Marketing Consultant
Why use executive search consultants in London?
When hiring for high-impact leadership roles, partnering with expert executive search consultants is crucial. Whether you’re seeking a new CEO, Chief Marketing Officer, or Chief Product Officer, the right executive recruitment agency in London can connect you with candidates that deliver results from day one.
In this guide, we highlight the top executive search companies in London and explain how working with an executive recruiter in London can give your business a competitive edge across Product Management, Marketing, eCommerce and Digital and many others sectors.
As one of the leading specialist executive search firms in London, we are often asked about the benefits of engaging an executive search specialist.
Read this blog to discover our recommendations for the most experienced Executive Search firms in London, each with their own specialist recruitment areas.
The 5 best executive recruiters in London
1. Our first recommendation is obviously ourselves, Intelligent People. Why do we think of ourselves so highly? It’s because:
- We have a 100% Executive Search placement record
- We have 20+ years recruitment experience
- 81% of happy employers return to us within 1 year
- We have 4.9 stars from Google reviews
Expertise: Product management, marketing & eCommerce
We are an International executive search consultancy firm with 20 years of specialist domain knowledge.
We already have the candidate network that other firms have to discover with each search, meaning we can deliver executive searches much more quickly than our competitors, often delivering shortlists within just 5-6 weeks of the receiving the brief.
Intelligent People’s Executive Search team follows a detailed and thorough methodology, to ensure that every possible candidate is considered in the research phase. We use a proactive and multi-channel approach, where we identify and target both your competitors and comparable sectors that may house the experience you need.
Contact our London based Executive Search team.
The other 4 recommended executive search companies in London are:
Expertise: HR
Stone Executive know that HR is about much more than simply recruiting and managing personnel. It’s about leveraging talent, implementing behavioural change, and helping to define and deliver the corporate vision. That’s why today’s successful HR leaders are very different to their counterparts of 20 years ago.
The latest generation of senior HR executives are more collaborative, more innovative, and more able to embrace, influence and manage ongoing change. And identifying senior executives with this diverse and hugely valuable skill set requires the services of a specialist.
3. Marks Sattin
Expertise: Professional services
All searches are bespoke and tailored to the wants and needs of their clients; thorough, discreet and flexible. Their pioneering approach that fuses classic head-hunting techniques with modern technology has enabled us to lead the market for 30 years.
All of their searches offer a robust 12-week process with curated, dynamic market mapping. Their service is based on an end-to-end feedback cycle, which includes constructive feedback to both candidates and clients at all stages.
Expertise: Financial services
Carbon work intimately with clients to bring them the best leadership talent and keep ahead of the ever-evolving financial services landscape. 85% of their work is repeat business, serving large global financial firms, specialist firms and innovators.
Their extensive, diverse, and actively engaged network of international financial services leaders sets them apart. They build forensic talent maps and clear pictures of the best candidates in the market; not just who they are, but how they operate and how they would fit in their clients’ cultures.
Expertise: Legal
Jones Davey provide a specialist, legal executive recruitment service for their clients. Their bespoke service is centred around in-depth research and analysis to ensure that candidate and clients are closely matched based on their requirements.
Their clients range from leading regional organisations and boutique law firms to leading international legal practices based in the UK, US and Asia. They have developed intimate relationships and contacts, with key decision makers coupled with the resources to match client and candidate to an exacting degree.
Jones Davey is a name you can trust. They have been trading for over 11 years within the legal search marketplace, consistently achieving a success rate above 90%, giving them the confidence to offer their client a 100% refund on our services.
Discover more about how to choose an executive search firm here.
Looking for bespoke Executive Search advice?
Our management team
We understand how critical key C-level recruitment projects are for our customers. Therefore, all of our Executive Search assignments in London are led or overseen by one of our management team, with support from our experienced search consultants and researchers, who will often have an industry specialism.
As an Executive Search recruitment agency, we specialise in retained search for C-level positions including CEO’s, CMO’s, CPO’s and more. We are proud of our 100% Executive Search success record, ensuring our clients receive the best leadership talent for their needs
Executive search London: frequently asked questions
Who are the top 5 headhunters?
While “best” can be subjective, based on experience, client results and reputation, the top executive headhunters in London include:
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Stone Executive
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Marks Sattin
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Carbon Search
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Jones & Davey
Each brings deep expertise in their respective industries.
Who is top-tier executive search?
“Top-tier” refers to executive search companies that consistently place C-level candidates at high-growth and FTSE 250 companies. These firms, like Intelligent People, often have:
- Retained search models
- High success rates
- Industry-specific knowledge
- Strong relationships with passive talent pools
They will often have a robust recruitment process. Check out our recruitment process.
What is another name for an executive search firm?
Executive search firms are also known as:
- Headhunters
- Retained search firms
- C-level recruitment agencies
- Leadership search consultants
All refer to agencies focused on hiring senior leadership roles.
Is executive search the same as recruitment?
No, while both involve talent acquisition, executive search is a highly targeted and strategic form of recruitment. It usually involves:
- Retained contracts
- Confidentiality
- Proactive talent sourcing
- Strategic leadership assessments
How much does an executive recruitment agency charge?
Executive search companies in London typically charge 25%-35% of the candidate’s first-year total compensation. Additional services such as psychometric testing or market mapping may incur extra fees.
Helpful resources and downloads
How to hire a CPO in 2025
Knowing the right time to hire at this level tricky. Read this guide to discover more about the job role, the optimum time to hire depending on your business strategy and growth plans, and the resources you may need in the lead up to starting the hiring process:
- Onboarding an executive search firm
- Job description
- Interview questions
- Assessment ideas for selection
Download the guide
Salary guides
As specialist executive search consultants for roles in London, we have placed many candidates at senior level. We have created a number of salary guides based on our knowledge and experience:
Product management salary guide
Digital marketing salary guide
Head of marketing salary guide
Product design and UX salary guide
