CEO hires carry more weight than any other placement. We run them accordingly.
Retained CEO search for boards, founders stepping into a board role, and investors bringing in outside leadership. Confidential by default, partner-led, with deep back-channel reference work.
The ceo market — the honest version.
CEO search is the single most consequential executive placement. It usually falls into one of three situations: a founder-to-professional-CEO transition, a scale-up board hiring a growth-stage CEO, or a division CEO for a multi-business operator. Each calls for a different narrative, a different candidate pool, and a different risk-management approach during outreach. Our CEO searches run partner-led, confidential from first contact, with written candidate assessments and back-channel reference work that extends to former board chairs and investors — not just named references.
What we actually screen for.
Every ceo candidate goes through a structured technical screen conducted by an ex-engineer recruiter before you see their profile.
- Stage fit — has this CEO operated at the stage you are entering, not just the stage you are in
- Track record against a comparable thesis — what they actually delivered in their last 1–2 roles
- Board credibility — can they carry a board room with investors and independent directors
- Operating cadence — the rituals, reviews, and planning systems they bring with them
- Hiring pattern — named executives and ICs they hired who became next-generation leaders
- Commercial + product instinct — can they hold both revenue and product conversations credibly
How we run a ceo search.
Weeks 1–2
Board + founder intake
Multi-stakeholder intake. We write the candidate-facing narrative and thesis before any outreach.
Weeks 3–7
Confidential outreach
Partner-led, NDA-first disclosure. 20–35 deep conversations with pre-mapped candidates.
Weeks 7–10
Shortlist + written assessments
3–5 candidates with deep competency assessments, back-channel references from boards / investors.
Weeks 10–18
Interviews + offer
Multi-round with board, founders, investors. Offer structuring including cash, equity, severance, change-of-control, board rights.
Real salary bands across our three markets.
- Pakistan (multinational division or returning CEO)
USD $200K–$500K + equity
- Canada
CAD $400K–$900K + meaningful equity
- United States
USD $600K–$2M+ + meaningful equity (higher at late-stage)
Titles we place under this role type.
- Chief Executive Officer
- CEO
- President & CEO
- General Manager (division CEO)
- Managing Director (country / division)
CEO hiring — questions we hear.
Yes — it's one of our core CEO search types. The search is sensitive because the incoming CEO needs to succeed with a founder who remains involved. We spend the intake time understanding that specific dynamic, not just the job scope.
180 days. If the CEO doesn't work out within that window, we rerun the search at no additional retainer. In practice this is rare — retained CEO searches are calibrated tightly at intake.
Ready to run this search?
Submit a brief and a senior recruiter will reply within 24 business hours with a proposed timeline, calibrated fee structure, and sample profiles.
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