Elan Pratzer
Chief Executive Officer

Elan Pratzer is the founder and CEO of Executive Risk Group Ltd. (formerly Executive Risk Services Limited). He was, until May 1, 2004, the Managing Director of Rose Private Equity – a private, Canadian-based merchant bank.

Prior to joining Rose in May 2003, Elan was Regional Managing Director, Canada, of Korn/Ferry International. Based in Toronto, he was responsible for Canada’s first and only nationwide executive search practice with market leading offices in Montreal, Toronto, Calgary and Vancouver. For the course of his employment with Korn/Ferry International, Elan was a member of the Americas Operating Committee which set strategy and business plans for Korn/Ferry’s largest business unit, specifically North and South America.

As Regional Managing Director for Canada, Elan and his team initiated a joint venture with Patrick O’Callaghan & Associates which featured a widely-read annual Corporate Board Governance and Director Compensation report, and also established annual Corporate Governance awards. In early 2003, with the establishment of the Canadian Public Accountability Board, Elan and his team were asked by the Chairman of the Ontario Securities Commission to recruit the Chair and Directors; this mandate was successfully accomplished.

Prior to joining Korn/Ferry International, Elan had compiled a twenty-year history in the executive search industry – first in a senior capacity with two well known firms, then as founder and CEO of Pratzer & Partners Inc. Under his leadership, Pratzer & Partners grew from a small boutique into a recognized leader in executive search. By 1999, when he sold the firm to Korn/Ferry, Pratzer & Partners had become Webb Johnson Pratzer, with offices in Toronto, New York and Chicago.

Elan has a Bachelor’s degree in Commerce from McGill University and a Law Degree from the University of Toronto. 

Through his years in executive search, Elan has become a trusted advisor to many of Canada’s leading business executives, a number of whom serve on boards of directors of public, private and not-for-profit organisations.

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