Retained Search

How it runs

01
The brief
We sit down, understand your strategy and goals, then agree the approach.
02
Market map
We review the full market. Local or international, as needed and, as agreed.
03
Engagement
Direct, discreet approaches to the key players, and the ones we know are making a difference.
04
Shortlist to interview
Assessment, references and offer management. We are there for the whole journey.
05
Placement
We are relationship people and will remain in touch with all parties foreseeably, backing our work.

Commercials

We don't hide from the numbers.

Fee in equal thirds

Invoiced at the brief, at offer acceptance and on start date. Every stage tied to something tangible.

BRIEF

OFFER ACCEPTANCE

START DATE

12-month placement guarantee

A placement guarantee on every retained search that gives you confidence with your decision.

We conduct multi-hire assignments, for senior team builds. Fees tailored to requirement.

Selected Searches

A selection of successful searches. Client names withheld. Confidential and Defence related searches omitted.

National HV Leader, Data Centres

Market-leading consultancy

Brief: Substations, HV and a leader who had managed teams and projects delivering in the Data Centre space.
Approach: Delivered through the network. Key figures we approached passed the brief on, and one of their contacts called us directly.
Outcome: Referred, interested, and with every credential the role required.

Secured through referral

Global Mission Critical Director

Market-leading consultancy

Brief: A leader to drive growth and market share in Data Centres, for a client already established in the market. Initially scoped as an ANZ role.
Approach: An extensive market map, locally and internationally, uncovered a leader with deep market tenure and knowledge, ready for a bigger platform. We introduced them to the client, its vision and its strategy.
Outcome: The role grew from ANZ to APAC, and within a few months of starting, to a global lead. The sector has since become one of the strongest revenue generators in the global business.

Scoped for ANZ, appointed globally

Electrical Director and Partner

National engineering consultancy · Sydney

Brief: An Electrical Director at a time when they were notoriously thin on the ground in Sydney, with six or more competing roles live and advertised directly or by agency, meaning the top people in the market were being approached constantly.
Approach: We changed tactics and approached small business owners and sole practitioners known to us, who might be drawn by the prospect of becoming a partner and shareholder in a large national tier two consultancy.
Outcome: Appointed in eight weeks. Still there today, and has grown the team fourfold in two and a half years.

Team grown 4x since appointment

Adelaide Office Director

Market-leading consultancy · Adelaide

Brief: Replace an outgoing office leader on a tight deadline, in a small market with short supply that is heavily dominated by relationships. A strong local presence was required for a seamless transition.
Approach: Having filled several office leadership roles in Adelaide over the years, we knew the market, the challenge and the key players, and went straight to our network.
Outcome: A leader who knew the market, the clients and had proven success in growing an office and team elsewhere.

The right local leader, on deadline

Transport Director

Specialist engineering consultancy

Brief: Grow market share in an already crowded market, with a leader who could also work across Data Centre projects, where the client's core market sits.
Approach: Extensive market mapping and many conversations with people referred to us by the market. We then approached someone who had been in process with us many years earlier for a different opportunity.
Outcome: This time, the fit was ideal.

Placed from a relationship built years earlier

Office Director

International engineering consultancy

Brief: Office leadership had reduced from four directors to two over several years, and the client had been searching for over a year without success.
Approach: We sat down and agreed a tight brief, then consulted on expanding it while keeping the essentials: market sector exposure, prior company tenure, and leading large teams, clients, projects and P&L.
Outcome: Two of the final four received offers, after a 12-week process. One took the intended role. The other took the fourth seat and has also led the expansion into two new market sectors.

Two directors appointed from one search

Sydney Office Director

Market-leading consultancy · Sydney

Brief: A leader to shape the next chapter of the Sydney office, with a strong focus on nurturing and developing people, refining the internal structure and opening new markets.
Approach: Nine weeks from brief to first interviews. Five leaders identified, with three progressing to final stage interviews.
Outcome: The client was impressed enough to offer all three a role in the business. Two accepted, and both are still there today.

3 of 3 shortlisted offered roles

Executive Director and a Senior Associate, Shareholders, Multi-Discipline

Boutique consultancy · Multi-hire assignment

Brief: An Executive Director to expand the business, and a Senior Associate to replace a key member of the office leadership team who was leaving. Intended to help drive the next stage of growth, with a target to double headcount in 24 months.
Approach: Run as a multi-hire assignment, with the two processes staggered at the client's request. Alongside both leadership roles we placed three supporting engineers to give the business the delivery capability it needed after two large project wins.
Outcome: Both leadership roles offered and accepted within 16 weeks. The Senior Associate was appointed from a final two in six weeks; the Executive Director was the third offer we made, due to a highly competitive market, and the best fit in the end.

2 leaders and 3 engineers across 16 weeks

Who it's for

Owners and investors, consultancies, contractors and manufacturers, appointing from Head of and Associate Director to Board.

Make the call

Explore the possible.

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