A method of hiring senior leaders through direct outreach and structured selection, rather than through an advertised vacancy.
Executive search for companies
Executive search is the approach used to find leaders who shape the direction of your organisation. These are roles where experience alone is not enough and where vision and leadership determine success.
We support companies in identifying and approaching executives who are not actively looking, but who align with your ambitions and growth stage.
What is executive search
Executive search is a method of hiring senior professionals through direct outreach rather than through an advertised vacancy. The work focuses on identifying the people who fit a specific role, approaching them confidentially, and running a structured selection process that holds up to the weight of the decision being made.
The difference with recruitment is sometimes presented as a matter of technique, but in practice it comes down to where the candidates are. Recruitment is built around people who are actively looking and willing to apply. Executive search is built around the larger group who are not looking, and who only consider a move when the right opportunity is placed in front of them in the right way. For roles where the impact of the hire is significant, the second group is almost always where the strongest candidates sit.
When companies choose executive search
Companies engage executive search for positions where the cost of a mismatch is disproportionate to the cost of the search itself. The trigger is most often a senior appointment: CEO, CFO, other C-level roles, or director-level positions where profit and loss responsibility, strategic weight or confidentiality are attached to the hire.
The moments that typically prompt a search are growth phases that require new capability at the top, restructuring programmes, leadership transitions where a departure cannot yet be communicated internally, and entry into new markets or business models. In each of these situations, internal hiring channels rarely deliver the right profile within the required timeframe, and the access that an executive search firm brings becomes the decisive factor.
Our executive search approach
Every search starts with a strategic intake, in which we define the objectives of the role, the organisational context and the specific challenges the new leader is expected to solve. That briefing shapes the profile and the set of companies we approach.
From there, we conduct a targeted market analysis, build a longlist, approach candidates directly, and deliver a shortlist backed by a written assessment per candidate. A dedicated partner guides the process through selection, interviews, and into placement and onboarding. The work happens without handovers between consultants: the person who briefs you is the person who runs the search and stays involved until the new leader is successfully in the role.
Industries and functions we cover
Executive search operates at the intersection of industry knowledge and functional expertise, and a useful search combines both. We deliver searches across sectors including manufacturing, engineering, media, asset management, private equity and nonprofit, each with their own language of leadership and their own candidate pools.
Within those industries we recruit across functions. Finance, sales, human resources, operations, procurement and digital leadership are regular areas of work, alongside C-level positions where strategic alignment and the ability to lead at board level carry the weight. A finance executive in private equity operates in a different environment than a finance executive in manufacturing, and a CEO role in a scaling business demands a different profile than the same title in a mature organisation. Sector knowledge and functional expertise typically meet in one search, and the profile emerges from the intersection of the two.
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International and interim executive search
International executive search is relevant for organisations operating across borders, where the right leader may sit in a different country than the headquarters. A cross-market search requires access to candidate pools in multiple geographies and the judgement to assess profiles against local commercial dynamics. We support global placements with the same structured process as single-market searches.
Interim executive search is the option when the business needs senior leadership in place immediately. Typical situations include a leadership transition where the gap cannot be absorbed, a rapid growth phase that requires experienced hands before a permanent hire is ready, or a transformation programme that calls for leadership with a specific mandate and timeline. Interim placements can run in parallel with a permanent search, or stand on their own.
Executive search fees and process transparency
Executive search is typically priced on a fixed-fee structure, set at the start of the engagement and based on the level and complexity of the role. This differs from contingency recruitment, where fees are paid only on placement and often as a percentage of first-year salary. Fixed fees support the focus and depth that senior searches demand: the work is not rewarded for speed at the expense of quality.
Transparency through the process is equally important. Clear agreements at the start, regular updates during the search, written candidate assessments on the shortlist, and clarity on what is covered by the fee are the elements that make the engagement work for both sides. A credible executive search partner operates that way by default, not only when asked.
Why companies work with executive search partners
The reasons come down to three things: access, guidance and outcome. Access, because experienced leaders are rarely on the market, and are reached through networks built over years inside industries and functions. Guidance, because hiring at senior level involves strategic trade-offs that benefit from an outside view, from calibration of the brief through to negotiation and onboarding. Outcome, because the right executive creates stability, sharpens decision-making and gives the organisation the direction it needs to move forward.
The cost of a mismatch at senior level compounds over time. A weak hire sets strategy back, affects the teams reporting into the role and often requires a second search before the first is fully closed. A considered first search reduces that risk by testing candidates against the real demands of the role, not only the written brief, and by giving the organisation genuine choice between strong candidates rather than forced selection between compromise profiles.
Contact our executive search consultants
Looking for a new leader within your organisation? We are ready to discuss your requirements and objectives.
Frequently Asked Questions
Find the insights you're looking for. These are the questions we address most frequently in our conversations with professionals and organizations. If you need further assistance, contact our team.
When hiring for strategic roles such as CEO, CFO or other senior leadership positions where the impact of the hire is significant and the candidate pool is narrow.
It involves a strategic intake, market mapping, direct outreach to candidates, structured selection with written assessments and guidance through to placement.
Executive search reaches candidates who are not actively looking. Recruitment is built around people who are already in the market and willing to apply.
Typically a fixed fee set at the start of the engagement, based on the level and complexity of the role, rather than a percentage of first-year salary paid only on placement.