James D.S. Pruett is a Principal and leads the Chicago office of Morgan Samuels Company. Mr. Pruett brings more than 18 years of experience in executive search and consulting. Specializing in the Real Estate sector, Mr. Pruett has experience in financial services, professional services and the CFO function. 

Prior to MSC, Mr. Pruett was a Senior Client Partner in the Chicago office of Korn/Ferry International, and a member of the Global Financial Services practice with a concentration in the Real Estate sector. Mr. Pruett led engagements across multiple real estate market sectors for public and private owners, developers, investors and REITs, within the development, acquisitions, finance, operations, investment and services functions.

Prior to joining Korn/Ferry, Mr. Pruett was a managing director, leading the Chicago office of a boutique retained search firm focused on real estate. He led national search assignments in development, finance, operations, investment fund management, asset management and corporate services.

Previously, Mr. Pruett was with another international executive search firm in Chicago, where he led senior-level searches for Fortune 500 clients in the professional services and financial services practices. His career also includes more than seven years of experience in management consulting as a senior manager with Accenture (formerly Andersen Consulting), where he worked with Fortune 500 clients focusing on organization design and development and human capital. 

Mr. Pruett holds a master’s of business administration from the John M. Olin School of Business at Washington University in St. Louis and a bachelor’s in English from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor.