Executive Search · Board Advisory · Est. 2007

The leaders who define what comes next for your company.

An international human-capital consulting firm. We help boards and owners appoint chairmen, CEOs and directors - with the rigour of a strategy consultancy and the discretion of a private bank.

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Discuss a brief Our capabilities
0Years of practice
0Countries of presence
0Searches completed
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Our capabilities

Five practices. One accountable partner.

From a confidential chairman search to a full generational succession - one team owns the outcome, not a hand-off chain.

01

Executive Search

Board and C-level appointments - from chairmen to independent directors. Full market mapping across 30 countries, independent assessment and a replacement guarantee.

02

Succession Planning

The departure of a key director should never be a crisis. Formal plans, internal pipeline assessment and a 3-5 year scenario map - before the need arises.

03

Leadership Development

Courses, programmes and executive coaching designed by directors, for directors. Accelerated onboarding cuts a new director's path to impact from 12 months to 3-4.

04

Outsourcing & Outstaffing

We act as the legal employer of your temporary staff - payroll, taxes, administration, training and testing - without growing your headcount.

05

Corporate Services

HR legal matters, internal and external reporting, tax consulting and risk minimisation across every jurisdiction where we operate.

ID

ID Compass™ Assessment

Our proprietary leadership assessment: cognitive complexity, values, team chemistry and proven results - verified through 360° referencing. Every shortlist is partner-reviewed.

Methodology

How a mandate works

A disciplined five-stage process. Timelines are contractual, analytics are transparent, and the same senior partner stays with you throughout.

01

Brief & context

We immerse in your strategy, culture and board dynamics - and lock the role profile against the 2030 strategy, not a copy of the incumbent.

02

Market mapping

Full mapping across 30 countries: who exists, who is reachable, who fits. Typically 150-200 profiles in the funnel.

03

Assessment

In-depth interviews, 360° references and ID Compass™ evaluation of competencies, values and leadership style.

04

Shortlist & decision

3-5 finalists with transparent analytics. We support negotiations and the offer - and stay through closing.

05

Onboarding & guarantee

Accelerated first-100-days integration and a 12-month replacement guarantee, fixed in the mandate agreement.

Industries

Sector practices built for 2026 - and the decade after

Deep domain expertise in six sectors where leadership mistakes cost the most.

+Click a sector to open details

Proprietary research

ID Board Pulse™ 2026

Our annual study of 400+ boards across Europe, the Middle East and Asia. The 2026 edition: AI oversight is now the №1 capability gap - and the boards closing it outperform peers on total shareholder return.

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Boards with a formal AI oversight agenda61%
Companies with a CEO succession plan in place58%
Boards that assess culture as formally as finances34%
Directors confident in their cyber oversight27%

Source: ID Board Pulse 2026, ID Universe.

Market in numbers

What a hiring mistake costs

Three metrics every board should know.

30-50%of executive hires fail within 18 months
$21bnfailure rate with a professional search partner
30-33%global executive search market today, forecast to expand steadily through 2034
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ID Board Pulse - the governance digest

One email a month. What changed in boards, succession and AI oversight - and what it means for your next appointment.

  • Board and CEO moves across Europe, the Middle East and Asia
  • One framework per issue - applied, not abstract
  • Early access to ID Board Pulse™ research editions
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Who we serve

One firm. Two doors.

Boards hire the future of their companies. Executives hire the future of their careers. Both enter here.

For boards & owners

You are appointing leadership

A chairman, CEO or independent director is a decision that compounds for a decade. We run the process so you can run the decision.

  • Mandates led personally by a senior partner - never delegated
  • Market mapping across 30 countries before the first call
  • ID Compass™ assessment, 360° references, culture-fit proof
  • Off-limits policy: we never recruit from active clients
Brief us confidentially
For executives & candidates

You are choosing your next board

The right mandate accelerates a career; the wrong one stalls it. We match leaders to boards where they will actually succeed.

