Traditional executive search is broken.
PE and VC firms form a relationship with a search firm and send a note to a partner when there is a search needed in the portfolio.
The search kicks off, and associates do the heavy lift work, a partner presents the search work to the hiring client, and a one-off search is made.
What bothers me the most is the game of telephone that is played in this scenario.
The partners are not always the people communicating with candidates, they don’t write up summaries of the candidate and why they are a good fit, and typically are not writing the job brief or scorecard for the role.
On top of that 75%+ of partners at search firms have never worked in a technology company, yet recruit for technology organizations.
This all seemed broken and inefficient to me, hence why The Maloof Group exists.
With almost a decade in software companies including Oracle, Marketo and DocuSign, I’ve seen what excellent leadership looks like, and worked with and reported to them. I truly understand what a day in the life of a VP of Sales Engineering and a CRO is.
With exposure to running search internally at a PE firm, I know what keeps the investment team up at night, how the operating team thinks about their portfolio companies and how to find the right alignment.
Every single search I have executed, I have done every part of the work. At associate, principal and partner level, I source candidates, I meet them 1:1, I write job profiles, I align calendars and I meet with hiring CEOs and Managing Partners on the Board.
You can challenge that this might not be the most efficient way, but 90% of searches I have completed are less than 90 days. The metrics don’t lie. When a partner who is the face of the search, comes from the search domain and executes the search, that’s when the magic happens.
#executivesearchfirm #newwayofretainedsearch
