Executive Search Firm in Boston
We fill the few roles that decide a company's next decade — quietly, thoroughly, and with a shortlist you will genuinely want to meet.
Twenty-Seven Years, One Kind Of Search
Penhallow does retained executive search and nothing else. We don't run contingency roles, we don't keep a job board, and we cap ourselves at twelve active searches so that every client has a partner's attention for the whole assignment.
Most of our work comes from boards and chief executives we have worked with before — in life sciences, technology, financial services and healthcare across New England.
- Retainedsearches only, never contingency
- Partner-ledfrom the brief to the offer
- Cappedat twelve active searches
- Off-limitsto our own clients
Our Practice
Five kinds of search, each led by a partner who has run it many times before.
Six Sectors, A Deep Network In Each
Life Sciences & Biotech
Clinical-stage and commercial companies from Kendall Square to Route 128.
Technology & Software
Growth-stage and public software companies scaling past their first leadership team.
Financial Services
Asset managers, insurers and fintechs across the Financial District and beyond.
Healthcare Systems
Hospital systems, physician groups and health services companies.
Higher Education
Presidents, provosts and chief financial officers for colleges and universities.
Advanced Manufacturing
Industrial and defense manufacturers modernizing their leadership bench.
Fourteen Weeks, Four Stages
The Brief
Weeks one and two. We write the position specification with your board or chief executive and benchmark compensation before anyone is approached.
The Market Map
Weeks three to six. Every plausible candidate is identified and approached discreetly — including the ones who aren't looking.
Assessment
Weeks seven to ten. Structured interviews, on- and off-list referencing, and a written assessment of each finalist.
Appointment
Weeks eleven to fourteen. Final interviews, offer negotiation and resignation support, then check-ins through the first year.
What A Retained Firm Should Owe You
A Partner, Not A Handoff
The partner who takes your brief runs the search, attends the interviews and negotiates the offer.
The Whole Market
A map of everyone who could do the job, not a search of whoever is currently looking.
Candor On Compensation
If the package won't attract the people you want, you'll hear it in week one, not week ten.
A Twelve-Month Guarantee
If an appointed executive leaves within a year, we run the search again without a further fee.
What Boards And Executives Say
We asked Penhallow for a chief executive who could take us from clinical stage to commercial. They mapped the entire market, told us plainly who would and wouldn't move, and brought us a shortlist of four. We appointed the second name on it.
The most useful thing they did was tell us our compensation range was wrong before the search began, not after it had failed.
I hadn't planned to move. They took the time to understand what I would actually leave for, and the role they brought me was exactly that.
Three board seats filled in eighteen months, each with a director who changed the conversation in the room.
Considering Your Next Chapter?
Most of the roles we fill are never advertised. If you lead a company, a function or a board and would consider the right move, a confidential conversation with a partner costs you nothing and commits you to nothing.
- ✓Confidential from the first call
- ✓Roles that are rarely advertised
- ✓Candid advice on offers and compensation
- ✓No fee to executives, ever
Share Your Profile In Confidence
A partner reads every submission. We'll be in touch when a search fits — and not before.
Planning A Leadership Change?
Start with a confidential conversation. We'll tell you what the market looks like before you commit to a search.
Questions Boards Ask Us
How is a retained search priced?
Our fee is one-third of the appointed executive's first-year guaranteed cash compensation, invoiced in three installments over the course of the search. We confirm it in a written engagement letter before any work begins.
How long does a search take?
Fourteen weeks on average from the brief to an accepted offer. Board searches are often quicker; chief executive successions can take longer when a board wants to meet a wider field.
Do you work on contingency?
No. Retained search is the only work we do, which is why we can promise a complete map of the market rather than whoever happens to be available.
How do you protect confidentiality?
Searches are run under a code name, candidates are approached individually by a partner, and nothing is shared with a candidate until your board has approved it.
What does your off-limits policy mean?
We won't approach anyone at a company that is, or recently was, our client. It narrows our reach, and it's the reason clients trust us with their own leadership teams.
Do executives pay anything?
Never. Our clients are the organizations we recruit for. Executives who talk to us pay nothing at any stage.
Discuss A Search
Tell us about the role and the moment your organization is in. A partner will reply within one business day.