End-to-end executive recruitment for C-suite, VP, Director, and senior leadership appointments. Our retained model ensures exclusive focus, dedicated resources, and accountability across the full lifecycle of the engagement.
Retained executive search is the foundational engagement model of Meridian Executive Partners. Under a retained mandate, we accept exclusive responsibility for the search, commit dedicated consulting capacity to it, and work the engagement to a defined timeline with clear accountabilities. We do not run parallel searches against the same shortlist for competing clients, and we do not move on until the appointment is made.
Retained search differs materially from contingent recruitment. Contingent firms work on a no-win-no-fee basis, which incentivizes volume over depth. Retained firms invest in the engagement upfront and are paid for the work itself, which incentivizes thoroughness, market mapping, and candidate engagement at a level that contingent models cannot support. For senior appointments, the difference shows up in the quality of the shortlist, in the experience of the candidates engaged, and in the durability of the eventual placement.
Most of our retained engagements run between twelve and twenty weeks from briefing to offer. The first several weeks are invested in mapping and briefing refinement; the middle weeks in active candidate engagement and assessment; the final weeks in shortlist presentation, client interviews, referencing, and offer construction.
Every retained engagement runs through a structured process that has been refined across years of senior placements. The phases below are sequential but iterative — insights from later phases regularly inform refinement of earlier ones.
We work with the board, CEO, or hiring sponsor to define the role, the strategic context, the leadership profile, and the success criteria. The brief is documented and signed off before search begins.
We identify the full population of qualified executives across target organizations and geographies — including passive candidates who would not respond to an advertised role.
We engage prioritized candidates directly, conduct structured interviews, assess against the brief, and present a calibrated shortlist with detailed profiles and rationale.
We facilitate client interviews, conduct full referencing, support offer construction, manage the negotiation, and remain engaged through the candidate's transition and onboarding.
A documented brief covering role definition, leadership profile, market context, and success criteria — signed off before search begins.
A comprehensive view of the qualified talent pool, including current organizational placement, tenure, and indicative compensation positioning.
Typically three to five candidates presented with detailed profiles, assessment narratives, and rationale for inclusion.
Structured referencing across multiple sources for the final candidate, presented to the client in a documented format.
Active facilitation of offer construction, compensation benchmarking, and negotiation through to signed contract.
Continued engagement with both client and appointed executive through the first 90 days to support successful integration.
Retained engagements are governed by a written agreement that defines the role, the search scope, the deliverables, the fee structure, and the timeline. Fees are typically structured as one-third on engagement, one-third on shortlist delivery, and one-third on offer acceptance.
We work to a guaranteed timeline and offer a structured replacement guarantee for placed executives who depart within a defined initial period. All engagements include the senior consultant as named lead, with no substitution of relationship ownership during the engagement.
We undertake a limited number of retained engagements at any one time to ensure each receives the focus and capacity it requires. We welcome an initial confidential conversation to understand whether the engagement model and our practice fit are right for your situation.