Executive Search · Retained

Leadership hires,
handled with discretion.

Confidential, retained search for VP- to C-suite roles. A dedicated partner and researcher map the market off-market, brief you in writing every week, and stand behind the result for twelve months.

Why Rivago

Leadership searches run
by the partner, not a team.

Most firms staff your search with a partner's name and a junior's hours. We do the opposite — the partner who takes the brief does the sourcing, the calls and the reference checks, and reports to you in writing every week.

6–10wk

Typical search length

Brief to signed offer, full market mapped.

96%

Offer-accept rate

Executive searches, last 12 months.

12mo

Replacement guarantee

Leaves inside the window? We restart, free.

120+

Executive placements

VP to CEO, across four markets, to date.

Confidential as standard

NDA on request, off-market approaches only, and your brand kept out of the search until you choose to reveal it — no leaks to the incumbent or the market.

One partner, full ownership

The partner who takes your brief runs every call and every reference — no handoffs to researchers, no relay through account managers.

Full market mapping

Every credible leader in your space is mapped and approached directly — not just the ones who happen to be looking.

Weekly written briefings

A short, honest status update every week — who we've approached, who's interested, and where the search really stands.

How executive search works

Three ways to run a
retained leadership search.

01
Single retained search
One critical leadership seat — CFO, CTO, GC or similar. A dedicated partner and researcher run a fully off-market search, staged in thirds.
  • Dedicated partner + research analyst
  • Confidential, off-market approach
  • 12-month replacement guarantee
  • Compensation benchmarking included
02
Confidential replacement
Replacing a sitting executive before the market — or the incumbent — knows. No job posting, no database blast, direct outreach only, under NDA.
  • Fully off-market, NDA as standard
  • Off-site shortlist review
  • Sequenced to protect the transition
  • 12-month replacement guarantee
03
Leadership team build
Two or more senior leaders hired in parallel — a founding exec team, a rebuilt C-suite, or a function stood up from zero. One partner sequences the whole programme.
  • One partner across every seat
  • Calibrated against each other, not in isolation
  • Staggered starts to protect continuity
  • 12-month replacement guarantee
Which model fits

Picking the right approach
for the seat you're filling.

Capability
Single search
Leadership team build
Best for
One critical C-suite seat
Two or more leaders in parallel
Dedicated partner + researcher
Fully off-market outreach
Confidential / no job posting
Sequenced multi-role plan
Weekly written briefings
12-month replacement guarantee
Fee structure
1/3 staged retainer
Scoped to the mandate
What we actually do

Five steps from mandate
to a signed executive.

From confidential mandate to a signed executive in six to ten weeks — every stage owned by one partner.

01
Wk 1

Reach Out

A confidential intake call defines the mandate, the org context and the off-limits list — we reach out to you within the hour.

You getSigned-off mandate
02
Wk 1–3

Connect

Your partner connects directly with every credible leader in the space — under NDA where required, off-market from day one.

You getFull market map
03
Wk 3–5

Review Candidates

You review a calibrated shortlist with full assessment notes, case discussions and references — never a raw stack of resumes.

You getCalibrated shortlist
04
Wk 5–7

Interview & Offer

We run the interview loop end to end and manage offer strategy, compensation negotiation and counter-offer defence.

You getExecutive shortlist
05
Wk 7+

Hire & Onboard

Onboarding and a documented transition plan — backed by a 12-month replacement guarantee if it doesn't work out.

You getA placed executive
Five stages. One partner runs all of them.
What we put in writing

Four numbers we'll stand behind
on the first call.

6–10wk
Typical search length
Confidential mandate to a signed executive offer.
96%
Offer-acceptance rate
Executive searches, last 12 months.
12mo
Replacement guarantee
If a placed executive leaves inside 12 months we restart at no charge.
120+
Executive placements
VP to CEO, made across four markets — each owned end to end by one named partner.
Industries

Executive search across
every sector we serve.

Every retained mandate is run by a partner who has recruited senior leaders in that sector for at least seven years — they know the boardrooms, the succession gaps and the leaders who aren't looking.

Explore all industries
Customer story

Executive searches,
in their own words.

Plain English from board members, CEOs and CHROs who ran a confidential leadership search through Rivago in the last eighteen months. No pseudonyms. No doctored quotes.

Canada · Finance

We needed to replace our CFO ahead of an earnings cycle without a single leak. Rivago ran it fully off-market — no posting, no database blast. The market found out on the day we announced it.

RP
Ryan P.
Board Member · TSX-listed fintech
US · Legal

We had no in-house legal function heading into a Series C. Rivago placed our General Counsel first, then let her build the rest of the team — that sequencing made all the difference.

PR
Priya R.
Chief Executive · US Series-C scale-up
US · Operations

We needed a turnaround operator immediately, not in two months. Rivago placed an interim COO from their bench in eleven days — margin was up 22% within two quarters.

SM
Samira M.
Board Chair · PE-owned business
Hire Talent

Tell us the mandate.
We'll do the rest.

Four minutes, held in confidence. A senior partner reads every mandate within the hour and books a confidential scoping call before any outreach begins.

NDA as standard. Every mandate handled in confidence from the first call.
One named partner — from brief to placement. No junior handoffs, no relay through account managers.
Weekly written briefings. A short, honest status update — no surprises at week six.
12-month replacement guarantee. No questions, no additional fee. We restart the search.
Brief intake · ~ 4 minutes
A partner will be in touch within one business hour during business hours. By submitting you agree to our terms.
FAQ

Executive search, the questions that matter.

Typically three instalments: on engagement, on shortlist delivery, and on completion. If we do not deliver a shortlist meeting the agreed specification, the second instalment is not invoiced. Retained fees fund exhaustive market coverage and dedicated partner time — they are not a deposit against a placement.
The partner who scoped the mandate runs it end to end, supported by a named researcher you also meet. You are not handed to a delivery team after signature. That is the single most common failure mode in executive search, and we structure against it deliberately.
We approach the market under NDA, shield your identity until an agreed stage, and brief candidates strictly on a need-to-know basis. For replacement searches where the incumbent is unaware, all contact routes through a channel you nominate and nothing is documented in shared systems.
We will not approach anyone we have placed with you, and we will not source from your organisation for the duration of the engagement plus an agreed period afterwards. Off-limits scope is written into the agreement so there is no ambiguity later.
Four to six candidates with written assessments against the agreed scorecard, documented track-record evidence, compensation expectations, motivation analysis and referencing status. Not a CV pack — an assessment you can take to a board.
Twelve months. If the appointed executive leaves within a year, we run a replacement search with no additional professional fee. We also run structured check-ins at 30, 90 and 180 days, because most executive failures are visible well before month twelve.

Tell us who you need.
We'll keep it confidential.

A 30-minute scoping call with a partner — not a portal — and a written search plan in your inbox within one business day.

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