The search firm
that works for
you, not the company.
We represent the executive — not the employer. Confidential market mapping, discreet opportunity sourcing, and offer negotiation for CEOs, COOs, CFOs, and CTOs moving between venture-backed, private, public, and sponsor-backed companies. Your career has an agent now.
The recruiter works for the other side.
Every traditional search firm is paid by the company. Their incentive is to close the seat — not to advance your career. So the headhunter calls with the wrong roles, the best seats are quietly handed to someone else, and you're left running your own confidential search between board meetings.
Recruiter misalignment
Retained recruiters answer to the company that signed the mandate. We're retained by you, so our only mandate is your next right role — no split loyalty, no pressure to talk you into the wrong seat.
The hidden market
Over 70% of executive roles are never posted and never handed to a search firm. We surface the confidential ones through boardrooms and operator networks before they ever reach a job board.
The passive-search trap
You can't run a discreet job search while running a company. Inbound from headhunters is the wrong roles at the wrong stage. We run your search for you — quietly — while you keep shipping.
Negotiation blind spots
The people on the other side of your offer negotiate executive packages every week. You do it once every few years. We close the gap — on comp, equity, severance, and title.
See if we can
represent you.
We take on a limited number of executive mandates at a time. Answer a few short questions about your background and where you're headed — if you're a fit for the practice, you'll be invited to book a confidential intro call with a partner.
- A few questions — under two minutes, fully confidential
- Qualified executives book a call directly with a senior partner
- If we're not the right fit, we'll tell you and point you elsewhere
Tell us about your role, your track record, and what you want next. If your profile matches the mandates we run, you'll be able to book a call right away.
Check Your Fit →Strictly confidential. Your current employer is never contacted. Applications are reviewed by a partner, not an algorithm.
Three principles. Candidate first.
Every mandate is led by a partner with an operating background and a search career behind it — accountable from first call to first board meeting. No handoffs. No junior recruiters mining your LinkedIn for someone else's req.
Candidate-Represented
We're your agent — retained by you, accountable to you alone. The companies we approach never pay us, so there's no split loyalty and no pressure to push you toward the wrong seat. Every decision is run past you first.
Market-Native
Our partners ran executive searches and operated at the C-suite. We know the boardroom dynamics, the equity structures, and the back-channel reputations that decide who gets the call — and who gets the offer.
End-to-End
Market map, confidential outreach, interview and narrative prep, reference management, offer and equity negotiation, and transition support through your first board meeting — all run by one accountable partner.
The seats we represent you into.
Each practice is led by a partner who has either held the role or run searches for it. We know the boardroom dynamics, the comp structures, and the back-channel reputations before your search begins.
Speak to a Practice Lead →Placement across SF Bay, NYC, London, Boston, and Chicago — venture-backed, private, sponsor-backed, and public.
Aligned to your outcome.
Not a company's requisition.
A reverse model. You retain us to run your search. A modest engagement fee activates the work; the balance is a success fee, paid only when you accept an offer we sourced.
No company ever pays us on your mandate. Your interests and ours point the same direction — toward the role you actually want.
Activates a dedicated partner-led search: personal market map, target list, confidential outreach, and weekly reporting.
- →Fully credited against the success fee
- →Refundable if we can't build a qualified target list
Success fee, invoiced only when you sign an offer we sourced. No offer, no fee — the engagement fee is your total exposure.
- →6-month transition support, included
- →Equity-funded options for founders transitioning out
An offer you accept in 60 days,
or we keep working — at no added cost.
Every Executive ShortList mandate runs on a fixed timeline with deliverables engineered for you and your next board — so you, your family, and your incoming employer know exactly what to expect.