Retained executive search
We identify, assess and secure senior executives and board directors for organisations navigating growth, transformation and succession. Exclusive mandates, original research, partner-led throughout.
C-suite
Appointment level
Chief executives, functional leaders and board directors — not volume recruitment.
Retained
Engagement model
Exclusive mandates, original research, and a partner accountable for the outcome.
35+
Markets covered
Search and research capability across Europe, the Americas, EMEA and Asia-Pacific.
12
Stage methodology
Mandate definition through to a formal review six months after appointment.
Why a search firm, not an agency
Boards engage us when the appointment carries consequence — a first external chief executive, a CFO before a transaction, a director who must strengthen a governance gap. That work requires research, discretion and evidence, not a database search and a fast submission.
Client servicesEvery mandate begins with an original map of the relevant leadership market. We are paid to find the executives who are not looking.
The partner who takes the mandate conducts the approaches, the assessment and the shortlist meeting. Nothing is handed to a delivery desk.
Written assessment against an agreed profile, formal referencing, and a documented record of market coverage.
Client services
Nine defined services for boards, investors and chief executives — from a single retained mandate to continuous leadership-market intelligence.
Exclusive, research-led search for appointments the organisation cannot afford to get wrong.
Read more 02CEO, CFO, COO, CTO, CIO, CISO, CHRO, CMO and General Counsel appointments.
Read more 03Chair, NED, independent director and committee appointments.
Read more 04When the appointment cannot be public.
Read more 05Research sold on its own merits, ahead of any appointment.
Read more 06Internal benchmarking against the external market.
Read more 07Team effectiveness, structure and onboarding beyond the appointment.
Read more 08Compensation, mobility and leadership-market data for board decisions.
Read more 09Structured evaluation of candidates and incumbent leaders.
Read morePractice areas
CEO · COO · Group Operations Director
CEO · CFO · Chief Development Officer
CTO · CIO · CISO
CEO · Chief Medical Officer · Chief Commercial Officer
CEO · CFO · Chief Risk Officer
Managing Director · Programme Director · Chief Engineer
Managing Partner · Practice Leader · Chief Operating Officer
CEO · Chief Commercial Officer · Chief Digital Officer
Executive functions
Executive functions
Why retained search
Contingent recruitment is a legitimate model for volume and speed. It is not built for appointments where the market must be covered systematically, the approach must be discreet, and the board needs written evidence before it decides.
Selected search mandates
Industrial Technology · Europe
The board required a first external CEO able to professionalise the operating model without losing the engineering culture that created the business.
Appointed a divisional CEO from a listed industrial group; the founder moved to Executive Chair as part of the agreed transition.
Private Equity Portfolio Company · United Kingdom
A CFO with integration experience across multiple acquisitions and credibility with lenders, recruited confidentially while the incumbent remained in post.
Appointed within eleven weeks; refinancing completed the following quarter.
Life Sciences · Switzerland
Launch experience in the relevant therapeutic area was held by a population of fewer than forty accessible executives across Europe.
Mapped the full population, approached twenty-two, presented a shortlist of four and completed the appointment.
Advanced Manufacturing · Germany
Bridging a traditional engineering organisation and a software roadmap, with supervisory board approval required at each stage.
Appointed a CTO from an automotive tier-one supplier; two further leadership hires followed.
Financial Services · United Kingdom
Audit committee chair with regulatory credibility and sector-relevant experience, appointed to a defined skills gap.
Two candidates presented to the nomination committee; appointment approved without a second search round.
Energy & Infrastructure · Nordics
Operational-technology security experience combined with the seniority to hold the executive committee to account.
Appointed from a utility in an adjacent market; the mandate included a compensation benchmarking exercise for the wider security function.
Our search process
We agree the leadership profile with the board, then map the accessible market through original research.
Partner-led approaches to executives who are not looking, assessed against the agreed profile in writing.
Shortlist, referencing, offer negotiation, announcement, and a formal review six months in.
Our consultants
Client and candidate feedback
Frequently asked questions
Start a conversation
Tell us about the appointment, the business context and the confidentiality it requires. A partner will respond directly, and there is no obligation to proceed to a mandate.
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