Lindauer Searches in response to a need for development professionals in nonprofit organizations. Since its establishment in 1997, Ms. Lindauer, with a staff of 12, has built a platinum client roster which includes Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston Symphony Orchestra, Carnegie Mellon University, University of Rochester, Colby College, and the University of Pennsylvania, among many others. Lois L. Lindauer Searches is one of the fastest growing executive search firms specializing in development, and the firm has been consistently featured in the Boston Business Journal’s “Book of Lists” and voted a “Top 10 Recruiter” by Boston Women’s Business Journal.

In response to a recruiting emphasis on diversity in 2000, Ms. Lindauer conceived of and founded Sisters in Development, an organization designed to attract women of color to the development profession and to provide a network for those already working as fundraisers. Programming includes inspirational speakers, as well as “how-to” sessions. This successful endeavor, which now boasts a roster of over 100 members, has fostered professional growth for participants and been responsible for multiple pro bono placements and consultant referrals.

Ms. Lindauer’s commitment to empowering women includes her contribution to nonprofit boards. She is a founding and continuing board member of The Commonwealth Institute, an organization that assists women entrepreneurs, CEOs, and senior corporate executives grow their businesses. She is Chair of the Governance Committee and serves on the Executive Committee and on the board of Women in Development/Boston, a nonprofit professional association whose mission is to promote and support the advancement of women in the development profession. As past President of The Boston Club, Boston’s largest organization of senior executive and professional women, Ms. Lindauer is a constant advocate of women’s career advancement and is particularly interested in increasing the representation of women on corporate and nonprofit boards. Ms. Lindauer founded the Nonprofit Board Resource Committee, which to date has placed almost 200 women on nonprofit boards.

Lois L. Lindauer Searches played a significant role in the Massachusetts Governor’s Appointments Project (MassGAP), a bi-partisan coalition of women’s groups whose purpose was to increase the number of women appointed by the new governor to senior-level cabinet positions, agency heads, and selected authorities and commissions in the Commonwealth. Ms. Lindauer worked in partnership with MassGAP to manage the influx of resumes in application to these high-level positions spanning all facets of Massachusetts government.

Ms. Lindauer’s devotion to service transcends her formal professional and personal connections to extending a helping hand to those who call her for business advice, career counseling, introductions, and everything in between.

An author and public speaker, Ms. Lindauer has written five books and numerous articles on diet and health and on executive search, recruitment, and interviewing techniques.

Ms. Lindauer is a graduate of Brandeis University, Waltham, MA where she received a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology. She resides in Boston, MA.