Retained search | London
Adastrum Consulting appoints C-suite and technology leaders for boards, chief executives and investors facing growth, transformation or change. We define the problem first, map the relevant market and assess the evidence behind each candidate.
Talk to us about a senior appointmentRetained executive search begins beyond the active market. We map the relevant market, then approach leaders who may have no reason to move unless the opportunity is genuinely compelling.
For a board or investor, the work starts before that approach. The first question is not who is available. It is what this appointment has to change, which conditions the leader will inherit and what evidence would show they can succeed in that context.
London brings access to a broad leadership market, but access alone is not enough. Senior candidates will judge an opportunity through the quality of the brief, the credibility of the conversation and the confidence that sensitive information will remain private.
Adastrum combines structured market research with behavioural assessment. We look at relevant outcomes, motivation, judgement and likely behaviour under pressure, then make the risks visible alongside the strengths.
The result is a decision built around the work the leader needs to do, not simply the closest matching CV.
Learn More About AdastrumEvery search mandate is different. But the rigour we apply is consistent. Here is how we work.
Stage 1
We agree what the appointment must change, what success should look like and which constraints the new leader will inherit. Where stakeholders hold different assumptions, we resolve those before the search begins.
Stage 2
We define the relevant market, including adjacent sectors where experience may transfer, then build a clear view of the leaders whose work matches the problem rather than just the title.
Stage 3
We approach potential candidates discreetly and explain the opportunity with enough substance for a serious conversation. Early market feedback is shared so the brief can be tested while there is still time to act.
Stage 4
We examine relevant outcomes, motivation, judgement and behaviour under pressure. Psychometric evidence adds another perspective and helps us show where each candidate may thrive or face risk in your environment.
Stage 5
We prepare both sides for focused conversations, gather evidence after each stage and help the decision-makers compare candidates against the agreed outcomes. If new information changes the brief, we address it directly.
Stage 6
We keep communication clear through final referencing, offer discussions and the move into role. The aim is to protect trust, surface concerns early and give the appointment a considered start.
Timeline: most searches reach shortlist within four to six weeks. Complex or highly specialised mandates may take eight to ten weeks. We will give you an honest view of the market from the outset.
Past performance qualifies a candidate for consideration. It does not guarantee future success in your specific environment.
Most executive hiring failures are not competence failures. They are culture failures, motivation failures, or leadership style mismatches. The candidate looked right on paper. The interview went well. But something critical was missed.
At Adastrum, we carry out psychometric assessments as standard on all shortlisted candidates. We assess intellect, motivation, behavioural tendencies, and cultural fit, not as a box-ticking exercise, but as a genuine input into our recommendation. We will tell you if a candidate's profile suggests they will struggle in a highly ambiguous environment, or thrive in one. We will tell you where the risk is before you make the hire.
We also pay close attention to what we call cross-industry potential. Some of the best technology leaders we have placed came from outside the obvious sector pool. The ability to bring fresh thinking into an established environment is often more valuable than deep domain familiarity.
Technology leadership in London sits at the intersection of commercial pressure, rapid product evolution, and a competitive talent market where the best operators are rarely available. Finding the right CTO, CPO, or Chief Data Officer is not a volume exercise, it requires understanding the difference between technical credibility and genuine commercial leadership.
We work across the full technology leadership spectrum: from early-stage companies appointing their first technical executive, to established enterprises replacing a C-suite leader mid-transformation. In each case, we bring the same rigour: a proper brief, a proper market map, and a shortlist of people who can actually do the job.
Our technology executive search work spans roles including CTO, CPO, Chief Data Officer, Chief Digital Officer, VP Engineering, and Director of Product. We understand the nuances between a scaling start-up and a legacy enterprise transformation, and we match candidates to context not just to job descriptions.
Where timing is critical, the first decision is whether an interim leader should stabilise the function or a permanent appointment is needed straight away. We can help you test that choice against the problem, the authority available and the time the organisation has.
Explore our Technology Sector pageWe work in sectors where leadership genuinely matters, where the wrong appointment has lasting consequences and the right one changes the trajectory of the business.
