Most failed hires were failed briefs
Retained search for chief executive, board and senior leadership roles, starting with the two weeks most firms skip: what the role actually needs, agreed by everyone the hire will answer to.
How we work
A thesis about the role, then a market map. Not a database query.
The practice
Where we work
Board, chief executive and senior leadership mandates, each starting from what the organization needs rather than what the last incumbent had.
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Chief executive and board
Chief executive, chair and non-executive appointments, where the brief is as much about the board as the candidate.
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Senior leadership team
The leaders an organization runs on, with the same stakeholder work and the same market map as the top role.
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Succession and executive assessment
An honest read on who inside the organization could step up, benchmarked against the outside market, before the seat is empty.
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Confidential searches
Searches that cannot be known about: no public specification, approaches made individually, candidates told only what has been agreed.
A conversation about the role before anyone writes the spec
The firm
Search as judgment, not sourcing
Chief executive, board and senior leadership searches where the brief is built with the stakeholders before a single call is made, the market is mapped rather than queried, and the shortlist arrives with a point of view on every name. Fewer conflicts than a large firm, so more of the market is reachable.
How it goes
From a conversation to a signed offer
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A brief worth writing
Interviews with the people the role reports to and works with. What the organization needs in three years, not what the last incumbent had. If the spec describes someone who does not exist, you hear it now.
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Map the market, then approach it
Who holds this role, in which organizations, and who is ready for it. Approached personally and with homework done, so the right people take the call.
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Shortlist, references, offer, onboarding
A shortlist with a written view on each person, references taken by someone who was in the interviews, and support through the offer and the first ninety days.
What boards and search committees ask first
Who actually runs the search?
Who actually runs a retained search is the question to ask any firm before you sign, and you should ask to meet that person. The answer should be a name, and that name should be in the interviews and on the reference calls, not only at the pitch.
How long does a search take?
A senior retained search typically runs ninety to a hundred and twenty days: a few weeks to build the brief and map the market, a shortlist around weeks four to eight, then interviews, references and the offer. A firm that promises faster is usually skipping the brief.
What does off-limits mean, and why does it matter?
Off-limits means a retained search firm cannot approach leaders at its own current clients, usually for a year or two after a search. At a large firm that can rule out hundreds of organizations, some of them exactly where your candidate is sitting. Ask any firm how much of your market is closed to them.
What if the hire does not work out?
If an executive hire does not work out, a retained search normally carries a guarantee period, often six to twelve months, in which the firm repeats the search without a new fee. Ask for the length and the terms in writing, and ask how often it has been used.
Start with the role
A first conversation is about the role and the market, not about us. If the search should not happen, or should happen differently, you hear that first.