A C-suite appointment changes how an organisation makes decisions, sets priorities and performs under pressure. The search should begin with the work the leader needs to do, not simply the title they will hold.
Adastrum Consulting is a retained executive search and leadership advisory firm. We work with boards, chief executives and investors to appoint CEOs, CTOs, CIOs, COOs, CHROs and other senior leaders across the UK.
Talk to us about a C-suite appointmentTwo organisations can use the same job title and need very different leaders. A CEO following a founder, a COO preparing a business for exit and a CTO rebuilding a product organisation each face a different combination of expectations, authority and risk.
We begin by agreeing what must be materially different after the appointment, what has already been tried and what the organisation will allow the new leader to change. Where the brief contains conflicting assumptions, we make those visible before research begins.
That work produces a clearer market map and a more useful assessment. It also gives potential candidates an honest account of the opportunity, which matters when the people you want to meet are already succeeding elsewhere. See how our retained executive search approach works.
The role title gives the search a starting point. The organisation's situation determines the evidence and leadership behaviour we need to find.
Founder succession, a new growth phase, turnaround or a change in ownership can all create a CEO brief. We help the board define the outcomes, authority and relationships that will shape success in the role.
Talk to us about a CEO searchTechnology leadership briefs may concern product, platforms, enterprise change, data, cyber risk or a combination of them. The search tests whether a candidate has solved a comparable problem in a relevant context.
Explore technology executive searchA COO appointment depends on the operating model and the relationship with the CEO. We clarify which decisions the role will own, which functions it will bring together and what must improve as a result.
Talk to us about a COO searchPeople leadership becomes critical when an organisation is changing structure, culture, capability or leadership expectations. We look for evidence that candidates can connect the people agenda to the business problem.
Talk to us about a CHRO searchBoard appointments require independence, relevant perspective and the judgement to challenge constructively. The search considers the existing board, the organisation's next chapter and the contribution that is genuinely missing.
Talk to us about a board appointment
Career history tells us where somebody has worked and what they were responsible for. It does not fully explain how they reached decisions, what motivates them or how they behave when the environment becomes difficult.
We examine the outcomes a candidate has delivered, the conditions around those outcomes and the choices they made along the way. We explore motivation and judgement, then use psychometric assessment to add evidence about behavioural tendencies and likely responses under pressure.
The board receives a view of strengths and risk against the agreed mandate. Assessment does not remove judgement from the decision. It gives that judgement a stronger foundation. Learn more about our assessment approach.
Sector context matters, but it should not automatically become a fence around the search. A leader from an adjacent market may have solved a harder version of the same problem, while a familiar sector candidate may have worked in a very different ownership model or stage of growth.
We map the obvious market and then test where relevant experience may transfer. Every recommendation still needs clear evidence that the candidate can succeed in the environment in front of them. Cross-industry thinking widens the question. It does not lower the standard.
Read how cross-industry thinking can reshape an executive appointment.
The stages are consistent, while the market, evidence and judgement are shaped around the individual mandate.
Stage 1
We agree the problem, intended outcomes, decision rights and conditions around the role. Different stakeholder expectations are resolved before they distort the search.
Stage 2
We define the target market and relevant adjacent environments, then identify leaders whose work gives us evidence against the mandate.
Stage 3
We approach potential candidates confidentially, explain the opportunity clearly and share early market evidence with the client.
Stage 4
We examine outcomes, motivation, judgement and behaviour under pressure, using psychometric evidence as part of the overall assessment.
Stage 5
We prepare both sides, gather evidence after each stage and help the decision-makers compare candidates against the agreed outcomes.
Stage 6
We keep communication clear through final referencing, offer discussions and the move into role, so concerns are surfaced before they become problems.
Most mandates reach a shortlist within four to six weeks and run eight to twelve weeks from briefing to accepted offer. Highly complex appointments can take longer, and we set an honest expectation after the initial market review.
The sector provides context for the search. The leadership problem, ownership model and stage of change determine where the research goes next.
From VC-backed scaleups to FTSE enterprises, we appoint the technology and digital leaders who can align commercial ambition with technical delivery. CTOs who can build teams. CPOs who understand customer outcomes. CDOs who can turn data into decisions. We understand the difference between a strong engineer and a strong technology leader.
Technology Executive SearchThis sector punishes poor leadership decisions severely. We appoint executives who combine genuine scientific or clinical credibility with the commercial and operational skills to lead complex organisations through regulatory pressure, funding cycles, and rapid innovation. We know the difference between a research leader and a commercial leader, and when you need both. We do not place clinicians or research scientists.
Healthcare Executive SearchAudience behaviour has changed permanently. Leaders in this sector need the strategic agility to navigate platform shifts, new revenue models, and the continued fragmentation of attention. We appoint commercial, product and technology leaders who understand the business of media in 2026, not the business it was five years ago. We do not place editorial or production roles.
