A fractional search and research partner for boutique and mid-market executive search, PE & VC firms. Market mapping, candidate sourcing, and benchmark research on Director, VP, and C-level mandates, designed to fit how partners actually run searches.
Translate a kickoff into a defensible research plan. I build the target universe, sharpen the candidate persona, and map where the talent actually sits before sourcing starts.
Org charts, talent flow, comp ranges, and the moves that matter. The intelligence layer that gives partners and clients real conviction in a slate.
Deep, written profiles of the people on the longlist: career arc, scope, scale, motivations, and the questions to actually ask. Not a LinkedIn copy-paste.
When a search needs more lift than the in-house team can run, I embed. Direct sourcing, outreach copy, and pipeline hygiene, handed back clean.
Most of the firms I work with don't need another vendor. They need another seat at the research bench.
I work as a fractional extension of the team: in your weekly cadence, in your search docs, in the rhythm you already run. The output reads like it came from inside the firm.
Embedded on one active search: strategy, market map, candidate sourcing, and ongoing research support through close.
Ongoing research and sourcing capacity across the firm's active book, with a flat monthly fee that flexes across mandates as priorities shift.
Standalone deliverables: a market map, sourcing sprint, comp benchmark, longlist refresh, or pre-pitch intelligence pack.
Partners running senior mandates who want research depth without adding headcount.
Platform teams sourcing leadership for portfolio companies and running founder-led searches.
Operating partners running C-suite and leadership hires across the portfolio.
Legal Tech Unicorn
Post-Series D growth stage. Needed an operational leader with strong technical foundations to scale infrastructure.
The original brief sought an operator with technical fluency. The market wasn't producing that profile, so we inverted it. Identified a sector-leading CTO with both technical and operational expertise. Within 18 months of being hired as COO, the company raised 9 figures and went public via IPO.
Autonomous Vehicles
Hyper-growth stage preparing to go public. Needed a software leader to scale Simulation, Test, and Validation running millions of daily cycles.
Placed a VP of Software with deep expertise in large-scale systems and simulation. Elevated simulation strategy, strengthened cross-functional alignment, and built the technical foundation required to scale through hyper-growth and going public.
Autonomous Vehicles
Late-stage autonomous vehicle company accelerating toward commercial scale. Required a senior commercial leader to define go-to-market strategy, build and manage strategic partnerships.
Placed a VP of Commercialization with deep experience across mobility, partnerships, and large-scale market launches. Played a key role in launching a fully integrated robotaxi service in partnership with Uber.
Autonomous Vehicles
Deep tech company commercializing AV sensing technology. Needed a GTM leader to drive BD across automotive and mobility markets.
Placed a Director of Business Development with deep GTM expertise across deep tech and mobility ecosystems. Accelerated partnership development, expanded the commercial pipeline, and helped position the technology for adoption across multiple end markets.
Legal Tech
High-growth legal tech company scaling engineering to support product expansion. Needed a leader to mature platform capabilities and build teams.
Placed a Director of Engineering with deep experience leading teams through scale in B2B SaaS environments. Strengthened engineering leadership, improved delivery velocity, and helped build the technical foundation required to support continued product growth.
B2B SaaS Design Platform
Investor-backed design platform scaling its B2B motion. Tasked with building out GTM to accelerate growth and expand into enterprise accounts.
Partnered with the company to build out key roles across the enterprise GTM organization. Strengthened the enterprise sales motion, expanded reach into target accounts, and contributed to continued momentum as the company scaled its B2B business.
Legal Tech Unicorn
Post-Series D growth stage. Needed an operational leader with strong technical foundations to scale infrastructure.
The original brief sought an operator with technical fluency. The market wasn't producing that profile, so we inverted it. Identified a sector-leading CTO with both technical and operational expertise. Within 18 months of being hired as COO, the company raised 9 figures and went public via IPO.
Autonomous Vehicles
Hyper-growth stage preparing to go public. Needed a software leader to scale Simulation, Test, and Validation running millions of daily cycles.
Placed a VP of Software with deep expertise in large-scale systems and simulation. Elevated simulation strategy, strengthened cross-functional alignment, and built the technical foundation required to scale through hyper-growth and going public.
Autonomous Vehicles
Late-stage autonomous vehicle company accelerating toward commercial scale. Required a senior commercial leader to define go-to-market strategy, build and manage strategic partnerships.
Placed a VP of Commercialization with deep experience across mobility, partnerships, and large-scale market launches. Played a key role in launching a fully integrated robotaxi service in partnership with Uber.
Autonomous Vehicles
Deep tech company commercializing AV sensing technology. Needed a GTM leader to drive BD across automotive and mobility markets.
Placed a Director of Business Development with deep GTM expertise across deep tech and mobility ecosystems. Accelerated partnership development, expanded the commercial pipeline, and helped position the technology for adoption across multiple end markets.
Legal Tech
High-growth legal tech company scaling engineering to support product expansion. Needed a leader to mature platform capabilities and build teams.
Placed a Director of Engineering with deep experience leading teams through scale in B2B SaaS environments. Strengthened engineering leadership, improved delivery velocity, and helped build the technical foundation required to support continued product growth.
B2B SaaS Design Platform
Investor-backed design platform scaling its B2B motion. Tasked with building out GTM to accelerate growth and expand into enterprise accounts.
Partnered with the company to build out key roles across the enterprise GTM organization. Strengthened the enterprise sales motion, expanded reach into target accounts, and contributed to continued momentum as the company scaled its B2B business.
Research is a partner-grade output. I treat it that way. Every market map, every profile, every memo.
The firms that win mandates and close searches faster are the ones with better research underneath them. I built my practice around that simple observation. And most search teams don't have enough of it.
I work with a small number of clients at a time, embedded enough to know the brief without being briefed twice. I write the way a partner would write: in full sentences, with judgment on the page, not just data.
I'm comfortable across functions and stages, from early stage to growth equity to late-stage VC to buyout. What I care about most is doing the work well, with people who value that.
Ian