About

About Us

After years of recruiting together, Janel McNeal and Robin Payne founded McNeal & Payne to provide unequaled service for clients and candidates. Their expertise evolved from a combination of organic professional development and a broad range of industry experience. In 2020, Kyla Schmidt Janecek joined our team after beginning her career with Deloitte and working at Halliburton.

We work across all industries in recruiting C-level Executives, Senior Managers, Directors, Managers, Controllers, and Senior and Staff-level positions. We have recently filled roles recently in Finance and Accounting, Project Management, Marketing, Legal (General Counsel), Technical Sales, Supply Chain, Human Resources, Administration/Executive Assistants, Warehouse and Inventory Managers, Revenue Accountants, A&D and Corporate Development, Auditors, and Engineers.

What makes McNeal & Payne different is our in-depth and personal process. While other firms focus on automated algorithms, we focus on getting to know each candidate to discover the qualities and attributes that a computer system cannot. When you partner with McNeal & Payne, you can be confident knowing that every candidate is holistically qualified, and every job offered is a good match.

For our client, we focus on finding the right candidate as quickly as possible. Unlike other firms that spam clients with resumes of candidates that may or may not fit, we personally qualify each candidate through interviews and evaluations before recommending them to you. This dramatically reduces time to fill and eliminates much of the wasted time companies spend in the recruiting process.

For our candidates, you will discover that you have no greater advocate than McNeal & Payne. We fight for each candidate to help companies see what is beyond your resume. After an interview and evaluation, we will walk with you through the process of updating your resume, exploring the market, finding the right position and culture fit, preparing for interviews, discussing salary expectations, and any additional guidance you might need along the way.

Whether you are a candidate or a client, we look forward to partnering with you to help you succeed

Janel McNeal

Bio

Originally from Buffalo, New York, Janel (Black) McNeal received her Bachelor’s in Accounting from Canisius College in 2005 and began her career as an Accountant at PricewaterhouseCoopers. In 2007, she moved to Houston where she continued to advance in Accounting at BMC and NetIQ. She graduated and obtained her MBA from Houston Baptist University in 2010.

After seven years as an Accountant, she made the decision to join Richard, Wayne, & Roberts (RWR) as an Executive Recruiter. She has always been an extrovert and she truly enjoys networking and guiding people through their career transitions and hiring decisions. With her accounting knowledge and experience, along with her passion for helping others, it has been a great match. Janel found her lifelong career and has excelled in the business.

Since beginning her recruiting career in 2013, some of her accomplishments include five Rookie of the Month awards including Rookie of the Year at RWR, where she billed over $250k within her first year. She was also Rookie of the Year for HAAPC (Houston Area Association of Personnel Consultants). Janel was named a Top 50 Recruiter for three consecutive years, Candidate Recruiter of the Year, and Account Executive of the Year. She’s presented on training panels and mentored other recruiters entering into the business.

In 2019, Janel and her business partner, Robin Payne, decided it was time to make their own way by starting their firm, McNeal & Payne Talent. They work in various industries and have placed Staff, Senior, Manager, and C-level positions in Accounting, Finance, HR, Administrative, Marketing, Sales, Project Management, and Engineering. Janel is very passionate about understanding her clients and candidates outside of just their job descriptions and resumes. She likes to develop a true relationship to provide the best service possible. She has a strong work ethic, believes in transparency, and holds a positive and upbeat attitude. She loves what she does and has fun doing it!

Robin Payne

Bio

Robin graduated with a bachelor’s degree from the University of Texas at Austin in 2007. After interning with Vinson & Elkins law firm throughout college, she moved home to Houston to work as a Corporate Paralegal for a boutique law firm, Shipley Snell Montgomery.

In 2011, she was introduced to Richard, Wayne, & Roberts (RWR) and an opportunity as an Executive Recruiter. She quickly recognized that recruiting would be her lifelong career. Robin is passionate about building strong relationships with her clients and candidates and learning as much as possible about their specific needs. She firmly believes in the importance of connecting with others and focusing on the characteristics and intangible qualities that companies and candidates uniquely possess.

Robin has placed professionals across all industries from Staff‐level to C‐level Executives. She was named a Top Recruiter by Houston Area Association of Personnel Consultants four years in a row and billed over $1 million in her first four years with RWR.

In 2019, Robin and her business partner, Janel, decided it was time to make their own way by starting their firm. Each day, Robin tries to live by the principles she holds dearest: trust, transparency, integrity, an encouraging attitude, and a sense of humor to help her candidates and clients get through the tough days.

During her free time, Robin loves spending time near the water with her husband, son, and daughter. She has been a volunteer with the MS Society and the Top Fundraising Committee for the MS 150 since 2011.

Kyla Schmidt Janecek

Bio

Kyla Schmidt Janecek graduated with a Bachelor of Business Administration with a specialization in Accounting and Management. She went on to pursue her Master of Accountancy from Texas Lutheran University. During college, Kyla interned with Deloitte and was offered a full-time opportunity upon graduation in 2013. While at Deloitte, Kyla progressed from Audit Assistant, to Audit Senior Assistant, and was promoted to Senior Audit Associate. Her clients spanned a broad range of industries, including Oil and Gas, Healthcare, and Retail. In this role, she supervised and coached professionals on financial audits and assisted in Deloitte’s college recruiting program.

After nearly four years with Deloitte, Kyla was recruited to join Halliburton as a Senior Internal Auditor. After less than two years, she was promoted to Internal Audit Supervisor, providing feedback and guidance to a rotating team of six auditors. She collaborated with various stakeholders in the U.S, Russia, Kuwait, Azerbaijan, Singapore, Colombia, and Venezuela, and numerous other countries, to identify areas of non-compliance and improvement. While at Halliburton, she obtained her Certified Fraud Examiner License (CFE) and participated in Halliburton’s internal networks including, Women Sharing Excellence organization, Finance Exchange group, and Summer Intern Mentorship program.

Kyla quickly realized that her passion in these roles included 1) acting as a trusted business advisor for her clients 2) building professional relationships, and 3) coaching and mentoring team members in their career goals and professional development. In 2020, Kyla decided to join McNeal & Payne Talent as an Executive Search Director. Her knowledge has proved to be invaluable from the start. She is a knowledgeable, thoughtful recruiter by nature, and she always puts the needs of her clients and candidates first. She is genuine, professional, and ethical in her approach with clients and candidates.

Kyla is married with a baby girl and enjoys spending time with her friends and family, or kayaking and fishing with her husband.

Janel McNeal

Robin Payne

Kyla Schmidt Janecek

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