Insights &Articles

Why the best CPO or CTO for your AI company might not be an AI native

Some observations from conversations with founders and C-suite leaders — and a few questions that keep resurfacing.

AI Threats, Investment, and the Missing Link: Building Resilient AI Cyber Leadership Teams in Europe

Bridging the Atlantic: Why European Tech Founders Need to Stop Selling the 'Here and Now' and Start Selling the Future

For European founders expanding to the US, the biggest challenge isn't product or technology — it's narrative. The US market doesn't buy the here and now. It buys the art of the possible.

Before You Post the Job: Strategic Decisions for Your First Cross-Atlantic Hire

Most European founders make critical strategic mistakes before their first US executive search even opens. Here’s what to decide before you post the job.

Cross-Atlantic Hires and Why Most International Expansions Fail

Most international expansions fail not because of a lack of product-market fit, but because of leadership-market fit. Learn how to find a true Market Founder - not just a regional VP - for your cross-Atlantic expansion.

Decision Paralysis in ClimateTech: Navigating Uncertainty in the Energy Transition

ClimateTech companies are sitting on some of the most urgent mandates in business history - and many of them are frozen. Not by a lack of ambition, but by the same hiring indecision that has quietly cost more organisations than any hiring mistake ever did. Here is how the best climate-forward leaders are cutting through it.

Strategic Agility in TravelTech: Navigating Volatility and Disruption

Few industries have faced the kind of existential turbulence that TravelTech has over the last five years. From pandemic shutdowns to the revenge-travel boom, to AI disruption and sustainability pressure, the ability to anticipate change and pivot has never mattered more for travel and hospitality leaders.

AI Leadership: Mission-Critical Transformation

How Groupon partnered with Key Search to secure 10 AI-first, digitally fluent executives in just 8 months - fuelling a bold 10x transformation strategy.

The Pink Elephant in the Room

Most leadership failures follow the same pattern: honest feedback stops reaching the top. The research on power, candour, and executive mentoring - and what to do about it.

The EMEA Expansion Playbook

The opportunity in the Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) region is staggering. With a combined GDP exceeding $20 trillion and a digitally-native population, it represents the most significant growth lever available to any US-based technology scale-up. Yet, the shores of the Atlantic are littered with the wreckage of ventures that faltered. Most expansions […]

Why Cultural Fit is More Important Than Ever in Executive Search

Technical skills and track records matter - but cultural alignment is increasingly the deciding factor in senior hiring success.

How Senior Executives Actually Find Mentors

The standard "find someone a few levels above you" advice breaks down once you've run out of rungs Structured arrangements consistently outperform informal ones, for multiple reasons There are three distinct types of mentoring relationship worth building, and most executives have none of them The best time to start is before you need it The […]

CTO Search: What Boards Get Wrong in Enterprise Software

Appointing the wrong CTO is one of the most expensive mistakes a growth company can make. Here is what we see boards get wrong, and how to avoid it.

What 50+ CEO conversations taught me about 2026

I've spent the better part of the last year and the first quarter of the year in back-to-back conversations with founders and chief executives across industries. Some were clients. Some were candidates. Some were neither - just leaders I respect who agreed to think out loud with me for an hour over coffee that […]

Building a Talent Strategy for Private Equity Portfolio Companies

The first 100 days of a PE investment are critical. Here is how the best sponsors approach talent strategy from day one.