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C-Suite

Reach the leaders your business needs.

High-touch retained search for critical leadership hires. KeyHires combines experienced search consultants, proprietary talent data, and AI-powered assessment to identify exceptional leaders and guide your team from initial discovery through negotiation and onboarding.

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See it in action

What a retained search actually looks like.

Overview

A Strategic Partner for Your Most Important Hires.

Every search starts with understanding your business, culture and what your next leader needs to accomplish. We translate those priorities into a targeted search strategy, compelling position marketing, and a custom assessment scorecard.

Our team manages research, position marketing, multichannel outreach, interviews and candidate evaluation, keeping you informed through weekly progress calls. From compensation guidance to negotiations and onboarding, you receive dedicated support at every stage.

Our process

Fourteen phases. One team, start to finish.

Every engagement runs through the same disciplined process — an Engagement Management track through candidate assessment, and a Project Management track through offer, close, and onboarding.

Engagement Management

  • 1
    Engagement Launch We assemble a clear understanding of the role and its requirements from day one.
  • 2
    Engagement Assessment Stakeholder interviews build a detailed Position Profile for the role.
  • 3
    Engagement Refinement A weighted Assessment Scorecard aligns the whole team on what matters.
  • 4
    Research Fresh research every time, built on our network and competitive intelligence.
  • 5
    Candidate Development Direct outreach reaches the highest-potential talent in the market.
  • 6
    Soft Qualify Early conversations confirm real interest and fit before a formal interview.
  • 7
    Assessment In-depth, face-to-face interviews evaluate experience, competencies, and motivation.

Project Management

  • 8
    CAT Coordination Careful coordination keeps every interview productive for client and candidate alike.
  • 9
    Expediting Weekly progress reports keep momentum and communication moving.
  • 10
    Feedback Structured feedback loops after every interview, not just at the end.
  • 11
    Negotiations & Administration We manage compensation discussions directly, backed by a detailed worksheet.
  • 12
    Offer & Close We see the offer through to signature, not just to a verbal yes.
  • 13
    Orientation & Integration Support doesn't stop the day the offer is signed.
  • 14
    Talent Management An ongoing partnership to help the leader succeed long after day one.
Placements by industry

Filter by industry.

Placeholder case studies — swap in real client outcomes once available. Click a tag to filter.

Technology · CTO Search

CTO Search: Scaling a SaaS Platform Through Hypergrowth

A technology leader who had already run the scale the business was about to hit — found by searching adjacent verticals rather than direct competitors.

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Healthcare · CFO Search

CFO Search: Financial Leadership Through a Healthcare Refinancing

A finance chief who could hold a lender conversation and a clinical one in the same week — assessed deliberately for both, not assumed.

Read more
Manufacturing · COO Search

COO Search: Commissioning a Second Manufacturing Plant

An operations lead who had commissioned a site before and would not treat the existing plant as a problem to be fixed.

Read more
Hospitality · CEO Search

CEO Search: Succession for an Owner-Operator Business

A chief executive the existing management team would follow rather than tolerate — tested with the general managers, not only the board.

Read more
Financial Services · CHRO Search

CHRO Search: Rebuilding HR Under a New Regulatory Regime

A people chief who could rebuild the function and satisfy a regulator at once — with the compensation question settled before the first interview.

Read more
Technology · Vice President Search

VP of Engineering Search: Hiring Under an Existing CTO

An engineering VP who wanted the role on offer rather than the one above it — qualified honestly in the first conversation.

Read more
What clients say

Results, in their words.

"Placeholder testimonial — swap in a real client quote about the search process, the fit of the candidate, or the impact on the team."

Jane Doe Chief Human Resources Officer, Company Name

"Placeholder testimonial — swap in a real client quote about speed, communication, or candidate quality."

Matthew Young Chief Executive Officer, Company Name

"Placeholder testimonial — swap in a real client quote about long-term retention or team impact."

Robin Harper Vice President of Talent, Company Name

Thanks, we have your search request.

Morgan Layton will reach out within one business day with a view on the search, the market, and the timeline.