We find leaders for the civic sector
Retained search for chief executives, executive directors, presidents and senior leaders of foundations, nonprofits, universities and health systems, starting with what the board and the community need from the role.
We’re in the business of good people.
The practice
Where we work
Chief executive, executive director and senior leadership searches for mission-driven organizations, each starting from what the organization needs rather than what the last leader had.
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Chief executive and executive director
The top role at a nonprofit, foundation or public institution, where the brief is as much about the board and the community as the candidate.
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Presidents and senior leadership
Presidents, vice presidents and the senior team, with the same stakeholder work and the same market map as the top role.
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Foundations and philanthropy
Leadership for grantmakers and development teams, where fit with the mission weighs as much as the résumé.
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Transition and onboarding
Support for the board and the new leader through the handover and the first months in the role.
Selected mandates
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Executive Director
Philanthropy
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President
Higher education
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Chief Executive Officer
Community health
A conversation about the role before anyone writes the spec
The partner
Jamie Millard
Co-owner and Managing Partner
The partner to talk to about the role, the market, and whether a search should happen at all.
How it goes
From a conversation to a signed offer
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A brief worth writing
Interviews with the people the role reports to and works with. What the organization needs in three years, not what the last incumbent had. If the spec describes a person who does not exist, that is said now.
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Map the market, then approach it
Who holds this role, in which organizations, and who is ready for it. Approached personally and with homework done, so the right people take the call.
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Shortlist, references, offer, onboarding
A calibrated shortlist with a written view on each person, references taken by someone who was in the interviews, and support through the offer and the first ninety days.
What boards and search committees ask first
Who actually runs the search?
Ask that of any firm before you sign, and ask to meet the person. The answer should be a name, and that name should be in the interviews and on the reference calls, not only at the pitch.
How long does a search take?
A senior retained search typically runs ninety to a hundred and twenty days: a few weeks to build the brief and map the market, a shortlist around weeks four to eight, then interviews, references and the offer. A firm that promises faster is usually skipping the brief.
What does off-limits mean, and why does it matter?
A retained firm cannot approach leaders at its own current clients, usually for a year or two after a search. At a large firm that can rule out hundreds of organizations, some of them exactly where your candidate is sitting. Ask any firm how much of your market is closed to them.
What if the hire does not work out?
Retained searches normally carry a guarantee period, often six to twelve months, in which the firm repeats the search without a new fee. Ask for the length and the terms in writing, and ask how often it has been used.
Start with the role
A first conversation is about the role and the market, not about us. If the search should not happen, or should happen differently, you hear that first.