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 SearchExecutive search firms can begin from very different assumptions. This is how Adastrum structures the work and the decisions that follow.
| Decision area | A conventional starting point | Adastrum Consulting |
|---|---|---|
| Defining the brief | Begin with the job description and previous role holder | Begin with the business problem, intended outcomes and operating context |
| Mapping the market | Focus on familiar titles and direct sector competitors | Map the obvious market and adjacent environments where experience can transfer |
| Assessing candidates | Prioritise career history and interview performance | Examine outcomes, motivation, judgement and behaviour under pressure |
| Working with the board | Deliver against the brief as first written | Test assumptions and bring market evidence back throughout the search |
| Presenting the shortlist | Emphasise strengths and overall fit | Show the evidence, the motivation and the risks that need to be managed |
Recruitment fills roles by attracting active candidates, people who are already looking. Executive search identifies and approaches the best person for the role regardless of whether they are looking. Most senior leaders who are succeeding in their current position are not actively applying for jobs. Executive search is the only way to reach them.
Most mandates reach shortlist within four to six weeks from briefing. The full process from briefing to accepted offer typically runs eight to twelve weeks. Complex or highly specialised roles, particularly in niche technology disciplines or regulated sectors, can take longer. We give clients an honest market view at the outset so timelines are managed accurately.
The fee depends on the seniority, scope and complexity of the appointment. Retained search is normally agreed at the outset and paid in stages as the work progresses. We explain the fee, expenses and delivery stages clearly before a mandate begins.
We work exclusively on a retained basis. This is not just a commercial preference, it is a quality commitment. Retained search means our team dedicates proper research time to your mandate from day one. It also means candidates receive a consistent, professional experience when we approach them on your behalf, which matters when you are trying to attract someone who is not actively looking.
We work on leadership appointments across technology, healthcare and life sciences, legal, education, retail and consumer, media, energy and utilities, hospitality and travel. Sector context informs the search, but the work begins with the problem the appointment must solve. We only take a mandate where our approach and experience are appropriate for that problem.
We use structured, evidence-led conversations and psychometric assessment to examine relevant outcomes, motivation, judgement and behavioural tendencies. Each candidate is considered against the agreed brief and the environment they would enter, so the board can see likely strengths and areas of risk that a CV cannot show.
If you are shaping a live brief or thinking ahead about succession, tell us what the organisation needs to change. We will give you a direct view of the questions to resolve, the relevant market and the most appropriate route forward.
Talk to us about the appointmentObservations 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.
The Collaborator is the schema you appoint to make a divided organisation move as one. It is also the one most likely to keep seeking agreement long after the moment for agreement has gone. The most dangerous phrase in a senior team is not “I disagree.” It is “let’s get everyone aligned first.” I watched a leader run a good business into a wasted quarter on that phrase, and almost nobody in the room could see it happ
The most expensive senior appointment I have watched fail had the best roadmap I have ever seen. I mean that sincerely. It was a genuinely impressive piece of thinking. Every workstream mapped, every dependency identified, governance and sequencing and risk all accounted for. The board saw it in month three and applauded. He was still refining it in month fourteen, when they let him go.
The Commander is the schema you appoint in a crisis. It is also the one you have to watch once the crisis has passed. There is a phrase you hear in big organisations when nothing is moving. "It's just how things get done here." Say it out loud and it sounds like culture. Listen properly and it is something sharper. It means someone at the top is commanding, and everyone below has quietly learned to wait.
The board thought they had found the perfect CEO. Two successful exits. A scaled multinational division. References that read like a character witness: decisive, commercially sharp, a natural leader. In the interview he was confident, fluent, convincing on growth and culture and transformation. The appointment was unanimous. Twelve months later the same board was negotiating his exit. Revenue targets had been missed.
There’s one question almost every HR-led interview process insists on. “Tell me about a time you failed.” At junior level, it sometimes earns its keep. At C-suite, it’s a junk question. And it’s almost always the wrong thing to ask in the room. I’ll explain why I won’t ask it. And then I’ll tell you what I ask instead.
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.
