Engagement — Executive Search
Finding the people who are unlikely to be found through recruitment alone.
A search read against the organisation the person must lead — not merely against a generic role profile.
10 – 16 weeks · Board, executive and senior leadership · Nordic region and international
01 — The situation
Some appointments are too critical, specialised or exposed for a conventional process.
The relevant candidates may not be actively looking. The talent market may be narrow, international or difficult to access. The role may require an unusual combination of leadership experience, specialist expertise, stakeholder capability and personal judgement.
Meanwhile the consequences of a weak appointment are rarely contained to the role itself: they surface in the team, in the market and in the time lost before the organisation admits the decision was wrong.
Executive Search exists for exactly this position — where the organisation cannot afford to select from whoever happens to apply.
02 — Who it is for
Owners, boards and executive teams making an appointment they cannot get wrong.
Typically commissioned by an owner, chair, CEO or board committee. The engagement is used across:
- ·Board and chair appointments
- ·Chief executive and C-suite roles
- ·Senior functional leadership
- ·General management
- ·Business-unit and country leadership
- ·Transformation and change leadership
- ·Critical commercial or operational appointments
- ·Highly specialised technical or professional roles
- ·Scarce profiles with limited market availability
- ·Confidential replacement or succession situations
The defining factor is not title alone. A specialist appointment may require Executive Search when the talent pool is exceptionally limited, the search must be confidential, a previous recruitment process has not produced the right field, or internal and external succession options must be compared on equal evidence.
03 — What is different
Read against the organisation, not against a generic profile.
The mandate comes before the profile
A search begins with the business situation, the strategic purpose of the appointment, the leadership environment, the results expected and the conditions necessary for success — not with an advertisement or a database query. The question is not who has held a similar title, but who has the strongest evidence of being able to succeed in this particular situation.
The market is investigated, not awaited
Relevant organisations, industries, functions and adjacent talent pools are mapped directly. Most of the people approached are not looking; their interest has to be explored and developed through an informed, credible conversation rather than triggered by a posting.
Evidence rather than assertion
Career history is where evaluation starts, not where it ends. Scope and complexity, personal contribution, decision-making, stakeholder relationships and motivation are examined through structured dialogue, with assessment, business cases and referencing added where the mandate warrants them.
The decision is mutual
The client must judge whether the candidate can succeed; the candidate must judge whether the mandate, authority and organisational conditions justify the move. A strong process does not persuade a preferred candidate to accept — it creates the conditions for an informed commitment on both sides.
Honest recalibration
Where the market shows the requirement cannot be met as written, we return with what the evidence shows and recalibrate with you, rather than presenting near-fits as matches.
04 — What happens
The process, movement by movement.
Eight movements from mandate to appointment. The sequence is fixed; the emphasis follows the assignment.
- 01
Mandate and organisational reading
A working session with the owner, chair or hiring executive covering the business situation, the strategic purpose of the appointment, expected results, critical stakeholder relationships and appointment risks — read against the organisation the person must lead, not only the role as written.
- 02
Market mapping
Market and competitor mapping, international research, adjacent industries, professional network activation and trusted source conversations produce a picture of where the capability actually sits, together with honest evidence on availability, compensation and willingness to move.
- 03
Candidate dialogue
Potential candidates are approached individually and discreetly — including under silent search — and the conversation is a genuine dialogue about the situation, its demands and its constraints, rather than a pitch.
- 04
Structured assessment
Executive interviews, competency-based analysis, psychometric and cognitive assessment, business cases, leadership dialogue, references, background verification and structured scorecards. Findings are read across CCCM — competencies, capabilities, cultural contribution and motivation — and examined against the agreed success criteria.
- 05
Recommendation with argument and counter-argument
Each finalist is presented with the case for the appointment and the case against it. Remaining risks are made visible rather than concealed, so the decision is taken with the reservations in plain sight.
- 06
Appointment support
Finalist preparation, client-interview support, referencing, compensation alignment, offer and contract dialogue, and contact through the resignation period.
- 07
Follow-through after placement
Transition planning, onboarding support and structured follow-up in the first months, with recalibration where the reality of the organisation differs from the reading made at the outset.
05 — What the client receives
Documented work, not a list of names.
Depending on the mandate, deliverables include:
- ·A written mandate and agreed success criteria
- ·A market map of relevant organisations and talent pools
- ·Evidence on availability, compensation and willingness to move
- ·A calibrated longlist with reasoning
- ·A shortlist of qualified, interviewed candidates
- ·Structured written candidate assessments and scorecards
- ·Assessment, business-case and reference documentation
- ·Comparative evaluation against the mandate
- ·Offer, compensation and contract support
- ·A transition and onboarding plan
- ·Post-appointment follow-up
- ·An agreed replacement provision
06 — Typical duration
Ten to sixteen weeks, mandate to signed contract.
