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Chief Information Security Officer search.

Regulated companies, financial services, and any board that has just been through an incident and needs a CISO who has run one before.

CISOReports to
General Counsel
The seat

What breaks when it is empty.

Reporting line decides everything. A CISO under the CIO they are supposed to audit is the most common way this search becomes unfillable.

Reports toGeneral Counsel
ShortlistWeeks 4 to 6
Comp bandStated in writing on day zero
VerifiedEvery finalist Syfter Certified
FeeIn thirds. Final third at day 90
Your lineOur advice

General Counsel, dotted line to the audit committee. Change it and we will tell you what it does to the pool.

How longTypical

Shortlist in 4 to 6 weeks. Post-incident searches move faster.

Why us for this seat

We will not open a CISO search until the reporting line is settled. It is the one seat where the org chart is the job description.

The chart

What one hire does to the org.

A CISO hire opens the seats under it: VP Security, Director of Security Operations, and Head of GRC. It also changes the CIO conversation, because the audit line has to be drawn before the offer goes out.

Seats this hire opens or changes
VP SecurityDirector of Security OperationsHead of GRCHead of Identity
See it drawn on the chart
The engagement

Where retained meets contingent.

A third when the search opens, a third when your CISO signs, a third once they have been in the seat for ninety days.

01
ChooseScope
Retained search
Retained, interim or fractional. You tell us the seat, the reporting line, and the mandate. We tell you what the market will and will not give you for it.
02
SignFirst third
The search opens
Both founders on the kickoff. Reporting line, comp band, and the three ways this hire could fail, in writing.
03
Weeks 1 to 6What you get
Market map, then the shortlist
Every finalist Syfter Certified, one-pager and stamp attached. Weekly, from the people running it.
04
OfferSecond third
Your executive signs
Not when we present a shortlist. When the person you chose says yes.
05
Day 90Final third
In the seat, working
The executive is in place and the team under them is better for it. That is where we want to be paid.
Syfter Certified

Verified before the seat is offered.

Five points, run on every executive we present, before you see the file. The stamp goes on the one-pager and travels with the candidate.

The protocol
  1. 01

    Human Verified Presence

    A live video conversation with a US-based Syfter recruiter. No recorded responses, no proxies. A real person, confirmed before the file reaches you.

  2. 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.

  3. 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.

  4. 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.

  5. 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.

Other seats

The rest of the chart.

CTOCIOCHROCAIOCPOAll seats
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Tell us about the CISO seat.

The reporting line, the mandate, and the date it needs to be filled. A written point of view from Steven within 48 hours.

Point to the seatConfidential inquiry