Chief Executive Officer (CEO) search, built for founders and boards.
A CEO hire changes the direction of a company for a decade. We run CEO searches for promoters, boards and investors who need a leader the business can follow, not just a strong CV.
What the role owns
- Strategy and capital allocation: where the company plays, what it builds or buys, and what it stops.
- P&L and growth: revenue, margin and cash, quarter by quarter, through cycles.
- People and culture: the top team, succession and the tone the whole company takes from the corner office.
- Board, promoter and investor relationships: clear reporting, no surprises, trust built over time.
Where we hire it: across 18+ industries, including manufacturing and engineering, pharma and CDMO, specialty chemicals, EPC and infrastructure, energy, automotive, consumer and financial services, and water treatment, in India, the GCC, Asia Pacific, Africa and the US.
Why boards call us for a CEO: rarely on a calm day. A founder ready to step back, a sudden exit at the top, a turnaround that needs a different hand, or a new venture, region or sector that needs its own leader. We read which moment you are in before we map a single name.
We never sell a CEO candidate to a board. We search in discretion, assess, evaluate and validate, and let the candidate's record make the case.
Hiring challenges
- The pool is small and rarely on the market: most proven CEOs are passive, well paid and tied in with long-term incentives.
- Promoter-led firms need a CEO who can lead professionally while keeping the founder's trust, which few candidates have done before.
- Boards often disagree on the brief (turnaround, growth, or IPO readiness), and an unclear brief is the main reason CEO searches fail.
- Compensation now mixes fixed pay, long-term incentives and ESOPs, so offers need careful structuring to close.
How we assess fit
- Track record: P&L results delivered, through good and bad years, verified by referencing.
- Cultural fit: how decisions are made, how much autonomy the role really has, and how the candidate works with promoters or a board.
- Behavioural fit: judgement under pressure, how they build and change a top team, and how they handle conflict.
- Aspiration and personal goals: why this role now, family and location needs, and what success looks like for them in five years.
Ownership and CEO fit
| Ownership type | What the CEO role looks like | What we test for |
|---|---|---|
| Indian family or promoter business | Professional CEO alongside an active founder or next generation. Scope depends on trust. | Promoter chemistry, decision rights, patience with family governance. |
| MNC subsidiary | Country or regional head inside a global matrix. Strong systems, limited autonomy. | Matrix influence, global stakeholder management, compliance. |
| Large listed company | Board-driven, with investor and regulator scrutiny. | Governance, investor communication, scale of leadership. |
| PE-backed company | Value creation plan with a defined exit window. Equity-linked pay. | Speed, cash discipline, prior value creation and exit experience. |
Our process: a detailed brief with the promoter or board, a mapped market of sitting leaders, discreet outreach, structured assessment and deep referencing. Typically 2 to 3 weeks (passive job seekers) from brief to offer, depending on location and how narrow the brief is.
Frequently asked questions
Do you run confidential CEO searches?
Yes. The client is named only to shortlisted candidates, and replacement searches are run without alerting the market.
Can you find a CEO from outside our industry?
Yes, when the brief allows it. We map adjacent sectors and test how quickly a candidate can learn the business.
Do you help structure the offer?
Yes. We benchmark fixed pay, incentives and equity, and manage the negotiation to close.
Do you search outside India?
Yes, across the GCC, Asia Pacific, Africa and the US, including Indian leaders abroad who want to return.
See every leadership role we search for on our CXO hiring page, or explore our industry practices.