Retained Executive Search

Retained search for aerospace and defense.

Manager through C-suite. PE-backed, public, privately held, and government contracting. Retained is our default model because high-consequence searches deserve dedicated, prioritized effort.

Scope a Search

The EXO Retained Process: five named stages

Every retained aerospace and defense executive search follows the same discipline: a real intake with the hiring manager and stakeholders, a mapped target market of the companies and operators who actually do this work, direct outreach to passive candidates who are not on job boards, calibrated shortlists, and offer construction handled upstream so nothing surprises anyone at the finish.

What we place

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.

Scope your search with a specialist.

A twenty-minute call is enough to tell you whether we are the right firm.

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