Our Team
Rachel Fagnant-Fassler, President & Co-Owner
Rachel co-leads operations of the firm with Cynnie King. After receiving a BA in Psychology from the University of Michigan and a MA in Mental Health Counseling at NYU, she worked as a Career Counselor and as a Licensed Mental Health Counselor in several nonprofit organizations before moving into executive search and coaching. Her expertise has informed CFW’s recruiting, coaching and talent consulting services for over a decade.
Rachel also co-founded Changing the Conversation (with co-founders Cynnie King and Maria Simon) with a personal commitment to advancing women towards leadership and helping them to achieve the ultimate goal of gender equality in the highest ranks of the corporate world.
When she’s not in the office, you can find her going for long runs and hiking in the mountains outside of Denver.
I joined our firm as a graduate student. At the time, I thought that I was gaining invaluable skills that would inform my clinical practice. Ultimately, though, I found that my training enabled me to contribute the most to individuals and companies in career development. And my clinical background continues to inform the coaching work I do every day—with a focus on intentional career pathing as well asworklife mental health. I love facilitating individual career growth and working with managers to facilitate the growth of their own teams.
Recruiting expertise: sales, marketing, revenue operations, communications, program direction, events management. Coaching expertise: career transition, career development, team management, attention and performance, creative problem-solving, and outdoor coaching.
Cynnie King, CEO & Co-Owner
Cynnie co-leads the firm with Rachel Fagnant-Fassler. She is proud to extend the legacy of David King who founded the firm over 50 years ago.
A graduate of Colby College, Cynnie transitioned into a career in sales, selling for creative agencies, serving as Managing Partner of an international branding consultancy and business development executive for several other strategic branding and marketing communications firms. She was Vice President of an executive coaching, leadership development and organizational development consultancy, WJM Associates.
She is also co-founder, along with Rachel Fagnant-Fassler and Maria Simon, of Changing the Conversation, focused on elevating women toward leadership and building diverse and inclusive organizations.
An active member of her community in Lancaster, PA, Cynnie is engaged in various initiatives around caring for others. She recently rediscovered her joy in traveling abroad (there’s a chance she lived in Paris in a past life).
An essential part of career fulfillment is finding meaning and purpose in one’s work; and that’s exactly what I find in helping others to fully realize their professional talent and potential. As a career coach and recruiter, I lend a particular perspective relevant to aligning talent with opportunity. We evolve through our careers, and that evolution continues through every chapter.
Recruiting expertise: sales, account management, customer success, marketing, revenue operations, executive leadership. Coaching expertise: career transition, career development, executive presence.
Maria Carolina Simon, VP Talent Strategy & Partnerships
Maria brings diverse experience from her fifteen-year career in various management, sales, and business development roles. She has worked at some of the world's leading SaaS and digital media organizations, making her uniquely qualified to partner with sales organizations in all aspects related to sales talent recruiting, development, and retention.
Maria has an undergraduate BFA from FIT and has a certificate in Diversity and Inclusion from Cornell I.L.R. School. At the firm, she develops DEI programming and partnerships to help clients advance their goals in this field. Maria is also co-founder of Changing the Conversation (along with Cynnie King and Rachel Fagnant-Fassler) with a personal commitment to advancing women towards leadership and helping them to achieve the ultimate goal of gender equality in the highest ranks of the corporate world.
When she's not in the office, you can find her practicing Yoga, riding an indoor bike, or attempting to play tennis. Maria lives in RVA with her husband Eric, her daughter Mila and their adorable dog Chloe.
My commitment to effecting change is why I have joined CFW. Careers. I'm proud to be working with Cynnie, Rachel, our terrific team and our partners to fulfill the mission of helping clients build dynamic workplaces that reflect our ideal communities, and to inspire individuals to seek, develop, and optimize their potential.
Recruiting expertise: sales, account management, customer success, marketing, revenue operations, executive leadership, team building with industry expertise in SaaS, start-ups, PE backed companies as well as CPG, retail and EdTech.
Diany Levy, Recruitment & Marketing Specialist
Diany is the Recruiting and Marketing Specialist at CFW Careers. She’s instrumental in recruitment operations, account management, and marketing initiatives.
Diany has a BA in Hospitality and Event Management from Johnson & Wales University, her Master’s in Marketing from New York University, and a professional background working on corporate events across the US and LATAM, as well as in international SaaS sales development in NYC-based startups.
When she’s not in her remote office (near the sandy beach in Miami!), Diany spends her time hanging out with her two small children and baking Fudge brownies and banana bread. She also enjoys traveling and exploring the vibrant Miami cuisine.
From day one, I felt refreshed by the unique spirit, care and collaboration that permeates all aspects of CFW; in the ways that we work with each other, as well as our clients and candidates. I also enjoy hearing others’ stories and appreciate my role in helping to provide them with the opportunities and the guidance they need to optimize their daily lives through a positive career change.
Founder | David W. King
June 30, 1934 - October 22, 2022
David King founded CFW Careers in 1973 as Careers for Women, Inc., the only organization in the world whose sole purpose was to attract, train and place women in the executive sales profession. He inspired a revolution through his efforts to advance the workplace for all, believing that women were naturally better salespeople than men and that executive sales provided an environment with the autonomy and compensation structure for a successful saleswoman to earn more equitable compensation. His book, The Best Way in the World for a Woman to Make Money, brought his wisdom to more women and impacted thousands of lives by changing preconceptions of sales and inspiring career change.
I think the next great step in the Women’s Movement will be the economic step. Every woman should have a career. Every woman should have her own money. As long as you have to ask someone else for your money, you can not be independent and you can not be equal. And when you become economically equal, you will then also become socially, sexually and psychologically equal as well. DWK circa 1976
