Patrick Sylvester is the Chief Executive Officer of Banister International. Sylvester leads Banister's executive retained search practice, its outsourced human capital solutions practice, and chairs the Global Business Development committee. A graduate of the Wharton School of Business, Sylvester earned a Bachelor of Science in Economics with concentrations in Finance and Entrepreneurial Management. He began his professional career as a United States Naval Officer. Sylvester then applied his entrepreneurial knowledge by building a real estate management firm. In 1993, Sylvester joined headhunting mogul Allen Salikof in the contingency search firm Management Recruiters International, which focuses on building managers on a global scale. Within two years, Sylvester became the top grossing recruiter in the industry. MRI's success grew steadily and was acquired by headhunting giant CDI Corporation. After distinguishing himself as an invaluable asset in executive search, Sylvester was repeatedly named Billing Manager of the Year, subsequently making partner at CDI in December 1996. Sylvester's success and his entrepreneurial background lead to CDI inviting him to head the new global retained executive search firm Banister International. Under Sylvester's leadership, Banister grew rapidly into an internationally respected search and consulting organization with offices in the U.S., Europe, and Asia. With Sylvester's commitment to client-oriented solutions and emphasis on exceeding client expectations for talent, Banister has doubled revenues since 2001. In keeping with his committment to quality and integrated solutions creation for its clients, Sylvester acquired Banister from CDI Corporation in July 2003. At the end of 2003, Banister posted a 90% increase in revenue from the previous year.