  • Access to unpublished board and C-level mandates
  • Honest feedback on fit, culture and governance quality
  • Preparation for board interviews and first-100-days plans
  • Your data never leaves NDA-grade confidentiality
Join the talent universe
Interactive · 60 seconds

How board-ready is your company?

Insights & topics

Ideas that move boards forward

Practitioner research and checklists - written for chairs, nominating committees and owners.

Mandates in focus

Three searches. Three outcomes.

Anonymised, as every mandate in our profession. The numbers are real; the names stay protected.

Recent mandates - anonymised

Updated quarterly
Chairman

Chairman for a listed industrial group - mandate completed in six weeks with four appointable finalists.

Zürich · 2026
CEO

CEO for a PE-backed logistics platform - profile locked with the deal team, hire closed in 38 days.

London · 2026
NED ×2

Two independent directors with AI-risk and audit-committee depth for a financial services board.

Moscow · 2025
Succession

Three-year CEO succession plan for a family holding - board-approved, zero days of pause at handover.

Geneva · 2025
CRO

Chief Risk Officer for a commodities trader - sanctions-compliance expertise, closed across three jurisdictions.

Geneva · 2025
Family council

First independent directors and family-council governance for a third-generation family business.

Dubai · 2025
COO

Chief Operating Officer for an energy-transition manufacturer - decarbonisation track record required.

Vienna · 2024
Fund CFO

Fund CFO for a private-capital firm - LP reporting and exit-readiness built into the profile.

Zürich · 2024
CHRO

Chief Human Resources Officer (CHRO) for a consumer group – post-merger culture integration mandate.

London · 2024
Audit chair

Audit-committee chair for a bank - regulatory remediation experience required.

Moscow · 2024
NextGen

NextGen engagement director for a family office - governance education for the fourth generation.

Dubai · 2024
After the appointment

The mandate ends. The partnership does not.

A placement is the start of value, not the end of a search. We stay in the boardroom through the first year - because our guarantee does.

Book an annual board review

Every review is included in the mandate - and the annual board review is where most of our next mandates begin.

Voices

What our clients say

Three voices from recent mandates - anonymised, as our profession demands.

12of our new mandates come from boards we already serve
4average number of mandates per client relationship
1×average length of a client partnership
Partners

The partners you will actually work with

The senior partner who wins your confidence leads the mandate personally - through onboarding and beyond.

TS portraitThommy StahlinPartner · Switzerland & Liechtenstein

Chairman and CEO searches across DACH; family-business governance.

KT portraitKelvin TrottPartner · United Kingdom

Board appointments for listed and PE-backed companies; financial services.

Irina GladuniakPartner · United Kingdom

Leadership assessment and development; accelerated onboarding programmes.

TK portraitTatyana KapralPartner · Eastern Europe & CIS

Cross-border mandates, succession and family-office advisory.

Geography

Four offices. Thirty countries of practice.

Zürich · London · Moscow - with active mandates across the Middle East, including the UAE, and Asia-Pacific.

HeadquartersZürich

Beethovenstrasse 11, 8002 Zürich
+41 (44) 997 21 14

EMEALondon

33 St James's Square, SW1Y 4JS
+44 (0) 20 7748 6607

Eastern Europe & CISMoscow

34 Shelepikhinskaya Emb., bld. 1
+7 (495) 727 58 94

Middle East practiceDubai · Abu Dhabi

Mandates across the GCC: family offices, sovereign-adjacent entities, trading houses. Arabic-speaking consultants on request.

Careers

Become part of the universe

We are always open to researchers, consultants and engagement managers who share our quality standards.

By clicking “Send your CV” you accept the Personal Data Processing Consent and the Public Offer.
Questions boards ask

Before the first call

Contact

Let's start with a conversation

The first consultation is confidential and without obligation. A conversation takes 30 minutes - and commits you to nothing.

  • Zürich+41 (44) 997 21 14
  • London+44 (0) 20 7748 6607
  • Moscow+7 (495) 727 58 94
  • Emailid-universe@id-universe.com
  • GuaranteeNDA from the first call · contractual timelines · 12-month replacement
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