Lila de la Chesnaye

Lila de la Chesnaye is a Partner at Key Search who helps ambitious companies scale through the right leadership, drawing on firsthand experience operating through hypergrowth, acquisitions, and IPO journeys.

Before executive search, she spent her career as an operator and commercial leader across global consumer brands, venture-backed startups, marketplaces, and technology platforms.

• •Scaling Through Inflection Points: Identifying the leadership companies need through rapid growth, new markets, acquisitions, and transformation.
• •Commercial & GTM Leadership: Drawing on operating experience across sales, partnerships, marketing, growth, and general management to identify leaders who turn strategy into execution.
• •Consumer & Omnichannel Growth: Helping consumer and digital businesses find leaders who understand brand, e-commerce, marketplaces, retail, and technology.
• •An Operator's Lens: Understanding the business model, growth strategy, and organizational challenge behind the hire before defining the leadership profile.

Lila brings two decades of operating and commercial leadership experience across companies including Chewy, Instacart, L'Oréal, Nearpod, Groupon, Hunt Club, and Invisible. At Instacart, she launched and built the Miami market; at Chewy, she managed a $550M business; and at Nearpod, she led strategic partnerships with Google, Apple, Microsoft, and Pearson that contributed approximately $30M in ARR.

A graduate of Stanford University and The Wharton School, Lila brings a relationship-first, data-driven approach to executive search, grounded in understanding the business, creating value, and building trust.

Lila is a natural connector who loves bringing people, ideas, and opportunities together. Active in executive, alumni, and technology communities, she believes strongly in purpose beyond profit and creating value before asking for anything in return.

Based in Miami, with roots in Mexico City and New York, Lila loves travel, staying active, supporting causes close to her heart, and discovering great food and experiences.