Retained executive search means a firm works exclusively for you on one senior mandate, paid as the search progresses rather than only when someone starts. Fees are usually split into thirds, one at engagement, one when the shortlist lands, and one when your chosen candidate accepts. For SVP, C-suite and Board roles, that exclusivity is critical, because the leader you want usually isn’t applying anywhere, so the firm has to find and approach them directly instead of waiting for a CV. One consultant owns your search from discovery through to offer, which is what the retainer pays for. Paying before placement also changes what you’re buying: the search itself, including the market map and the reasoning behind every name that didn’t reach your shortlist. Our Keystone Executive Search solution carries a guarantee, so if your leader doesn’t pass probation, we run the search again at no cost.  That’s what quality of hire means in practice: judging the hire by results, not by how fast the role got filled.

Retained executive search means a firm works exclusively for you on one senior mandate, paid as the search progresses rather than only when someone starts. Fees are usually split into thirds, one at engagement, one when the shortlist lands, and one when your chosen candidate accepts. For SVP, C-suite and Board roles, that exclusivity is critical, because the leader you want usually isn’t applying anywhere, so the firm has to find and approach them directly instead of waiting for a CV. One consultant owns your search from discovery through to offer, which is what the retainer pays for. Paying before placement also changes what you’re buying: the search itself, including the market map and the reasoning behind every name that didn’t reach your shortlist. Our Keystone Executive Search solution carries a guarantee, so if your leader doesn’t pass probation, we run the search again at no cost, talent mapping gives you what you need.

Most of the strongest candidates for a senior life sciences role are already employed, doing well, and not checking job boards. They aren’t applying anywhere, but they would listen to the right approach from someone they trust. An SVP Clinical Development running a cell and gene therapy programme isn’t scanning LinkedIn between trial updates. They’re reachable, but only through direct, informed outreach that shows you understand their world, rather than a generic message sent to a list. This is why executive search firms invest in market mapping before approaching anyone, because knowing who is doing strong work in C-suite and Board searches across a sector takes months of relationship-building, not a database search.

Confidential searches happen without a public job title, an advert, or a company name on any outreach. We approach candidates directly, describe the opportunity in general terms until there’s genuine interest, and share the client’s identity only when both sides want to take it further, secured by NDA. For a pharma business replacing an incumbent who hasn’t yet been told, that discretion isn’t optional, because word reaching the wrong person internally can derail the transition before a successor is in place. Once someone accepts, the same discretion carries into their first weeks, which is where a structured onboarding plan matters every bit as much as the search itself.

Longer than a leadership hire. We deliver Leadership Search mandates, Associate Director to VP, in 60 days or less from discovery to placement. Board and C-suite work sits beyond that, because there are more stakeholders to align, reference work goes deeper, and notice periods at this level are measured in months rather than weeks. Most of the extra time goes on getting busy senior people in a room together, and a Board hire involves more of them than any other search. For context, published search firm timelines put a typical retained engagement at 9 to 14 weeks from kickoff to a candidate accepting, and Board mandates sit at the top of that range. If your business needs several leadership hires running at once rather than one confidential search, our Leadership RPO solution is built for that instead.