Media Executive SearchThe days of the siloed legal department are gone. Client expectations are shifting and law firms are running more like lean businesses. We appoint the operational, technology and transformation leadership that runs a legal business: chief operating officers, chief information and technology officers, and the directors delivering change across a firm. We do not place practising fee-earners, partners or solicitors.
Legal Executive SearchFunding settlements, demographics and international numbers are all moving at once, and the digital estate underneath most institutions was assembled one problem at a time. We appoint the chief executives, chief operating officers and technology leaders who can change how a university or an education business runs without breaking what it is for. We do not place teaching, academic or headteacher roles.
Education Executive SearchOmnichannel is no longer a differentiator, it is the baseline. Retail leaders today need to balance customer experience, supply chain resilience, digital growth, and margin pressure simultaneously. We appoint the operators who have shown they can make decisions under that kind of complexity and still deliver growth. We do not place store or field operations roles.
Retail Executive SearchHospitality leadership is as much about operational discipline as it is about the guest experience. We appoint operations, commercial and digital leadership across luxury hotels, branded hospitality groups, and food and beverage businesses. We understand the leadership profile required at each level of the market. We do not place unit-level or property roles.
Hospitality Executive SearchThe transition is the largest programme of change most utilities will ever run, and it has to be delivered while the lights stay on, the regulator stays satisfied and the price control still holds. We appoint the chief executives, operating and technology leadership that energy, utilities and renewables businesses are relying on to carry it. We do not place engineers, technicians or field operations roles.
Energy and Utilities Executive SearchC-suite executive search is a retained, research-led process for appointing an organisation's most senior leaders. It defines the mandate, maps the relevant market, approaches potential candidates confidentially and assesses them against the problem the appointment has to solve.
Most mandates reach a shortlist within four to six weeks and run eight to twelve weeks from briefing to accepted offer. The precise timing depends on the complexity of the role, the market and stakeholder availability.
Recruitment generally responds to people who are already looking. Executive search maps and approaches the relevant market, including leaders who are not active candidates. It also includes a deeper briefing and assessment stage, because at this level the cost of a wrong appointment is measured in years rather than weeks.
A retained mandate gives the search team responsibility for the full piece of work, from defining the brief through market research, assessment and the final decision. It allows the process to focus on the best evidence rather than on the fastest available candidate.
Yes. An interim leader can stabilise a function, establish the facts or clarify the permanent mandate when the situation cannot wait. Explore interim management.
Whether the brief is already defined or still taking shape, start with the problem the organisation needs the new leader to solve. We will give you a direct view of the questions to resolve and the most appropriate route forward.
Talk to Adastrum ConsultingObservations from twenty years of appointing leaders into complex organisations: how a senior appointment is scoped and assessed, what separates one that compounds from one that quietly comes apart, why succession plans drift towards the most visible candidate, and what a board ought to ask before it signs off the brief.
Most succession planning assumes someone is ready to step up. But what happens when the obvious successor is the one who leaves? A look at why heir apparent plans fail, the real cost of an unplanned leadership transition, and how boards build genuine continuity.
Succession planning too often rewards visibility over viability. The squeaky wheel gets noticed, but the quiet engine actually keeps the organisation moving. In many businesses, the squeaky wheel ends up on the succession plan simply because it is easier to see. That shortcut is getting riskier. With employers expecting nearly 40% of workers’ core skills to change by 2030, the signals we use to identify future leaders need to change as well.
Trust in senior leaders is also under strain. Only 14% of UK workers say they have faith in senior leaders’ decisions. That erosion shows up in slower adoption of change, more challenge behind the scenes and ultimately a higher cost of making anything stick. In this environment, the most important question is not "Is our strategy right?". A better question is, "Is the leadership system at the top capable of delivering it?".
The executive mirage is what happens when we confuse presence with potential. It’s the polished speech, the poised manner, the confident stride into the boardroom that convinces us we’re looking at a high-impact leader. Traditionally, these signals have been held up as markers of leadership. Commanding tone. Sharp delivery. Decisiveness in meetings. These behaviours feel reassuring, especially under pressure.
What’s 2+2 in leadership hiring? The answer isn’t always 4. Especially when you forget to account for the hidden variables: character and context. Almost 50 to 70% of new executives fail within 18 months, not for lack of skill but because hiring often overlooks character, cultural fit, and adaptability. We often think of hiring as a simple maths problem. You line up competence with experience and expect to find your next great leader. Except it rarely works out that neatly.
I interviewed someone this week who has spent 31 years at the same organisation Fast tracked early in his career. Senior roles. MBA. Extremely well qualified. Articulate. Impressive in every measurable way. He was positioning himself as a transformation leader. Now, I’m not in the game of criticising anyone, or framing things negatively for my own gain. But my own personal observation here could save a board millions and years of wasted momentum.
How a retained search runs, from the first question about the problem to the appointment.
Senior cover while the permanent search runs, or while the board settles what the role should be.
Work with the executive team a new chief executive inherits, measured before and after.
