About Us
FireSeeds serves as a catalyst for companies that want to enhance culture and multiply leaders within their organization.
Meet our Team
Cord Sachs
President/CEO
Matt Heard
Vice President of Operations
Josh Etress
VP of Sales & Client Success - Wildsparq
Forrest Walker
Director of Business Development & Client Success
Wendi Stanley Coley
Senior Recruiter
Whitney Forrest
Lead Recruiter
Arden Long
Recruiter
Lindsey Vollenweider
Recruiter
Blake Atwell
Recruiter
Meg Alford
Recruiter
Rikita Henderson
Recruiting Assistant
Billy Ivey
Brand Strategist
Josh Swing
Account Executive - Wildsparq
Lacy Caughel
Sales Development Leader - Wildsparq
Emmy Hobbs
Client Success Leader - Wildsparq
Peyton Welch
Sales Development Leader - Wildsparq
Maggie Malone
Client Success Leader - Wildsparq
Matt Romano
Director of Technology - Wildsparq
Cord Sachs
President/CEO
As president, CEO and chief inspiration officer of Wildsparq and FireSeeds, Cord’s number one goal each and every day is to guard the cultures he has worked hard to help create, hire and inspire the best of the best to help grow the companies, and drive bottom-line profit of the two organizations. Cord is a graduate of Samford University where he majored in Business and learned very early that he wanted to create an organization to serve and grow leaders. “I have always had a passion for great leadership and I’ve had so many great mentors and leaders in my own life,” Cord says. “I knew that I wanted to try and help replicate that passion and those leadership lessons in others.” Leading two thriving businesses is not Cord’s greatest accomplishment, however. He and his beautiful wife, Heather, have six incredible children: Jeremiah, Ellie, Saddler, Judson, Josiah, and Gideon. Cord spends his spare time — yeah, right — snow skiing, horseback riding, boating, and doing just about anything else you can do on the water at Lake Guntersville. He also enjoys serving as an Elder at his church, and coaching his kids in baseball, soccer, and flag football among other things.
Matt Heard
Vice President of Operations
Around these parts, Matt Heard is known as the go-to-guy. "For what?" You might ask. And the answer is “everything.” He started when FireSeeds was just a a couple of guys with an idea in Cord Sachs' basement, and now he manages FireSeed’s recruiting team while splitting time managing the finances and serving our partners on new recruitment searches. He says he enjoys wearing so many hats, but most of us think he's just showing off. Over the years, Matt had helped place candidates in just about every position, in just about every industry — from CEO's to Executive Assistants and different Directors at Chick-fil-A. Matt graduated from the University of West Georgia with a degree in Accounting and Finance, and then moved to Birmingham where he met and married his lovely wife, Anna. The couple now have a son, Carter, and that little guy keeps the happy couple on their toes day in and day out. In his spare time, Matt likes to play golf, go to Georgia football and basketball games, and spend time serving as a deacon at his church.
Josh Etress
VP of Sales & Client Success - Wildsparq
Josh Etress is the Wildsparq sales guru. If you’ve got a question, he’s your guy. Need a quick business tip? He’s got a million of ‘em. His greatest joy is connecting with the right people at the right companies through the right channels at the right times and helping them to succeed in business and in life. His answer was a little less long-winded than that, but we liked the alliteration (or whatever you call it). “There are few things I enjoy more than providing our partners with a simple, easy to use system, to help them develop the next generation of leaders,” he says. Josh is a graduate of Berry College in Rome, Georgia, where he studied Business Management, and he has a Masters of Business Administration from the University of West Georgia. An accomplished sales and business leader, Josh says his greatest accomplishment in life was getting his wife, Shelby, to say “I do,” and I'd have to say that's probably true. She's super-cool and an extremely gifted visual artist. Anyway, they have two boys, Chamberlain and Ace, and when he’s not following up on phone calls or dishing out words of wisdom, you can usually catch him at Birmingham’s Railroad park, BIGSPOON creamery, or his local Chick-fil-A. Josh loves to read, write, and play pick-up basketball, and he is a proud member of Leadership Hoover, Aspire Movement, and the Urban Hope Leadership Initiative.
