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Executive Search

Maximize the impact of your next executive hire by understanding their decision-making approach with

HELIA

By understanding how executive leaders make decisions, Kingsley Gate ensures a lasting fit between the company and its high-performing executive hire.

Many Companies Miss the
Most Important Factor in Executive Hiring

of senior executives reported having resigned or considered resigning from a job over frustration with decision making
of senior executives believed their decision-making style to be in alignment with their organizations
of senior executives never had an explicit discussion about decision making before accepting their current position, independent of whether they were external hires or selected internally
Organizations haven’t traditionally had useful insights to describe their decision environment and understand the decision-making styles of incoming executives… until now

Meet HELIA

HELIA lies at the heart of Kingsley Gate's approach to helping companies hire executive leaders who unlock business performance.
We apply unique, tailored insights to learn about candidates’ skills and experience, leadership competencies, and decision-making styles and assess those against the needs of the organization to ensure a lasting fit.

What makes
HELIA
unique?

DECISION MAKING

The critical path executive capability is front and center in the search process

INSIGHTS

HELIA is informed by a mix of human expertise, custom research with partners like the Financial Times, and thousands of validated ATHENA data points

BUSINESS ORIENTATION

HELIA seeks to understand the heart of your business strategy, not just your hiring requirements

FOCUS ON CULTURE

HELIA not only understands and prioritizes culture, but has a unique perspective on how to access it

CREATIVITY

HELIA gets Kingsley Gate to think outside the box by bringing you unexpected executive talent with game-changing potential

TECHNOLOGY

HELIA operates on an industry-learning Al-enabled tech stack

Meet Our Executive Search Consultants

Our team of global consultants understand that the stakes are high. Having met and placed thousands of high-impact executive leaders around the world, they bring expertise in executive hiring across all industries, functions, and geographies. They collaborate across borders to offer bespoke, fit-to-purpose leadership solutions that meet your business requirements.

Global Practices

by Industry

Our global industry practices bring you a depth of expertise within each sector and sub-sectors to ensure you hire the best decision maker for your organization.

by Function

Our global functional practices bring you executive leaders with the required readiness and potential that ensure the greatest decision-making impact for your organization across all sectors.
Private Equity & Venture Capital

Get In Touch

I am representing
a company
I would like to discuss how Kingsley Gate can help me hire executives for my company
I want to grow
my career
I would like my candidacy to be considered for executive-level opportunities
I am representing
a company
I would like to discuss how Kingsley Gate can help me hire executives for my company
I want to grow
my career
I would like my candidacy to be considered for executive-level opportunities
 

FAQs

What is Executive Search?

Executive Search is a specialized service offered by firms dedicated to identifying, attracting, and securing top-level talent for senior leadership roles within organizations. It involves a targeted approach to sourcing candidates who possess the required skills, experience, and cultural fit for the role. Executive Search firms work closely with client organizations to understand their needs, leveraging their networks and expertise to find suitable candidates. Overall, Executive Search plays a crucial role in helping organizations fill key leadership positions across the C-suite with exceptional talent, driving organizational growth and success.

What does an Executive Search firm do?

An Executive Search firm is a company that specializes in identifying, hiring, and onboarding senior leadership executives for organizations, with whom they enter into a client-service provider relationship. Executive Search firms, such as Kingsley Gate, excel in leadership hiring and top-level talent acquisition. We understand the importance of executive placement and offer comprehensive executive recruitment services, including CEO recruitment, Board member recruitment, and Chief officer search (e.g., CFO, CTO, COO).

What makes someone good at Executive Search?

At the individual level: Executive Search consultants are considered "good" when they demonstrate 5 core skills:
  • Listening: Actively absorbing all aspects of what a client or candidate communicates, both spoken and unspoken
  • Creativity: Thinking outside the box and developing innovative solutions
  • Business acumen: Understanding how talent levers drive value creation and risk mitigation
  • Interpersonal intelligence: Perceiving and responding to others in a human way
  • Resilience: Overcoming challenges and setbacks with grace
At the firm level: Executive Search firms are considered “good” when they demonstrate 5 core attributes:
  • Track record: Having successfully driven business impact for clients
  • Collaboration: Enabling firm members to work together, share knowledge, and improve client service
  • Formalized expertise: Setting aside specific time and resources to grow industry or functional specialization
  • Adaptability: Meeting clients where they are, changing approaches when needed to suit a given situation
  • Perspective: Asserting a fact-based, differentiated point of view about the world, business, and executive hiring

Why do companies use Executive Search Firms?

Companies use Executive Search firms to complement or enhance their internal executive talent acquisition capabilities by accessing passive candidates and leveraging the experience, gravitas, and finesse of these firms in sensitive conversations, such as contract negotiation. Additionally, Executive Search firms offer valuable pattern recognition from executing thousands of searches and providing market intelligence including the latest trends and compensation benchmarks.

Kingsley Gate's Executive Search solutions go beyond traditional methods by integrating decision making as a core factor of executive hiring. Our unique approach, HELIA, ensures we equip organizations with insights on how senior executives make decisions and their alignment with the organization's decision environment, along with insights on their experience and leadership competencies, ultimately improving their performance. With our global reach, we assist companies across regions - providing innovative solutions tailored to various industries.

What differentiates Kingsley Gate's Executive Search solutions from other search firms?

Kingsley Gate is the first and only search firm in the world to frame the problem executive hiring is solving in terms of the business decisions that move the company forward. HELIA, our unique approach to Executive Search, which incorporates decision making throughout the process, is an innovative way to identify, hire, and onboard senior leaders. Our research with the Financial Times confirmed that:
  • 63% of leaders have resigned or considered resigning from past positions due to dissatisfaction with how decisions were made
  • Decision making is often overlooked in the interview process (25% of the time), with negative consequences
  • Executive hiring is one of the highest-impact levers to draw on to improve an organization’s decision effectiveness

Can Kingsley Gate help with international or global Executive Search?

Kingsley Gate has executed search work in over 33 countries and is well-positioned to continue meeting the needs of our clients around the world. With strength in North America, Latin America, Europe, the Middle East, and Asia/Pacific, our global internal and external networks help provide innovative, relevant, and high-impact solutions for our clients.

What industries does Kingsley Gate specialize in for Executive Search?

Kingsley Gate specializes in 6 core industries:
  • Financial Services Executive Search
  • Technology executive recruitment
  • Healthcare & Life Sciences executive hiring
  • Industrial leadership search
  • Consumer Markets executive placement
  • Services industry talent acquisition
We also provide executive staffing solutions to Private Equity and Venture Capital investors, ensuring top leadership across industries.

Our expertise also extends to functions such as
  • Board & CEO leadership recruitment
  • HR Executive Search
  • Operations and Supply Chain
  • Go-To-Market executive hiring
  • Corporate Officers leadership
  • Technology Officers placement
Our global Executive Search capabilities cover global, regional, and cross-border executive talent acquisition, providing comprehensive solutions tailored to our clients' needs.

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