Precision Placement for Professionals

Ryan founded Bluewater Hayes in 2015 following a life that initially took him to the U.S. Marine Corps after high school. After the Marines, Ryan attended Michigan State University and earned a bachelor’s degree in Supply Chain Management. He spent 4 years in manufacturing and then nearly 5 years with global staffing firms before establishing Bluewater Hayes as a premier executive search and staffing firm. Today, the company he founded serves clients ranging from up-and-coming to the most venerable Fortune 100 firms with talent acquisition search and support activities. The singular mission is Precision Placement with a culture of continuous improvement and professional development. Ryan resides in West Michigan with his wife Karley. Both are competitive Olympic weightlifters and enjoy their Crossfit community.

Beau joined Bluewater Hayes in 2019 after gaining valuable experience in the Waste and Recycling Industry, serving as a maintenance and operations leader. While there, he successfully implemented an internship program sparking his passion for recruitment. He learned how impactful a talent acquisition partner can be to an organization’s ability to level up its capabilities, growth, and success. These experiences led him to a career transition from operations management to agency recruiting. Beau is a United States Marine Corps veteran. His passions outside of work include fitness, the outdoors, and an odd obsession with sneakers. Beau resides in Cedar Springs, MI, with his wife, Allie, their son Nash and two big, lovable dogs.

Drew Crisan brings more than a decade of recruiting and talent acquisition experience to his role leading Bluewater Hayes’s Retained Search practice. His career started in an unlikely place, in real estate development and construction project management, after graduating from the University of Michigan. He soon discovered that his real talent was understanding what organizations need and finding the people who can deliver it. That transition proved to be the right move: Drew has since built a track record of placing senior and executive-level talent across a range of industries and functions.

Having worked on both the corporate and agency sides of recruiting, Drew brings a rare dual perspective to retained search. He understands the internal pressures hiring leaders face and knows how to be a reliable extension of your team, not just a vendor, when the stakes are highest. Drew is a proud father and husband based in Charlotte, NC.

Ashley Arnold leads Bluewater Hayes’s Specialized Staffing practice, bringing a background that spans nonprofit leadership, boutique agency management, and manufacturing workforce solutions. Her career in staffing began in 2020, when she took on leadership of a boutique agency focused on temporary and contract workforce for manufacturing and distribution clients. There, she built strong relationships with hiring managers and developed a reputation for delivering fast, high-quality placements without sacrificing fit.

She joined Bluewater Hayes in 2024, where she applies that same collaborative approach to clients who need specialized talent on a contract, contract-to-hire, or project basis. Ashley lives in Rockford, MI, with her husband and two sons.

Kat is a marketing, communications, and events leader with over a decade of experience helping organizations grow their visibility, engagement, and impact through thoughtful strategy and execution. She has led integrated marketing campaigns, business events, sponsorship initiatives, and fundraising efforts that support Michigan companies locally and organizations competing in global markets.

Kat earned degrees in Marketing and Communications from Grand Valley State University and enjoys running, camping, and spending time with her family outside of work.

Chad’s applies his chemistry education and experience plus many years as an executive search recruiter to finding and representing the best talent in challenging, technical roles. Chad focuses on Engineering, Operations, Supply Chain, Sales searches.  He enjoys the challenge of finding candidates that help his clients thrive and with almost two decades of recruiting experience, an incredibly resourceful and reliable producer. Chad was born and raised in West Michigan.  Chad, his wife Angela, and their 3 children love traveling. You can catch them in Boston or parts of Florida often.

Alex is a former Chemical Engineer who transitioned into recruiting after nearly a decade in manufacturing and R&D. With a degree from the University of Notre Dame and a Leadership Certificate from Stanford, she blends technical expertise with a deep understanding of people and team dynamics.

Her passion lies in connecting engineering-driven companies with top talent—those who are not only technically strong but also the right cultural fit. Known for her strategic, thoughtful approach, Alex thrives on building strong relationships with hiring managers and guiding searches with precision and care.

Outside of work, she enjoys hiking, camping, and exploring the outdoors with her husband and daughter.

Drew Keith brings over 20 years of hands-on supply chain and manufacturing leadership to his work as an Executive Recruiter at Bluewater Hayes. He’s held senior roles across two demanding industries, spending more than 17 years in automotive supply chain, procurement, and operations, then serving as Senior Manager of Customer Supply Chain in the consumer health and pharmaceutical sector. That breadth of experience means Drew doesn’t just read résumés; he evaluates candidates the way a hiring manager would, because he’s been one.

His deep industry background gives clients a recruiter who understands the technical and operational realities of the roles they’re filling, not just the job description. Drew lives in West Michigan with his family and dogs, and makes the most of every Michigan season outdoors.