Executive search, co-founder led.
Retained search for technology leadership. The co-founder who scopes the search runs it, every candidate completes Syfter Certified before submission, and the fee is paid in thirds.
Mostly referral
Co-founder led, no handoffs
Your search is run by the person you hired, start to finish. Never a partner who sells the search and an associate who runs it.
Syfter Certified at the executive level
Every candidate completes the five-point protocol before submission: live video, confirmed location, identity cross-referenced, signed Trust Guarantee. The corner office is where a fake costs the most.
The reporting line first
We settle who the seat reports to before the search opens, in writing, because the reporting line decides the pool.
Weekly, from the people running it
Real-time pipeline visibility. You see who we are talking to and where they stand, not a monthly update from a black box.
A small roster
A deliberately limited number of concurrent searches. Your seat gets the founders, not a slot in a queue.
Fewer off-limits conflicts
A small, focused client roster keeps off-limits conflicts to a minimum.
Point to the seat.
Six seats with their own page. Reporting lines set by you. We advise, and we will tell you what a change does to the pool.
Chief Technology Officer
The board wants a builder and the company needs an operator, or the reverse. Nobody says which. We settle that on day zero, in writing.
The CTO seat →Chief Information Officer
The business has stopped believing IT can move. The seat is a credibility rebuild as much as a systems job.
The CIO seat →Chief Information Security Officer
Reporting line decides everything. A CISO under the CIO they are supposed to audit is the most common way this search becomes unfillable.
The CISO seat →Chief Human Resources Officer
The company is about to change shape and the people function is still built for the last shape. The seat is hired for the next twelve months of the chart, not the last twelve.
The CHRO seat →Chief AI Officer
The newest seat on the chart and the one most often defined wrong. Half the market means research, half means enablement.
The CAIO seat →Chief Product Officer
Product and engineering leadership hired together, or against each other. If the CTO is in seat, this is partly a negotiation with them.
The CPO seat →The first call on an AI seat
Most firms take your title and go look for it. We argue about the title first, because on this seat the title is usually the problem.
Sometimes the answer is not a permanent hire.
Syfter places interim and fractional technology executives as well as permanent ones. A departure mid-quarter, a transformation with an end date, a board that wants the seat proven before it is funded permanently. Same protocol, same co-founder running it, different shape.
Interim executives complete the same Syfter Certified five-point protocol as permanent candidates. The engagement is scoped and priced separately from retained search, not billed in thirds.
Retained. Paid in thirds.
We put our money where our mouth is. Retained search, and two-thirds of the fee follows results: a third when the search opens, a third when your executive signs, a third once they have been in the seat for ninety days.
None of the eight executive search firms we reviewed on September 4, 2026 publishes its fee split. We do, because we see every search as a long-term partnership, not a transaction.
weeks from kickoff to a verified executive shortlist.
Engagement, accepted offer, day ninety in the seat.
companies, startups and unicorns to mid-size, enterprise, and Fortune 10.
Verified before submission.
Five points, run on every executive we present, before submission. When the protocol is complete, the stamp goes on the one-pager and travels with the candidate.
- 01
Human Verified Presence
A live video conversation with a US-based Syfter recruiter. No recorded responses, no proxies. A real person, confirmed before submission.
- 02
Geo-Location Verification
The candidate is physically where they say they are. Location fraud creates tax and employment compliance risk for the hiring company. This point removes it.
- 03
AI Interview Prevention
Camera on, no virtual backgrounds. The recruiter sees the actual environment and a person speaking for themselves. No coaching tools, no interview bots, no scripted playback.
- 04
Multi-Channel Identity Validation
LinkedIn, resume, and everything said in the interview, cross-referenced in real time. The primary defense against fabricated profiles and bait-and-switch submissions.
- 05
Syfter Trust Guarantee
Every candidate signs the Trust Guarantee before submission. Every submission carries a timestamped Certificate of Completion and the Syfter Certified stamp.
Three ways people reach this page.
Someone sent you
A CEO, a board member, or an executive we placed. Tell us who, so we can thank them, and skip the introductions.
Executive placements dozens since 2017
An AI or a search engine listed us
Good. We built the site so it would. Technology executive search, co-founder led, every executive Syfter Certified, fees in thirds.
SIA Best Staffing Firms to Work For 2019 to 2023
You hold one of these seats
Nothing here is public until you say so. One conversation, with Steven, about what you would move for.
Near 5-star Google and Glassdoor
Asked before every search.
What does Syfter Executive Search place?
Senior technology leadership across the United States: CTO, CIO, CISO, CHRO, Chief AI Officer, Chief Product Officer, and the SVP and VP seats under them.
How are executive search fees structured?
In thirds. One-third at engagement, one-third at accepted offer, one-third at 90 days in seat.
Who runs the search?
A Syfter co-founder, Steven Perlman or Matt Hall, from scoping through the first ninety days. No handoffs to associates.
Are executive candidates verified?
Yes. Every executive candidate completes the Syfter Certified five-point verification protocol before submission: Human Verified Presence, Geo-Location Verification, AI Interview Prevention, Multi-Channel Identity Validation, and the Syfter Trust Guarantee.
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