CEO recruitment · CEO headhunter · Chief executive search

CEO recruitment: how to hire a CEO

CEO recruitment is led by the board: it agrees what the next chief executive must deliver, chooses between a permanent, interim or fractional appointment, then searches, assesses and checks candidates against that brief. To hire a CEO well, write the mandate before the job description, and test candidates on evidence from businesses like yours.

We recruit permanent, interim, fractional, part-time and temporary executives, and non-executive directors. On every brief we send a shortlist of 3–5, each with pay or day rate, availability and IR35 position set out, after five-stage vetting.

Brief us on a CEO hire →See the roles

How a brief runswhat we undertake

01Brief30-MINUTE SCOPING CALLDay 0
02Shortlist of 3–5VETTED · RATE BENCHMARK · IR35After the brief
03InterviewsYOU MEET THE SHORTLISTYour diary
04Scoped startFIRST-MONTH OUTCOMES AGREEDYou set the date
05Fractional, interim and permanentIR35 POSITION SET OUTOn every brief

Shortlist3–5

In the press

Fast Company 16 leaders on when fractional C-suite hires make sense · 24 Jun 2026
Before a board commits to a permanent chief executive search, it helps to hear both sides. Leaders here set out when a fractional hire suits a defined mandate and when the seat needs someone in it every day.

3–5

Shortlist · with pay or day rate, availability and IR35 set out

Vetting · stages before a candidate reaches you

£120k–£250k

CEO base, SME (£5m–£50m revenue) · base salary band

Exec Capital, 2026

15 minutes · video or phone

Book 15 minutes to hire a CEO

Tell us the scope and the days a week. We come back with CEO candidates, their day rates and availability.

0115 minutes, video or phone
02We scope the role and the days a week
03A shortlist of 3–5 after the call
04Fractional, interim and permanent briefs

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On the board · last 3 months

CEO roles jobs on the board

1 on the board · 0 confirmed open

InterimSyndicated
Interim Chief Executive Officer (Women's Health Charity)
Verity (PMOS UK) · United Kingdom
Rate not stated3 d/wk

Browse every role on the board →

Live chief executive and C-suite roles

Fractional recruitment works differently from a permanent search — shorter, scoped by days a week, and priced on the engagement. Send a CEO brief and we come back with a shortlist of three to five vetted candidates.

01/ the role

Who hires the chief executive, and when

The CEO answers to the board for the whole company: strategy, results, the senior team and the culture. That is why the board, not the outgoing chief executive, owns the appointment. The usual triggers are a planned succession, a sudden departure, a change of ownership or investor, a turnaround, or a founder stepping back from running the business day to day.

Who runs the search

In a company listed in the commercial companies category, the UK Corporate Governance Code asks for a formal, rigorous and transparent procedure for board appointments and an effective succession plan for the board and senior management (Principle J), with a nomination committee, mostly independent non-executive directors, leading the process (Provision 17). The Code does not apply to private companies, but the same discipline helps: a small panel of the chair and one or two non-executives, a written brief, and one person who owns the timetable.

Duties that come with the seat

Most chief executives also sit on the board, and the seven general duties of a company director under the Companies Act 2006 come with that seat; GOV.UK notes they apply even to someone who acts as a director without being formally appointed. In an FCA-regulated firm the chief executive holds a senior management function, and senior managers need FCA or PRA approval before they start, so build the approval into the timetable.

02/ scope

How to hire a CEO

1. Write the mandate before the job description

Set out what the next chief executive must deliver in the first two to three years (growth, a sale, a turnaround, a new market), what they inherit, who they report to and how the chair and CEO will divide the work. Then turn it into a CEO job description. A charity board hiring a chief executive has its own process; see charity CEO recruitment.

2. Choose the route: permanent, interim or fractional

A permanent appointment suits a business that needs an owner of the strategy for years. An interim CEO covers a vacancy, a crisis or a transaction full-time for a fixed term: hire an interim CEO. A fractional CEO gives senior leadership for agreed days a week: hire a fractional CEO. The comparison below sets out the trade-offs.

3. Assess against the mandate

The CIPD’s guidance on selection favours structured interviews: the same questions, in the same order, scored against criteria agreed in advance, by a panel rather than one interviewer. For a chief executive, add a case built from your own business and a presentation to the board. Our CEO interview questions set out what to ask and what a strong answer shows. Board standing is one signal among several: the IoD’s Chartered Director programme ends in an interview and an assessment of business experience.

4. Run the checks before the offer

For an employee, you must check their right to work before they start. Search past directorships and disqualified directors on the Companies House register, and take references from a chair and an investor who worked with the candidate. In a regulated firm, the FCA expects regulatory references going back six years and a criminal records check before a senior manager application.

What we do on a CEO brief

We send a shortlist of 3–5 candidates, each with pay or day rate, availability and IR35 position set out. Every candidate goes through our five-stage vetting first.