- Framing the mandate
- Weeks 1 – 2
- Market mapping and direct approaches
- Weeks 2 – 5
- Calibrated longlist
- Weeks 3 – 4
- Presented shortlist, interviewed and qualified
- Weeks 6 – 8
- Client interviews, assessment and referencing
- Weeks 8 – 12
- Offer, contract and notice period
- Weeks 12 – 16
Scarce, confidential or international profiles sit at the longer end. Timelines are agreed at the outset and progress is reported against them in writing.
07 — Confidentiality and governance
Confidentiality is the default, not an option.
- ·Silent search available — client and role undisclosed until a confidential conversation is agreed
- ·Candidate identities never shared outside the agreed client group
- ·References taken only with explicit consent, at a stage the candidate has agreed to
- ·Approaches made directly and individually, never through open advertisement
- ·Candidate data processed under a written agreement and an agreed retention period
- ·Retained fees agreed in writing in stages, with no contingent incentive to shortlist
- ·Written progress notes at agreed intervals to a defined client group
- ·Off-limits undertakings and conflict positions declared before the mandate begins
Relevant evidence
“I have had the pleasure of working with Kenneth on a recruitment. I was very impressed with his professionalism, and the very structured and transparent recruitment process. The quality of both process and candidates is very high. Kenneth is not a ‘pleaser’ but an active player throughout the whole recruitment process, providing his client with both feedback and pushback. The latter is rare, but very valuable.”
Selected clients
Nordic executive-search expertise with international reach through more than 30 Taplow offices.
- IBM
Questions
Questions we are most often asked.
How confidential is an executive search?
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Confidentiality is the default, not an option. Mandates can be run silently, where neither the client's name nor the vacancy is disclosed until a candidate has agreed to a confidential conversation under an appropriate agreement. Candidate identities are never shared outside the agreed client group, approaches are made directly and discreetly, and references are only taken with the candidate's explicit consent and at a stage they have agreed to.
How long does an executive search normally take?
↓
As a working estimate: the mandate is framed within one to two weeks, a calibrated longlist follows within three to four weeks, and a presented shortlist of qualified, interviewed candidates typically lands between weeks six and eight. Client interviews, assessment and referencing then run over a further three to five weeks, with appointment and notice periods on top. Most searches therefore conclude within ten to fourteen weeks from mandate to signed contract, with scarce or international profiles at the longer end.
What happens if the market says the mandate is unrealistic?
↓
We say so, early. Direct market exploration produces evidence about availability, compensation levels and the willingness of relevant people to move. If the requirement cannot be met as written, we return with what the market actually shows and recalibrate the mandate with you rather than presenting near-fits as if they were matches.
How are candidates evaluated beyond the CV?
↓
Through structured qualification interviews covering scope and complexity of previous roles, demonstrable results, personal contribution, leadership and decision-making, stakeholder relationships and motivation. Evidence is sought rather than asserted, and psychometric instruments, business cases and formal referencing are added where the mandate warrants them.
Do you guarantee the appointment?
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Every mandate includes an agreed replacement provision should an appointed candidate leave within an agreed initial period for reasons connected to the appointment. The more meaningful safeguard, however, is the process itself: a well-framed mandate, honest calibration and mutual decision-making make early departures rare.
How is a search fee structured?
↓
Retained, in agreed stages tied to the progress of the work rather than to a percentage collected on signature alone. Fees, expenses and any replacement provision are set out in writing before the mandate begins, so there are no contingent incentives distorting the shortlist.
Can you search internationally?
↓
Yes. Research, approaches and interviews are conducted across markets, with local execution supported through the Taplow Group network where a mandate requires presence in a specific country or language.
How much time will this take from us?
↓
Expect a two to three hour mandate conversation at the outset, a short calibration review after the longlist, and then interview time with the shortlist. Between those points the work sits with us; you receive written progress notes rather than requests for administration.
09 — Next step
Start with the mandate, not the profile.
One conversation, held in confidence, about the appointment and the situation around it.
Before you write
What happens after I send an inquiry?
The note comes directly to Kenneth Saxskiold — it does not enter a queue or a marketing list. It is read, and you receive a personal reply proposing a short, obligation-free conversation of thirty to forty-five minutes to understand the situation before anything is proposed.
How quickly will I hear back?
Within one working day in most cases, and always within two. Inquiries sent over a weekend or a Danish public holiday are answered on the next working day.
Is my inquiry treated confidentially?
Yes. Inquiries are held in confidence, are never shared with third parties, and are not added to any mailing list. Where a situation is sensitive — a replacement, a board matter, an unannounced transition — the first conversation can be held without naming the organisation.
What should I include?
Only as much as is comfortable: the situation, roughly when it needs resolving, and who is involved in the decision. Nothing formal is required, and a fully written brief is not expected at this stage.
Am I committing to anything?
No. An inquiry is an opening conversation. Scope, approach and fees are only discussed once the situation is understood, and everything is confirmed in writing before any work begins.
Next in SAXSKIOLD
Inside the Search
Follow the whole search openly, movement by movement, from framing to the first months.