Forrest Walker
Director of Business Development & Client Success
When you hear the name "Forrest Walker", you can't help but think of some of the greats: Luke Skywalker, Walker Texas Ranger, Forrest Gump...maybe another one. It's a strong name, while it's not the name of a strong fictional character, Forrest Walker is the actual name of our FireSeeds Director of Business Development & Client Success. Forrest Walker is the actual name of FireSeeds Director of Business Development & Client Success. At FireSeeds, Forrest does serve as a hero of sorts — helping strong businesses succeed and grow by finding remarkable individuals to lead them. And, around here, his heart for service is evidenced by him never missing an opportunity to lend a hand. Forrest played football at Auburn University before moving on to study graphic design, media, and marketing in San Francisco,CA. He’s a renaissance man of sorts, who loves to concept, create, cook, and spend as much time as possible with his beautiful bride and their five kids: Ruby, Dianah, Jules, Frank, and Esme. He said he’d one day like to become a media mogul (filmmaker, investor, designer, you know… the normal media mogul stuff), but for now, he's perfectly content just being an awesome member of the Firesides team. When he’s not saving the day at FireSeeds or planning his next creative project, Forrest loves to “nerd out” watching movies, drawing, learning about new technologies, and brushing up on pop culture facts. See? We told you he was a renaissance man.
Wendi Stanley Coley
Senior Recruiter
Wendi Coley is FireSeeds lead recruiter, and another of the “from day one gang.” She has been serving our clients, partners, and prospects with excellence from the very beginning, and continues to wow us (and the people who are fortunate enough to work with her) on a daily basis. She says the greatest thing about doing what she does is “helping great people find great places to work and grow, both personally and professionally," and she means it! Quite the athlete, Wendi graduated from Samford University with a degree in Physical Education, and went on to earn her Masters in Physical Education & Exercise Science from the University of Dayton. She is the proud mother of a wonderful son, and step-mother to two beautiful step-daughters. When she’s not going above and beyond for her clients at FireSeeds, Wendi enjoys spending time outside, working in the yard, going to the lake, working out, and beating people at any and every competition she undertakes. Like I said, she's quite the athlete...
Whitney Forrest
Lead Recruiter
Whitney Ezell has been described by many as a ray of sunshine because of the great pride she takes in making everyone around her feel happy, warm, and a little brighter after they spend time with her. And that plays perfectly into her role as a Recruiter at FireSeeds. She sees each and every day as an opportunity to serve as the bridge between incredible clients, who are looking for top-notch, purpose-driven leaders, and the talented individuals who are looking for meaningful work and a company culture that fosters opportunities for growth, connection, and development. She says she sees her role as the missing puzzle piece that helps bring our partners together. Whitney earned a degree in Business and Marketing from Mercer University, and her Masters Degree in Education from the University of Virginia. When she’s not delighting her customers, you will probably find her working out at Iron Tribe Fitness, or playing one of her many sporting endeavors; including, soccer, football, kickball, volleyball, and her newly discovered and current favorite: disc golf. She loves writing letters — yes, real, hand-written letters to friends and family, as well as serving on the Junior Board for WorkFaith Birmingham.
Arden Long
Recruiter
Arden serves as the middle-man (her word, not mine) between our FireSeeds clients and the talented candidates we identify for possible placement within these great organizations. She graduated from Samford University as an accounting major, but learned pretty quickly that she's too much of a people-person to be locked up with a calculator doing taxes all day. She loves to sing, read, watch great movies, travel and try new restaurants with her new husband, Eli. Fun fact: Arden and Eli are talented singers, and they often lead worship together at their church! When they are not belting out beautiful music, they like to go to movies. Lots and lots of movies. In fact, it's not unusual for the couple to visit the Big Screen every week! Hey, maybe that's why she's such a good storyteller! This girl can make a trip to the grocery store sound like a grand adventure!
Lindsey Vollenweider
Recruiter
Being a Recruiter at FireSeeds is the perfect job for Lindsey Volleweider, because she looooooves people. And at FireSeeds, she gets to interact with a ton of different people from different states, backgrounds, and professions every day! It might be the CEO of a Fortune 500 Company looking for a key leader on their team, or a curious candidate looking for a new opportunity at a start-up. Either way, Lindsey considers it a privilege to get to know them and to be a part of their journey. She graduated from Auburn University with a degree in Psychology, and then pursued her Masters Degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling at Lipscomb University in Nashville. After finishing school, she felt a call to the business world and loves bringing her background in counseling to her work here at FireSeeds. When she’s not connecting with clients and candidates as a Recruiter, Lindsey loves exploring the great outdoors with her husband, Austen, and their dog Lola; hanging with their quirky cat Carlos; and hosting game nights or small groups. Any excuse to host! See? I told you she was a people-person.