03/ comparison

Permanent, interim or fractional CEO?

Three ways to fill the chief executive seat. Choose by how long the need lasts and how many days it takes.

Permanent CEOInterim CEOFractional CEO

TimeFull-time, open-endedFull-time, for a fixed termAgreed days a week, for as long as needed

SuitsA business that needs one owner of the strategy for yearsA vacancy, a crisis, a turnaround or a transactionA growing business that needs senior leadership, not five days of it

Usually engagedAs an employee, often a statutory directorOn a contract, often through their own companyOn a contract, often through their own company

Watch forNotice periods and regulator approval in the timetableA clear exit: the hand-over to a permanent CEOWho decides on the days they are not there

04/ vetting

How we vet CEOs

What we undertake on every brief, before a candidate reaches you.

01
Qualification screen
Verify CEO tenure, sector context and stage fit.
SOURCING
02
Mandate fit
Match to your situation — stage, board dynamics, timing.
MATCHING
03
Reference deep-dive
We take references ourselves, from recent past clients — real outcomes, not titles.
VERIFY
04
Shortlist
Three to five candidates with day rate, availability and IR35 position set out.
SHORTLIST OF 3–5

05/ ceo headhunter

CEO headhunter: what one does, and what to agree first

A CEO headhunter maps the market for chief executives, approaches people who are not looking, assesses them against the board’s brief and brings back a shortlist. The same law covers them as any recruitment agency: GOV.UK’s guidance on the Conduct Regulations says the Employment Agencies Act applies to executive search consultants, that agencies may not charge workers for finding them work, and that the Act does not regulate what agencies charge the hirer.

So agree the terms in writing before the search starts: what you pay and when, who runs the search day to day, how candidates are assessed, which references the firm takes itself, and what happens if the appointment does not work out. Ask which companies the firm will not approach candidates from, so you know how much of the market the search can reach. What we undertake: a shortlist of 3–5, each with pay or day rate, availability and IR35 position set out, and five-stage vetting.

06/ what a CEO costs

What a chief executive costs: pay by company size

Pay follows company size more than anything else. Exec Capital’s 2026 CEO salary guide gives base salary bands of £70k–£130k at an early-stage startup (pre-Series A), £120k–£250k at an SME (£5m–£50m revenue) and £200k–£400k in the mid-market (£50m–£250m revenue). These are base salaries; bonus, pension and equity are agreed on top. Exec Capital is a search firm, and these are its published figures. For more, see CEO salary.

An interim or fractional chief executive is paid a day rate or a monthly fee instead, often through their own company. Then the off-payroll working rules (IR35) may apply: status depends on how the engagement runs, and a medium or large client makes the determination; for a small client outside the public sector, the worker’s own company decides. Our IR35 guide sets out the tests. On every brief we set out each candidate’s pay or day rate on the shortlist.

07/ questions

CEO recruitment FAQ

The questions people ask before bringing in a CEO.

The board writes the mandate first: what the next chief executive must deliver and how the chair and CEO divide the work. Then choose permanent, interim or fractional, assess candidates with a structured panel interview and a case from your own business, take references from a chair and an investor, and check right to work and past directorships. In a regulated firm, allow for FCA or PRA approval. For part of the week, hire a fractional CEO instead.

Exec Capital’s 2026 CEO salary guide gives base salary bands of £70k–£130k at an early-stage startup, £120k–£250k at an SME (£5m–£50m revenue) and £200k–£400k in the mid-market (£50m–£250m revenue), before bonus, pension and equity. On every brief we set out each candidate’s pay or day rate on the shortlist, so the board can compare like with like.

A CEO headhunter maps the market, approaches chief executives who are not looking, assesses them against the board’s brief and brings back a shortlist. Agencies may not charge candidates for finding them work (GOV.UK); agree in writing what you will pay, and what happens if the appointment does not work out, before the search starts.

The board, usually through the chair and a small panel of non-executive directors. In a listed company in the commercial companies category, the UK Corporate Governance Code gives the job to a nomination committee with a majority of independent non-executives. The outgoing chief executive can advise, but should not decide.

Permanent when the business needs one owner of the strategy for years. Interim when the seat is empty or a crisis or transaction needs a full-time leader for a fixed term. Fractional when you need senior leadership for agreed days a week. See interim CEO and fractional CEO for each route.

Right to work for an employee (GOV.UK); directorships and any disqualification on the Companies House register; references from people the candidate answered to, taken by the board itself; and, in an FCA-regulated firm, regulatory references going back six years and a criminal records check before the senior manager application.

Ask every candidate the same questions in the same order: how they would approach your first year, a decision they got wrong and what they changed, how they have worked with a chair and investors, and how they built a senior team. Add a case from your own business. See CEO interview questions.

Book 15 minutes · shortlist of 3–5

Bring the brief. We architect the team.

A shortlist of 3–5 with day rate, availability and IR35 position set out, after five-stage vetting.

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