Specialty leaderboard · Updated Nov 11, 2026

Executive search firms, San Francisco Bay Area

Fee models, from the firms' own websites: 12 retained and 1 hybrid. The typical firm has 66 people; together they advertise 257 open roles.

Executive Search firms ranked

Executive Search recruiting firms in San Francisco Bay Area, ranked within the specialty
Rank	Firm	Focus	Fee model	Terms	Open roles	Index score
01	ZRG	Executive search, senior leadership and professional interim recruitment	Not stated	Not disclosed	99	63.4
02	m/Oppenheim Executive Search	Nonprofit executive and leadership recruitment	Not stated	Not disclosed	22	56.0
03	Isaacson, Miller	—	Not stated	Not disclosed	90	51.2
04	Potrero Group	—	Not stated	Not disclosed	9	50.6
05	2Go Advisory Groupsince 1986	Talent2Go executive search and professional recruiting	Not stated	Not disclosed	6	48.7
06	Scott Miller Executive Searchsince 2009	—	Not stated	Not disclosed	3	45.1
=07	Edgility Search	Executive and school leadership recruitment for education and nonprofit organizations	Not stated	Not disclosed	7	45.0
=07	ON Partners66 people · since 2006	C-suite, board and senior leadership retained search	Retained	Not disclosed	0	45.0
=09	Berkeley Search Consultantssince 1989	Retained executive search and interim professional leadership	Retained	Not disclosed	0	41.3
=09	Carlson Becksince 2010	Executive recruitment for nonprofit and philanthropic organizations	Retained	Not disclosed	0	41.3
=09	Executive Recruiters of Danvillesince 1990	Retail and e-commerce leadership and corporate-function recruitment	Not stated	Not disclosed	0	41.3
=09	Fitz-Roy & Associatessince 2010	—	Not stated	Not disclosed	0	41.3
=09	FlemingMartinsince 2011	—	Retained	Not disclosed	0	41.3
=09	Gaia Human Capital Consultantssince 2007	—	Not stated	Not disclosed	0	41.3
=09	Hager Executive Searchsince 2005	Executive leadership appointments, confidential searches and nonprofit executive recruitment.	Retained	Not disclosed	0	41.3
=09	Lonergan Partnerssince 2001	Deep technology board, CEO and C-suite executive search	Retained	Not disclosed	0	41.3
=09	Patino Associatessince 2008	Chief communications officers, corporate affairs, public relations and communications leadership	Not stated	Not disclosed	0	41.3
18	12M Recruitingsince 2015	School and nonprofit leadership, technology, finance and operations executive search	Retained	Not disclosed	4	39.5
19	12.12Partnerssince 2014	Technology leadership across enterprise software, cloud, mobile and infrastructure	Not stated	Not disclosed	0	37.8
20	Pacific Search Firmsince 2015	—	Retained	Not disclosed	0	36.6
21	Stacy Nelson & Associates	Nonprofit and philanthropic leadership search	Not stated	Not disclosed	4	33.0
22	Human Capital Enterprises	—	Not stated	Not disclosed	5	31.9
23	Next One Staffingsince 2020	Executive and managerial recruitment across finance, technology and other industries	Hybrid	Not disclosed	0	30.8
24	Cook Silverman Search	Nonprofit executive leadership, fundraising and advancement	Not stated	Not disclosed	8	30.4
=25	Artico Searchsince 2021	Executive search for technology, cybersecurity and investment businesses	Not stated	Not disclosed	0	29.6
=25	DFX Talentsince 2021	Executive and specialist recruitment in engineering, manufacturing, aerospace and defense	Not stated	Not disclosed	0	29.6
=27	3FORTY3	—	Not stated	Not disclosed	0	23.8
=27	Acertitude	Board, CEO and senior executive search for private equity portfolios and operating companies	Not stated	Not disclosed	0	23.8
=27	Bearhug Recruiting	Executive leadership for consumer performance brands, environmental technology and deep tech	Not stated	Not disclosed	0	23.8
=27	BlackPoint Partners	—	Not stated	Not disclosed	0	23.8
=27	Blueprint Search Partners	Executive search and strategic recruitment	Not stated	Not disclosed	0	23.8
=27	Bonn Search Partners	—	Not stated	Not disclosed	0	23.8
=27	Boyden	Board, C-suite and senior leadership executive search	Not stated	Not disclosed	0	23.8
=27	Brakeley SearchSan Mateo	Nonprofit executive and development leadership	Retained	Not disclosed	0	23.8
=27	Caldwell	Executive and board search, senior legal and functional leadership	Retained	Not disclosed	0	23.8
=27	Calibre One	—	Not stated	Not disclosed	0	23.8
=27	Castlerock Consulting	Executive search, recruiting and HR support	Not stated	Not disclosed	0	23.8
=27	Catalyd	—	Not stated	Not disclosed	0	23.8
=27	Click Partners Executive Search	Technology, growth companies and private equity executive leadership	Not stated	Not disclosed	0	23.8
=27	CoCreate Talent	People, talent, go-to-market, finance, operations, product and engineering leadership.	Not stated	Not disclosed	0	23.8
=27	Colosi Associates	C-level finance, HR and operations	Retained	Not disclosed	0	23.8
=27	Crowe-Innes & Associates	—	Not stated	Not disclosed	0	23.8
=27	Daversa	Technology company executive and functional leadership	Not stated	Not disclosed	0	23.8
=27	Erevena	Executive and board search for technology and investor-backed growth companies	Not stated	Not disclosed	0	23.8
=27	Exec Avenue	Executive and board recruitment across technology, financial services, healthcare and industry	Not stated	Not disclosed	0	23.8
=27	Foundry Search	Technology executive search	Retained	Not disclosed	0	23.8
=27	Fruition Executive Search	Leadership and specialist recruitment across accounting, finance, HR, legal, software and artificial intelligence.	Not stated	Not disclosed	0	23.8
=27	ILM Partners	—	Not stated	Not disclosed	0	23.8
=27	Impact Search	—	Not stated	Not disclosed	0	23.8
=27	Kindred Partners	Executive leadership search for venture-backed technology and healthcare companies	Not stated	Not disclosed	0	23.8

