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AI-powered executive search for C-suite and leadership hiring

TalentMesh combines AI-powered executive candidate sourcing & CV analytics with executive-grade talent assessment to enable data-driven executive search that places visionary C-suite and senior leaders with unrivaled speed and scientific accuracy.

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AI-powered executive search in action — Group CFO, global fintech scale-up
1000scandidates analyzed by AI agents — globally, no geographic limits
60+shortlisted across 11 countries, screened against four archetypes
5finalists — five interview rounds and full assessments each
3board-ready candidates presented, offer signed ~5 weeks later

Every finalist completed TalentMesh experience, aptitude and personality assessments — top aptitude in the 97th percentile. The board chose from evidence, not gut feel.

01Ideal Leadership Profile

Executive search built around the right leadership profile

The key to getting executive search right is finding leaders with the right experience, skills and personality to build top-performing teams and organizations. But defining what good looks like for your specific organization is not straightforward.

While traditional executive search often relies heavily on human intuition, TalentMesh has mapped the experience, skills and personality traits required to succeed across different leadership roles. We use this data to create detailed leadership profiles, which our leadership experts further tailor to each client's unique hiring situation.

Experience Score — CEO search
Candidate evaluation

Experience Score

How well the candidate's experience matches the five criteria in the ideal leadership profile.

74Overall
Leadership criteria1–3
65
Criteria 1

5+ years in senior leadership at a B2B SaaS or technology company, with hands-on operational and commercial responsibility.

85
Criteria 2

Proven experience leading complex enterprise sales cycles with C-level stakeholders and high-value contracts.

55
Criteria 3

Direct P&L responsibility for a SaaS business, including budgeting, forecasting, unit economics and revenue growth.

Leadership criteria4–5
70
Criteria 4

Leadership experience in AI-powered, automation or platform software, working closely with product and technology teams.

95
Criteria 5

Track record of scaling a company through significant growth, international expansion and building high-performing teams.

Justification

The candidate shows strong evidence of scaling technology businesses through significant growth, expanding into new markets and building larger teams. Their background demonstrates both commercial growth and hands-on operational leadership.

Five role-specific criteria. Every candidate is scored against each one, with clear reasoning behind every score.

02The search

AI-powered executive candidate sourcing

Traditional executive search firms often limit candidate sourcing by focusing on a narrow set of channels. TalentMesh combines detailed leadership profiles with AI-powered executive candidate sourcing to search across multiple channels, creating a wider and more diverse pool of qualified executives at unparalleled speed.

  • Active search: Combining AI-powered sourcing with our unique people & skills research, our in-house executive search experts identify, contact and engage qualified executives and passive candidates who are not actively looking for a new role.
  • Database search: We search our extensive talent database to identify executives whose experience and skills match the leadership profile for the role.
03The evidence

Evaluate executive experience with AI and human expertise

TalentMesh uses AI to analyze each candidate's CV, extract relevant experience and match it against the key criteria for the role. Those criteria are created with AI and then curated by our experts and clients. The result is a quantified Experience Score for every candidate, supported by clear evidence for review.

04The assessment

Executive and leadership assessment

Go beyond the CV with structured executive and leadership assessment. TalentMesh combines Personality, Aptitude and Emotional Intelligence assessments to build a more complete view of each executive's current capabilities, personality match and growth potential.

Our assessments are tailored to each role, helping hiring teams focus on the qualities relevant to high performance rather than relying on a generic assessment profile.

05The shortlist

Data-driven executive candidate shortlisting

TalentMesh aggregates experience and assessment results into a Talent Score and ranks candidates against the requirements of the role. Strong matches are elevated without automatically excluding anyone, giving our experts and clients a structured evidence base for building the shortlist.

06The interview

Structured executive interviews and candidate reports

TalentMesh interview experts are proven former industry executives and professional executive recruiters, combining executive search best practices with first-hand knowledge of what drives business success. This brings both executive recruitment expertise and real-world leadership experience into every interview.

Based on the interviews, we provide comprehensive candidate reports that bring together the insights and data needed to evaluate executive candidates and select top-performing leaders with confidence.

07The decision

Make better C-suite and leadership hiring decisions

Hiring an executive is one of the most business-critical decisions a company can make. TalentMesh brings sourcing, experience analysis, executive assessment and structured interview insights together so clients can make data-driven hiring decisions with a clearer view of each candidate.

The technology structures the evidence and accelerates the process; the final hiring decision remains with the client.

Our approach

How TalentMesh differs from traditional executive search

TalentMesh combines experienced executive search professionals with AI-powered sourcing, CV analysis and structured leadership assessment.

Broader candidate sourcing

Search active and passive candidates across multiple channels rather than relying only on an existing network.

Structured candidate evidence

Combine experience with personality, aptitude and emotional intelligence assessments.

Human judgment stays central

AI supports research and evaluation; executive search experts and clients review the evidence and make the decisions.

FAQ

Executive search is a service that helps companies and supervisory boards find, attract, assess and hire executive leaders. It typically focuses on C-suite, supervisory board and management roles directly beneath the C-suite. The service can include market-wide candidate identification, engagement of hard-to-reach executives, interviews and assessment of aptitude and personality fit, and support with offer negotiation and closing.

The right executive search firm depends on the role, business, strategy, geography and client needs. Key considerations include specialization versus scale, the firm's technology and methodology for sourcing and assessing executives, and its pricing model, including whether fees are paid up front or upon successful placement.

A typical executive search can take from around three months to considerably longer, depending on the role, market, geography, notice period and hiring process. The industry average is approximately six months.

Executive search firms commonly charge a percentage of first-year cash compensation, including base salary and on-target cash bonus. A typical range is 25% to 33% of first-year cash compensation.

Retained executive search refers to a pricing model where a portion of the fee is paid before the project begins, with additional payments at agreed intervals. A contingent model instead ties payment to completion or specified milestones. The distinction primarily concerns payment schedule and financial liability rather than the underlying definition of executive search.

Executive search firms use proprietary databases and professional networks, public databases and resources, and referrals or recommendations. TalentMesh adds AI-powered sourcing and structured leadership profiles to help search across multiple candidate channels.

TalentMesh uses AI to support candidate sourcing, CV analysis, experience matching and structured ranking. This helps search teams review a broader candidate pool and organise evidence consistently, while executive search experts and clients retain human judgment throughout the process.

TalentMesh combines experience analysis with role-specific Personality, Aptitude and Emotional Intelligence assessments. The results are brought together with structured interviews and candidate reports to give clients a more complete evidence base for comparing executive candidates.

Executive assessment is a structured evaluation of the capabilities and characteristics relevant to leadership performance. At TalentMesh, this can include experience, personality, cognitive aptitude and emotional intelligence, tailored to the requirements of the leadership role.

Executive search is typically focused on senior leadership and C-suite roles and often involves proactively identifying and engaging candidates who are not actively applying. Recruitment covers a broader range of roles and can rely more heavily on active applicants. Both can include sourcing, assessment, interviews and hiring support.

“SHREK” is an acronym used for five large global executive search firms: Spencer Stuart, Heidrick & Struggles, Russell Reynolds, Egon Zehnder and Korn Ferry.

Ready to run your search?

Tell us about the role. Our executive search team normally replies within one business day.

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