Blake Atwell
Recruiter
Blake Atwell is an Aggie. “What’s an Aggie?” You ask? That’s a great question. Just don’t ask Blake, because he’ll try to explain it to you, and ‘aint nobody got time for that, am I right? He’ll also try to defend his alma mater (Texas A&M University) as a deserving institution in the Southeastern Conference, and well... bless his heart. Anyway, for all that Atwell lacks in judgment regarding football teams, he makes up for in knowledge when it comes to just about everything else. This guy is wicked smart! Graduating with a degree in Business Finance, Blake has a keen sense of organizational structure and a thorough understanding of how culture and business should come together. “I am blessed to be able to connect great leaders with great organizations that want to maximize impact in the lives of others,” he says. “It’s a pretty remarkable position to be in, and I am super grateful.” When he’s not surpassing expectations here at Fireseeds, Blake enjoys spending time with his “much smarter and prettier” wife, Sarah, and their chocolate lab, Camp. Also, the couple are members at Grace Fellowship Church in Birmingham, where he helps lead the global missions team.
Meg Alford
Recruiter
Bio coming soon!
Rikita Henderson
Recruiting Assistant
“Rikita Henderson has the prettiest smile in the world.” Now, we can’t prove that statement to be true, but she proves it to us every day. At Fireseeds, Rikita supports our recruiters and staff with daily operations, and assists in the recruiting process by researching clients and candidates, and undertaking any and all administrative duties — all while flashing that cheerful grin. A wannabe farmer with a penchant for muscadines (never thought I’d type those words, but here we are), Rikita graduated from Kennesaw State University, and quickly made her way to Birmingham with her “unbelievably awesome, adorable, and amazing children,” Lawaye (2 yrs) and Aniyah (1 yr). When she’s not doing her thing at Fireseeds — or chasing after those beautiful babies — Rikita serves as Assistant Sunday School Director at Pilgrim Baptist Church. She also likes gardening, hiking, cooking, thrifting, and yeah, you guessed it… smiling a lot.
Billy Ivey
Brand Strategist
Billy Ivey is a longtime copywriter and brand strategist with more than 20 years experience working with brands like Chick-fil-A, Home Depot, Valvoline, and Major League Baseball. At FireSeeds, Billy serves as brand strategist and leads many of our clients through brand and story development. Billy earned his Bachelor of Arts in English from Samford University, and is about a semester away from holding a Master’s Degree in Education from the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Don’t hold your breath on that one, though. He stopped going to class in 1997. Billy prides himself as “probably the only true Vanderbilt fan you’ll ever really meet,” and can often be found screaming obscenities at his television if the Commodores happen to be on. Billy and his child bride, Bethany (not really, but she looks really great), have five better-than-average-looking children, the oldest of which is already in college, which means Billy is a lot older than he looks.
Josh Swing
Account Executive - Wildsparq
Josh Swing is tall. Like, really tall. That’s neither here nor there, but it’s worth mentioning, because it’s true. It is also a fact that Josh is a remarkable Account Executive at Wildsparq. Each and every day, Josh helps fulfill the mission of Wildsparq by empowering organizations to create multiplying movements of multiplying leaders within their culture and for the good of their business. Always smiling, always willing to learn and then share his newfound wisdom with others, Josh helps to round out a powerhouse team of caring, compassionate, impassioned, and, frankly, very impressive individuals who want nothing more than to serve our clients well. Josh graduated from Bethel University with a Business Management degree, and uses very bit of that great education to help lead our team at Wildsparq. Josh and his wife, Erin, have what they call their “fur-baby,” Piper, but there’s another actual human-baby on the way! He enjoys playing basketball (duh!), and getting outside to hike, run, swim, or “just be.” He is also passionate about coaching, and helps serve different youth leagues as a basketball coach in his free time.
Lacy Caughel
Sales Development Leader - Wildsparq
Two of the following statements are true. Lacy Caughhel hardly ever smiles. She’s from Orlando. She’s not very personable. She doesn’t really like talking to people. And she recently graduated from Samford University with a degree in Business Marketing, concentrating on professional sales. Take a wild guess. Better yet, spend about three-and-a-half seconds in the same zip code as Lacy, and you’ll know for a fact that she’s the peoplest of people persons. As a sales development leader at Wildsparq, she puts those remarkable people skills to work every day, sourcing and prospecting new clients, crafting specific and personalized outreach, making what seems like hundreds of phone calls, setting up meetings, and pretty much just shining that bright, bubbly light of hers on potential clients all over the country. When she’s not at Wildsparq, you’ll usually find her outdoors, more than likely on or in the water, working out, or hosting dinner parties where she serves as the hostess and chef. Yeah… she cooks, too, guys!
Emmy Hobbs
Client Success Leader - Wildsparq
Emmy Hobbs is what some people might call a polymath. I don’t know any of those people, but being so multi-talented and interested in so many different things, Emmy probably does. She’s a Samford University graduate with a degree in nutrition. She’s a make-up artist, fitness freak, baker, church volunteer, wife, sister, daughter, and Client Success Leader at Wildsparq. Talk about a Renaissance Woman! Basically, her responsibilities at Wildsparq are to engage with clients, answer their questions, guide their decisions, and serve as the ambassador of good vibes to all who come in contact with the Wildsparq platform. When she’s not at work, she’s usually doing one or several of those things I’ve already mentioned with the love of her life, Chris. Her life goals include being a Mom someday — not today, but someday — and teaching the world to chew with their mouths closed. A worthy and admirable goal if you ask me.
