Retained executive search · Austin, TX

The leadership hire you get wrong costs a year you don't have.

People ATX runs retained search for founders and the boards behind them. The CFO before the raise. The first VP of Engineering. The hire that decides whether the company scales or stalls. You work directly with a partner, start to close.

Start a search
~30 days
Kickoff to finalist slate. Fit over speed.
30 yrs
Behind the desk, across two partners
1
Partner on your search, start to close
A notebook and coffee on the table before a conversation at People ATX
Every note reaches a partner.No queue. No pitch. A conversation.
We fill the empty chair, with you. Photo: David Kristianto
Who we serve

Built for the people making the hire the board is watching.

Start here

Founders & CEOs

Your first leadership hires set the ceiling on everything after them. We map the market, run the full process, and hand you a short list you can defend, so you stay on the business while we run the search.

VC firms & GPs

Talent for the fund and for the portfolio. We know the thesis, the pace, and what a board expects from a new C-suite leader inside a venture-backed company.

Portfolio companies

Series A through D, making the executive hires the next round depends on. We understand cap tables, runway pressure, and the stakes on the table.

The selection blueprint

Seven stages. Most firms run three.

The first 360 days are where a hire is won or lost. So the search does not end at placement. We stay in it until the leader is standing on their own.

01AttractionMap the market. Reach the ones who are not looking.
02QualificationSeparate the credential from the capability.
03RecruitingBuild the case. Earn the conversation.
04SelectionStructured assessment. No gut calls.
05HiringOffer managed. Both sides walk in clear-eyed.
06OnboardingThe first 90 days. We stay engaged.
07GrowthCheck-ins at 180 and 360 days.
What we do

The search, and everything the search depends on.

Retained executive search is the core. The rest is what makes the hire last.

Retained executive search

CEO, COO, CFO, CTO, CMO, CPO, and the VP hires that build and run your functions. Retained only. Every search gets a partner's full network and full attention — with market mapping, competitive and compensation intelligence, and clear alignment on skills, competencies, and team fit.

Organizational design

Structure built around your stage. From the first leadership hire to scaling a function from scratch, we help you design the org before you hire into it.

AI change management

For companies rolling out talent technology without an internal change function. Most implementations fail in adoption, not installation. We make the adoption happen.

The 2026 Talent Report. What we are seeing from the desk.
Free. A combined thirty years of recruiting, written down for the people hiring this year.
Get the talent report
People ATX Academy

The recruiter reading your resume already knows how this works. Now you can too.

The insider view, built by two people who have sat on both sides of the desk. Three programs, mapped to exactly where you are in your career.

Explore the Academy
0 – 3 years
Career Navigator

The map for the first stretch. How hiring actually works, how to be found, and how to build a career instead of chasing a job.
3 – 10 years
Career Crossroads

The pivot that decides the next decade. From doer to leader, from generalist to the role you actually choose.
10 years +
Career Ascent

The executive job search, run like a retained search, with you as the candidate. The best roles are never posted.

Let's talk about your next hire.

The best searches start with a conversation, not a contract. Tell us what you are building. You reach a partner, not a queue.

Start a search