Adresse
For firm leadership and talent teams
Executive search for consulting Partners, Principals and Directors
Strat-Bridge is a London-based retained executive search boutique that does one thing: we place Partners, Principals and Directors into strategy and management consulting firms in the UK, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, wider Europe and the US.
Our clients are MBB, tier-one strategy houses, Big Four strategy arms, and specialist and PE-backed consultancies. Every mandate is delivered personally by a partner of the firm, drawing on 25+ combined years in consulting and professional-services search.
12
weeks from signed brief to accepted offer
81 → 1
approached to one accepted offer on a recent mandate
20
hires in twelve months on our largest single practice build
25+
combined years in consulting and professional-services search
Who is this service for?
Firms that need a Partner who can sell, not just a Partner who can deliver. That usually means one of three situations: a practice with a gap at the top, a new office or country entry that needs an anchor, or a capability the firm has decided to build rather than buy.
We also run Principal and Director searches where the appointment is the next Partner in waiting. If the role is below Manager, or outside consulting, we are not the right firm, and we will say so on the first call. The full picture of what we cover sits on our expertise page: six functional and six industry practices, each with a live view of the market.
What does a Partner-level retained search involve, week by week?
The retained model is twelve weeks and four commitments. Calibrate, map and approach, tell you the truth, close. The table below shows how a typical mandate unfolds; a confidential search or a Senior Partner appointment may run longer, and we say so at the outset.
| Week | Commitment | What happens | What you receive |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Calibrate | Success profile agreed with the people who decide. Compensation benchmarked against the market. Off-limits and target lists confirmed. | Signed brief and search plan |
| 2–3 | Map | The market mapped in writing: every relevant Partner and Principal at every relevant firm, in the geographies agreed. | Written market map |
| 3–6 | Approach | Discreet approaches by a partner of Strat-Bridge. Structured assessment interviews, typically 60 to 90 minutes each. | Weekly progress report |
| 4 | Tell you the truth | The sentiment report: how your target pool actually sees your firm against the firms you hire from, anonymised and aggregated. | Sentiment report |
| 5–7 | Shortlist | Assessed candidates presented with written reports, portable-book evidence and compensation expectations. | Shortlist of three to six |
| 7–10 | Interview | Client interviews coordinated. Business-case preparation where the firm requires one. Referencing begins on finalists. | Interview feedback both ways |
| 10–12 | Close | Offer structured and negotiated. Counter-offer managed. Notice period and restrictive covenants worked through. | Accepted offer and start plan |
The numbers behind a recent mandate give a sense of scale. 81 approached, 54 conversations, 6 interviews, 3 finalists, 1 offer. Partner-level search is a funnel, and it only works if the approaches are made by someone the market takes a call from.
What does the client actually receive?
Four documents matter. The written market map, which is yours to keep whether or not you hire. The sentiment report in week four. The shortlist reports, each one a structured assessment rather than a CV with a covering note. And the weekly progress report, which tells you who has been approached, who has declined and why.
The sentiment report is the piece clients tend to remember. It records how the people you want to hire actually see your firm, your platform and your economics, reported as themes and honest even when it is uncomfortable. On practice builds it has changed the brief more than once.
How do portable books and off-limits work at Partner level?
A Partner’s value to a new firm rests on what follows them: clients, a team, a reputation in a sector. We test that in the assessment interview, not in the offer negotiation. Every shortlist report sets out what the candidate believes is portable, what the evidence supports, and what their current covenants are likely to restrict.
Off-limits are agreed in writing in week one. We do not approach the client’s own people, and we do not approach the people of firms where we hold a live retained mandate in the same practice. If that narrows the field materially, we tell you before you sign, not after.
Where a Partner brings a team, the search becomes a team move, which is a different exercise with its own sequencing and its own legal sensitivities. The economics of a move, including how a book converts into a package and how revenue credit is treated, are covered on our partner economics pages.
How is a Partner search priced?
Retained, quoted per mandate, and set out in the engagement letter before work begins. The fee is staged, typically on signature, shortlist and completion, and replacement terms are agreed in writing at the outset.
For orientation, the market norm for retained Partner search is a fee of 25 to 35 per cent of first-year target compensation. That is a description of the market, not a quotation from us. What we charge depends on the level, the geography and the difficulty of the field, and we would rather quote a real number for a real brief than publish a tariff.
Why does a consulting specialist beat a generalist headhunter at Partner level?
A generalist headhunter runs a Partner search the way they run a CFO search: a brief, a longlist, a shortlist. What that misses is that consulting Partners are hired for a book and a practice, not a job description, and the questions that matter are ones a generalist cannot ask well. How much of the revenue credit is genuinely theirs? Which clients follow and which stay with the firm? What does their current firm’s partnership agreement do to a move?
We have spent our careers in and around consulting. We know the difference between a Partner who originates and one who inherits, we know what each firm’s title actually means, and we know the people. That is why the map is on your desk in week two rather than week six.
The same knowledge works for candidates. If you are a Partner or Principal considering a move, our candidate pages explain how we work with you and what we will and will not share about you.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
How long does a Partner search take?
Eight to twelve weeks from signed brief to accepted offer, with an initial shortlist inside three to six weeks. Add notice periods of three to twelve months depending on the firm and the country, and a Partner hire is realistically a two-to-five-month project to offer and longer to start.
What does a retained Partner search cost?
Fees are quoted per mandate and set out in the engagement letter before we begin. The market norm for retained Partner search is 25 to 35 per cent of first-year target compensation, staged across the search. We will give you a specific number on the scoping call.
Do you work on a contingent basis?
No. Partner-level search does not work contingently, because the mapping and the sentiment work that make it succeed are exactly what a contingent recruiter cannot afford to do. Our exclusive project search model exists for defined Director and Manager appointments where the market is broader.
What is the difference between a headhunter and an executive search firm?
In everyday use the words are interchangeable, and we are happy with either. The distinction that matters is retained versus contingent: a retained firm is paid to run a defined process and deliver a map, a shortlist and a hire; a contingent recruiter is paid only on placement and behaves accordingly.
Can a Partner search be run confidentially?
Yes, and many are. The firm is not named in the approach until the candidate has been assessed and has agreed to proceed. Where the search replaces an incumbent, we agree in week one who inside the client knows.
What do you need from us?
Access to the people who decide, in week one and at shortlist. A clear position on compensation and title. An honest account of why the role exists. Everything else we bring.
What happens if the appointment does not work out?
Replacement and rebate terms are agreed in writing at engagement. They are a backstop. The real protection is a proper assessment, referencing that actually tests the book, and an offer that both sides understand before it is signed.
Which geographies do you cover?
The UK, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, wider Europe and the US, run from London, with Ben Appleton leading client engagement across DACH and David Stone managing our candidate network. Cross-border mandates, particularly DACH firms building in the UK and US firms entering Europe, are a large part of our work.
Where to start
Book a scoping call with Ben Appleton or David Stone. Thirty minutes, no obligation, and you will leave with a view on whether the search is winnable and what it would take. You can also reach us through the contact page.