Peyton Welch
Sales Development Leader - Wildsparq
Peyton Welch hails from “Nawlins, Louisiana,” and serves as a Sales Development Leader at Wildsparq, which pretty much means he gets to reach out and connect with individuals at companies that could benefit from using the Wildsparq platform. “Which ones?” I asked. “The answer to that question is quite simply, all of ‘em,” Peyton says with a smile. “I mean, who wouldn’t want to use the Wildsparq platform, am I right?” He’s right, for the record, but let’s move on. Peyton spends most days identifying, researching, discussing, and then reaching out to kindred spirits all over the country — making introductions and answering a plethora of questions — and he’s pretty darn good at it, too. And that’s a good thing, because Peyton has a degree from Samford University in economics, and there’s not a whole lot he could have done with that, am I right? That was a joke. Peyton is wicked smart. So smart, in fact, that he was able to convince his beautiful bride, Tori, to say “yes” this past summer! When he’s not helping to lead our teams at Wildsparq, you’ll probably catch Peyton and Tori volunteering at local non-profits, hanging out at Christ fellowship Church in Birmingham, playing basketball, reading, or listening to music. When asked about his favorite hobby, Peyton responded, shyly, “I like making lists. Lots and lots of lists.” How cool! You landed a good one, there, Tori. Attagirl.
Maggie Malone
Client Success Leader - Wildsparq
Margaret Malone. What a name! Sounds like a late 1930’s movie star, doesn’t it? “Now Playing at the Paramount Grand: Gone with the Wind, starring Vivian Leigh, Clark Gable, and Margaret Malone…” Instead, her parents started calling her Maggie, and she became an Olympic athlete. Oh, what could have been, Margaret? Anyway, we’ll get back to the whole Olympian thing in a moment. At Wildsparq, Maggie serves as one of our amazing Client Success Leaders, where she prides herself on engaging with clients, teams, and leaders — helping each to reach their goals and grow as leaders. “I love talking to people,” she says, “so this is basically like getting paid to do what I would probably be doing even if I wasn’t being paid!” AUTHOR’S NOTE: Remind me to have a discussion with accounting regarding Maggie’s compensation package. When she’s not “working” to help connect people and make dreams come true, Maggie loves hiking, public speaking, teaching kids, serving in the community, cheering on her Texas A&M Aggies (where she earned her degree in Human Resource Development, and post-grad in Marketing and Analytics), or watching The Real Housewives of (wherever they are being real this season). Or throwing javelin. See? I told you I’d get back to the Olympic-thing. Maggie throws the javelin. A lot. And really, really far. She won the USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships and the NCAA Women's Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships in 2016, and later represented the USA at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Maggie, as they say, is a Grade-A certified savage, and we couldn’t be more proud to have her working — she really does work hard — with us at Wildsparq.
Matt Romano
Director of Technology - Wildsparq
Anyone who claims Director of Technology as a job title already knows they are the smartest guy in the room, but let us be the first to say that Matt Romano is the smartest guy in the room. Any room. Pick a room, put Matt in there, and convince us we’re wrong. Not only does Matt handle all of the internal IT needs for us at FireSeeds and Wildsparq, he’s also the mastermind behind making sure the software we build provides its ultimate value to our end users — That’d be you. As a graduate in Journalism and American Studies from the University of Alabama, you might think Matt should have chosen a career as an investigative journalist, author, podcaster, or (insert something other than “Director of Technology” here), but as we’ve already established… He’s wicked smart, and he happens to be really good at noodling on technical stuff, so we’re keeping him. Matt and his lovely bride, Caroline, are the tired, but joyful parents of five kids: Emma, 9; Rosalie, 6; Lorelei, 6; Jake, 22 Months; and Cecilia, 22 Months. Yeah, you read that right. They have two sets of twins. Two. Sets. Of. Twins. When he’s not chasing a toddler or coaching his girls’ softball teams, you can usually find Matt volunteering at his church, playing the drums, listening to podcasts, or miraculously catching various food items in his mouth at a Hibatchi restaurant — he claims to be the very best at this, but we confirmed it yet. Matt says his single greatest accomplishment in life was convincing Caroline to stay in Alabama (she’s from the Longhorn state) and saying “yes” to becoming a Romano. When he grows up, he wants to become a recording engineer, which is super-cool, but we’re hoping he doesn’t grow up any time soon!
