Building C-Suites That Drive Extraordinary Growth
As a retained executive search firm with reach across U.S., LATAM, EMEA, and Asia markets, Willard Powell delivers the senior leaders who drive organizational transformation.
Our Partners work with Fortune 100 multinationals, mid-market champions, and high-growth ventures to secure C-suite executives and build leadership teams that catalyze growth. Through rigorous research and proprietary search methodology, we identify and engage exceptional leaders other firms miss.
We earn our partnerships through unwavering commitment to transparency, profound market knowledge, and consistent delivery of game-changing talent. This is why over 90% of our business comes from long-term clients who trust us with their most strategic executive hires.
Executive Search Excellence
We identify transformational leaders that others miss.
Deep Industry Expertise
Our search consultants bring decades of financial services experience, ensuring we understand the nuanced leadership requirements of your organization's strategic context.
Exclusive Talent Networks
We maintain relationships with the most accomplished executives across all financial services sectors, providing access to leadership talent that isn't available through traditional channels.
Strategic Advisory Approach
Beyond filling positions, we serve as strategic partners in organizational development, helping to build leadership teams that drive transformational growth and sustainable performance.
Accelerated Search Process
Our proprietary methodology combines speed with precision, delivering exceptional candidates in timeframes that align with your organization's strategic imperatives.
Thorough Due Diligence
Our comprehensive assessment process goes beyond capabilities to evaluate leadership style, cultural alignment, and long-term potential, minimizing hiring risk and maximizing success.
Industry Specialization
With dedicated expertise across nine critical financial services sectors, we understand the unique leadership challenges and opportunities facing your organization.
Industries We Serve
Financial Services Leadership
Best Practices for Executive Recruitment and Screening
How can organizations successfully recruit and assess executive talent in today's rapidly changing environment?
Given the rapid changes and high stakes, financial services organizations need sophisticated approaches to identify and attract top executive talent. The following best practices are drawn from industry insights and executive search specialists to help navigate the complex landscape of leadership recruitment.
Strategic Foundations
Beginning with strategy and leveraging data-driven approaches.
Start with Strategy
Before targeting candidates, boards and talent leaders must clarify the strategic needs of the role. Define the "What" before the "Who":
- Identify the top six to eight skills, experiences, and traits required to execute the company's strategy
- Align role specifications with future business needs, not just present-day tasks
- For example, if a bank is focused on digital transformation and cybersecurity, those priorities should shape the CEO/CIO specification
Use Data-Driven Talent Intelligence
Leverage market data and talent intelligence to map out where ideal candidates may be, especially for niche roles:
- Combine deep industry knowledge with data analytics to pinpoint leaders matching specific criteria
- Analyze competitors' org charts and track thought leaders in emerging fields
- Use AI tools to scan profiles with appropriate human oversight for bias
- In specialized areas like stablecoin, use targeted intelligence to find leaders adept in both crypto tech and traditional finance
Diverse Sourcing & Assessment
Expanding candidate pools and implementing multidimensional evaluation.
Source Diverse and Cross-Industry Candidates
The best candidate might not look like previous leaders, especially when roles demand hybrid skills:
- Consider adjacent industries or non-traditional backgrounds when sourcing
- A candidate from a tech giant could be the perfect Chief Digital Officer for an insurance firm
- A policy expert could excel as a Crypto Compliance Director
- Ensure candidate pools reflect diversity of thought, gender, ethnicity, and experience
- Diverse teams have been linked to better decision-making, and many boards now mandate diverse slates for executive roles
Rigorous, Multi-Dimensional Assessment
Use structured yet multi-faceted assessment methods:
- Design scenario-based interviews and case studies tailored to the role
- For example, give a CFO candidate a hypothetical crisis scenario to evaluate critical thinking in action
- Conduct competency-based interviews covering core leadership capabilities (strategic vision, stakeholder management, adaptability)
- Consider psychometric tests or situational judgment tests for insight into decision style and cultural fit
- For technical domains, use practical exercises (e.g., asking a CISO candidate how they'd implement a Zero Trust framework)
Cultural Alignment & Future Readiness
Ensuring long-term fit and adaptability to rapid change.
Focus on Cultural and Long-Term Fit
Cultural alignment is as important as technical skill, especially for C-suite roles:
- Assess whether a leader's values and approach mesh with the organization's culture and future direction
- Probe candidates on how they achieved results—do they build strong teams and ethical cultures?
- Ask what motivates them besides compensation
- Executives motivated by continuous learning and team success may thrive in transformation-focused cultures
- Discuss career goals and willingness to mentor internal successors, especially given succession challenges
Incorporate AI Wisely in Recruitment
Use AI tools as augmenters, not replacements, for human judgment:
- AI can save time by identifying prospects or parsing large applicant pools
- Remain vigilant about AI bias and ensure transparent, fair processes
- Evaluate candidates for AI-era competencies—companies need "AI-ready" leaders comfortable collaborating with intelligent systems
- Include interview questions exploring a candidate's experience with automation or how they upskill teams for new technology
Change Leadership & Compelling Offers
Identifying adaptable leaders and creating attractive value propositions.
Emphasize Change Leadership and Critical Thinking
Executives who were successful in the past may not automatically excel in the future:
- Weight skills like learning agility, critical thinking, and change management heavily
- Ask candidates about major disruptions they navigated and lessons learned
- The demand for social-cognitive skills in leaders (adaptability, empathy) has increased significantly
- The ability to drive transformation while keeping teams engaged is a key differentiator
- Consider using simulations to gauge critical thinking in complex, ambiguous situations
Transparent Compensation and Value Proposition
In a hot talent market, offer compelling packages and communicate your value proposition:
- Be prepared with market-competitive compensation (e.g., credit union CEO salaries are up 7%)
- Know market benchmarks and ensure expectations align early
- Discuss how performance incentives tie to strategic metrics to attract high performers
- Articulate non-monetary attractions: company mission, culture, career growth, and other benefits
- A clear, authentic employer value proposition can sway top candidates who have multiple options
Setting Leaders Up for Success
The recruitment process doesn't end at offer acceptance.
Onboarding and Integration Support
Best-in-class organizations plan for strategic onboarding to set up new executives for success:
- Develop a 90-day transition plan for new executive hires
- Pair the new hire with a coach to accelerate integration
- Ensure they meet key stakeholders early to build critical relationships
- Set clear 6-12 month objectives collaboratively with the new executive
- Given that executive hires are expensive and high-impact, improving the onboarding experience can accelerate their time to effectiveness and improve retention
By following these best practices—grounding searches in strategy, casting a wide net for candidates, and using thorough, future-focused assessments—HR executives and talent acquisition leaders can significantly increase their chances of securing the right executive talent. In an environment of intense competition and rapid change, such a structured and insightful approach to executive recruitment is itself becoming a source of competitive advantage for financial services firms.
