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Insights

Field notes from the A&D talent market.

Written when we have something worth saying, from live searches, not a content calendar.

Insights · August 2026

Why cleared searches fail at the offer stage.

Clearance timelines, comp mismatches, and counteroffer dynamics kill cleared searches late. The failure is predictable, and preventable, if it is handled at intake instead of at offer.

Cleared talent

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Insights · July 2026

One sector, four boardrooms.

The same title is four different jobs depending on who owns the company. What separates a great PE-backed hire from a great public-company hire, and why the move between them is where searches go wrong.

Capital structure

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Insights · June 2026

When the program is slipping.

In a program-driven business, an open leadership seat is not a productivity gap. It is program risk. Why volume does not close a leadership hire, and precision does.

Program risk

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