Pearl Meyer appoints Jayson Traxler as CEO

Pearl Meyer, a Boston-headquartered executive compensation and leadership consulting firm, has named Jayson Traxler as its chief executive officer.

Traxler, who most recently served as CEO of M&A consulting firm Stax, succeeds Beth Florin as CEO. Florin led Pearl Meyer since 2022, and will retire in May 2026 after 25 years with the consultancy. She will remain a director on Pearl Meyer’s board.

Private equity firm Coalesce Capital acquired Pearl Meyer in January 2025.

“As a seasoned CEO with experience leading companies through periods of rapid growth, Jayson understands value creation exceptionally well and has the insight and expertise to guide Pearl Meyer forward as we expand our ability to help clients build, develop, and reward great leadership teams that drive long-term success,” Florin said.

Based in New York, Traxler brings more than 25 years of experience as a strategic finance executive. He most recently spent four years with Stax, joining the firm as COO and then serving as CEO between May 2023 and October 2025. The M&A specialist firm was acquired by Grant Thornton US from Blue Point last year as part of Grant Thornton’s private equity-backed acquisition program.

Prior to his tenure at Stax, Traxler was an SVP in the corporate development practice of K2 Integrity, a director in the investments and strategic finance practice of AlixPartners, and a director at Devon Value Advisers.

Earlier in his career, Traxler was an associate in Merrill Lynch’s corporate principal investments practice and a private equity associate at Blue Point.

He has an MBA from Northwestern University and a bachelor’s degree in accounting and mathematics from The College of William & Mary.

“As our clients increase their focus on the strategic importance of human capital and talent management, we will build on Pearl Meyer’s longstanding strengths—enhancing our platform while preserving the deep expertise, independence, and client-centric approach that define our firm,” Traxler said.

Pearl Meyer was founded in 1989 and has over 150 professionals across eight US offices. The firm specializes in advising boards and senior management on building, developing, and rewarding high-performance leadership teams.

Pearl Meyer has offerings across executive, director, and employee compensation; leadership excellence, board effectiveness, and CEO and executive succession; and industry and lifecycle services spanning M&A, private equity, healthcare, life sciences, banking, and real estate.