Executive Search

Executive Search

Gain access to an extensive, curated network of consumer industry executives.

We continuously map the market, tracking acquisitions, executive transitions, and the operators driving growth and value creation across consumer companies. We maintain high-trust relationships with C-level leaders long before you need them.

Whether you are closing a new investment, expanding operations, or replacing a critical executive departure, we are ready to move fast when it matters most.

When you have a critical hire, we already know:

• Who's scaling similar businesses successfully right now

• What it takes to get them to engage

• What they're looking for in their next move

• How their compensation and incentives compare to your offer

Our Approach

The Art & Science of Hiring

We invest in technology and technique so that we can offer our clients the best in the Art & Science of people decisions.

• Art: There is an art to hiring well. Art requires discipline and technique, but it also requires taste and repertoire. As we push the limits of technology and artificial intelligence, it's easy to dismiss human potential as a transactional task-oriented contribution. We believe that artists and craftsmen can make better art with better tools. But the piano doesn't play itself. Our art is finding talent and connecting their potential with a worthy and ambitious mission. We help our clients become the best destination for great leaders.

• Science: We invest in cutting-edge technology and study the science of human performance to offer the best tools for our team and our clients to win. From AI integration to combining assessment methodologies grounded in scientific research, our research team develops best-in-class, in-house capabilities.

• Specialists: We believe that to offer our clients access to the best talent, we need to be deeply integrated into that ecosystem. What works in one industry does not necessarily translate into another. The differences are subtle. Our specialization approach allows us to devote all our time and energy to developing relationships with executives and investors in the consumer industry, which gives us a strategic view of the market, trends, and talent. 

Our Process

Our search process is divided into four phases: each with its unique purpose and deliverables.

Phase 1: The North Star

Hiring quality is downstream from cultural clarity. If you can't articulate how decisions get made, what drives people, and how success is measured, you'll hire for skills only and end up with a team that doesn't fit, dilutes the culture, and makes the company slower.

The first step of our process is to define the North Star.

We define the North Star as a combination of culture, mission, and incentives. When there's clarity on all three, we can improve candidate quality and decision-making.

We help you:

• Clarify the culture so that we can attract the right people and help them understand the expected behaviors.

• Communicate the mission in a way that attracts ambitious leaders, not just the ones who are available.

• Align incentives to market benchmarks so that your offer is compatible with the level of talent you seek.

Phase 2: Deep Research

We combine proprietary AI-powered technology that crosses tens of thousands of data points with a carefully curated network of executives to build a robust map of the talent pool for the role.

We map the entire ecosystem (funds, portfolio companies, public and private competitors, adjacent categories, recent acquisitions) to identify who's driving value creation and why.

Every search gets a custom map.

Phase 3: Assessment and Interviews

Our goal in the assessment process is to distill the signal from the noise and help both parties make an informed decision with a positive outcome. 

To ensure you are making the best possible hiring decision, you need:

1. Access: Most candidates are not actively looking; therefore, they are not easily accessible. We leverage our network to secure warm introductions that bring them to the table. 

2. Trust: The best candidates can quickly sense if the conversation is worth their time. We make sure the candidates have high-quality conversations and world-class experience through and through, so we can build trust and have better insight into their expectations.

3. Skills match: We assess their experience, knowledge, and achievements based on a clearly defined set of competencies.

4. Culture match: We believe it's a two-way street. When we can clearly define the culture, the executives can self-select in or out, and we can align expected behaviors. 

5. Incentive alignment: Incentives go beyond compensation. With the right incentives, leaders will go above and beyond to fulfill the mission.

6. Reference Check: Our process relies heavily on references. With our disciplined, structured approach, we can gain a better understanding of what to expect from the leaders we hire. 

Phase 4: Integration

40% of executive transitions fail in the first 18 months. Structured integration efforts during the initial months significantly improve the chances of leadership success.  

Our integration process is designed to help our clients build an environment that maximizes performance.

We guide leaders through their integration with a structured process that helps them avoid common pitfalls and, together with the organization, ensure these best practices are socialized.

Executives we hire gain access to our network and strategic introductions.

Who We Serve

We work exclusively with consumer companies, institutional investors, and boards who understand that talent is the highest-leverage investment in value creation.

Our clients include multibillion-dollar private investors, mid-market portfolio companies navigating M&A, and growth-stage consumer brands building their executive team.

Get in Touch

If you're interested in learning how we can help you build a culture of performance based on talent, let's talk.

contact@polarasearch.com