About | CHANGE STATE
Change State was founded with a compelling new vision of what businesses should expect from their recruitment marketing agency. Our in-depth knowledge of HR technology, combined with recruitment marketing techniques rooted in a deep understanding of emerging trends in advertising, allow our clients to take the next step in their HR digital transformation.
This approach has helped Change State elevate the traditional recruitment marketing agency from a “necessary evil” to a true partner for businesses that are serious about making changes to their talent acquisition processes.
As a bit of backstory to the company’s origins, Graham and Marty met in middle school as rival trumpet players in Chicagoland during the ’90s. Fifteen years later, they reunited as second-time business partners when they built Change State in Seattle in 2019.
Founding Team
Graham Thornton
Chief Executive Officer
Graham helps clients recognize better return on their HR tech and recruitment marketing budgets by identifying gaps in the candidate attraction and acquisition phases of their recruitment processes. Prior to founding Change State, he spent a decade managing HR technology acquisitions within the strategic talent acquisition space.
Martin Predd
Co-Founder
Martin brings 15 years of experience directing market research in the consumer branding world to Change State. His primary focus is helping companies maximize their recruitment marketing investment using smart, data-driven approaches to talent acquisition and employer branding, and helping clients make sense of employee sentiment.
Supporting Team
Nicole Doyle
Director of Operations
Tara Moeller
Finance Manager
Brie McKinley
Project Manager
Cassie Abbarno
Marketing Coordinator
Jamshed Muhammad
Data Analyst
Naseeb Ahmad
Web Developer / UI/UX Designer
Andres Gonzalez
Programmatic Analyst
Wandy Gálvez
Productivity Assistant
Surjit
SEM Specialist
Great Brands | WE’VE WORKED WITH
[ 100% Not-Made-Up Change State Client ]
Board Of Advisors
We’re pumped (and if we’re being honest, flattered) to be advised by such a distinguished panel of industry veterans.
Marie Davis
Strategic advisor, consultant and thought leader to corporations seeking new recruitment strategies to identify, hire and retain exceptional talent in untapped markets. Passionate educational and employment advocate.
William Sims
Vice President – Jani-King Gulf Coast. Previous talent acquisition leader for $3B retailer focused on hiring over 15,000 people annually; then led software sales division for global HR recruitment tech company.
Joshua Akers
Principal Strategist at Akers Advisors. Proven outcomes-based leader to the HR, Workforce & Employment Tech sectors; Specializing in Strategic Alliances, channel sales and product/market development.
Vinnie Cholewa
Regional VP, Client Development at Collective[i] Expertise in leading international growth for HR tech companies focused on incorporating Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning and Semantic Technology for matching people and jobs.
Derek Murphy-Johnson
Senior Manager, Talent Attraction at KinderCare Education HR professional with more than ten years of TA experience. Currently responsible for building and executing KinderCare Education’s employment brand, recruitment marketing, and talent attraction programs.
