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Chief Product Officer search.

Founder-led companies where the CEO has been the product leader, and companies where product and engineering report separately and the friction has become the roadmap.

CPOReports to
CEO
The seat

What breaks when it is empty.

Product and engineering leadership hired together, or against each other. If the CTO is in seat, this is partly a negotiation with them.

Reports toCEO
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

CEO. Peer to the CTO, never under.

How longTypical

Shortlist in 4 to 6 weeks.

Why us for this seat

We interview the CTO before we open a CPO search. The search is partly a peer negotiation, and we would rather run that first than discover it at offer.

The chart

What one hire does to the org.

A CPO hire lights the product org under it: VP Product, Head of Design, and Head of Product Operations. It also redraws the line to engineering, and the CTO has to want that line drawn.

Seats this hire opens or changes
VP ProductHead of DesignHead of Product OperationsDirector of Product Analytics
See it drawn on the chart
The engagement

Where retained meets contingent.

A third when the search opens, a third when your CPO 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.

CTOCIOCISOCHROCAIOAll seats
Start here

Tell us about the CPO 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