Retained search for aerospace and defense.

The EXO Retained Process: five named stages

Every retained aerospace and defense executive search runs the same five-stage discipline. You see the stage, the status, and what happens next, every week.

1. Calibration. A real intake with the hiring manager and stakeholders: the seat, the politics, the comp envelope, and the failure modes.
2. Market Map. The companies and operators who actually do this work, mapped before any outreach begins.
3. Direct Outreach. Passive candidates approached directly. Not job boards, not databases.
4. Two-Stage Screen. Capability first, then calibration against the client, so every submittal is worth a meeting.
5. Aligned Offer. Compensation, relocation, and counteroffer risk handled upstream, so the finish is a formality.

What we place

• Presidents, General Managers, and Business Unit Directors
• VP and Director of Operations, Supply Chain, Quality, and Engineering
• Program Management leadership, from Director of Programs to MPM organizations
• BD and capture leadership for government contracting
• Finance leadership for PE-backed and closely held manufacturers

Why retained

Contingent recruiting optimizes for speed across many clients. Retained search optimizes for the outcome of one. When a seat controls a program, a P&L, or an integration, the cost of a wrong hire dwarfs the fee difference. Our fees are structured in thirds, engagement, shortlist, and placement, so incentives stay aligned the whole way.

The A&D difference

Clearances, ITAR, DFARS, CMMC, EVMS, and the realities of defense manufacturing are not footnotes. They are the search. A recruiter who cannot benchmark compensation for a cleared program director, or who does not know which primes are shedding talent after a program loss, cannot run these searches. We can, because this is the only sector we work.