Groundswell Leadership Team 

Groundswell strives to be the highest quality employer and provider of contract consultants and direct hire candidates in finance and accounting, while always providing exceptional service to our clients.

Darren Benoit, Managing Partner

Darren Benoit graduated with a Bachelor's in Accounting from the University of Minnesota's Carlson School of Management. He subsequently held finance leadership roles with Fortune 500 companies Kimberly-Clark and Pillsbury/General Mills.
After earning his M.B.A. in Marketing and Strategy from the Carlson School of Management, Mr. Benoit moved into the recruiting industry as a start-up firm’s initial salesperson, actively growing sales to over $47M in annualized revenue.

Mr. Benoit has subsequently co-founded five contract consulting firms in various competitive markets around the United States, being honored with significant awards for high growth and quality service. Additionally, he has held an executive leadership role for a large national recruiting and consulting organization, heading its professional level finance division. 

Groundswell is Darren Benoit’s brainchild, formed to help both clients and finance talent thrive in today’s dynamic, fast moving work environment.

Darren’s hobbies include real estate investment, capital market study, running, and team sports. He’s also the lead singer of a Minneapolis based party rock band.

Connect with Darren Benoit on LinkedIn or send him an email at darren@groundswellpartners.com

Nikki Erickson, Partner

Nikki Pring Erickson graduated from the University of St. Thomas with a Bachelor’s degree in Accounting and built a fast track career in financial services. Her areas of expertise included general accounting, financial planning and analysis, and external reporting. She built a substantial network of finance and accounting contacts during her time at Olympic Financial and TCF Bank, setting the table for the second act of her career.

A good friend aggressively recruited Nikki into the financial recruiting and consulting industry and she hasn’t looked back. She quickly developed into a consistent President’s Club performer as Recruiting Director both internally at Cargill and at super-regional and large international agency firms prior to joining Groundswell. Nikki drives the recruiting methodology across all consulting operations and feels immense satisfaction identifying the right candidate for each role. She stresses the importance of stylistic fit in addition to the more obvious technical skill match.

In her “free” time Nikki races to soccer, wrestling, and football events with her daughter and identical twin boys. You may also see her at local kickboxing and spin classes.

Connect with Nikki Erickson on LinkedIn or via email at nikki@groundswellpartners.com