01ZRGExecutive search, senior leadership and professional interim recruitment63.4
Not statedNot disclosed99 open roles
02m/Oppenheim Executive SearchNonprofit executive and leadership recruitment56.0
Not statedNot disclosed22 open roles
03Isaacson, Miller51.2
Not statedNot disclosed90 open roles
04Potrero Group50.6
Not statedNot disclosed9 open roles
052Go Advisory GroupTalent2Go executive search and professional recruiting48.7
Not statedNot disclosed6 open roles
06Scott Miller Executive Search45.1
Not statedNot disclosed3 open roles
=07Edgility SearchExecutive and school leadership recruitment for education and nonprofit organizations45.0
Not statedNot disclosed7 open roles
=07ON Partners66 people · C-suite, board and senior leadership retained search45.0
RetainedNot disclosed0 open roles
=09Berkeley Search ConsultantsRetained executive search and interim professional leadership41.3
RetainedNot disclosed0 open roles
=09Carlson BeckExecutive recruitment for nonprofit and philanthropic organizations41.3
RetainedNot disclosed0 open roles
=09Executive Recruiters of DanvilleRetail and e-commerce leadership and corporate-function recruitment41.3
Not statedNot disclosed0 open roles
=09Fitz-Roy & Associates41.3
Not statedNot disclosed0 open roles
=09FlemingMartin41.3
RetainedNot disclosed0 open roles
=09Gaia Human Capital Consultants41.3
Not statedNot disclosed0 open roles
=09Hager Executive SearchExecutive leadership appointments, confidential searches and nonprofit executive recruitment.41.3
RetainedNot disclosed0 open roles
=09Lonergan PartnersDeep technology board, CEO and C-suite executive search41.3
RetainedNot disclosed0 open roles
=09Patino AssociatesChief communications officers, corporate affairs, public relations and communications leadership41.3
Not statedNot disclosed0 open roles
1812M RecruitingSchool and nonprofit leadership, technology, finance and operations executive search39.5
RetainedNot disclosed4 open roles
1912.12PartnersTechnology leadership across enterprise software, cloud, mobile and infrastructure37.8
Not statedNot disclosed0 open roles
20Pacific Search Firm36.6
RetainedNot disclosed0 open roles
21Stacy Nelson & AssociatesNonprofit and philanthropic leadership search33.0
Not statedNot disclosed4 open roles
22Human Capital Enterprises31.9
Not statedNot disclosed5 open roles
23Next One StaffingExecutive and managerial recruitment across finance, technology and other industries30.8
HybridNot disclosed0 open roles
24Cook Silverman SearchNonprofit executive leadership, fundraising and advancement30.4
Not statedNot disclosed8 open roles
=25Artico SearchExecutive search for technology, cybersecurity and investment businesses29.6
Not statedNot disclosed0 open roles
=25DFX TalentExecutive and specialist recruitment in engineering, manufacturing, aerospace and defense29.6
Not statedNot disclosed0 open roles
=273FORTY323.8
Not statedNot disclosed0 open roles
=27AcertitudeBoard, CEO and senior executive search for private equity portfolios and operating companies23.8
Not statedNot disclosed0 open roles
=27Bearhug RecruitingExecutive leadership for consumer performance brands, environmental technology and deep tech23.8
Not statedNot disclosed0 open roles
=27BlackPoint Partners23.8
Not statedNot disclosed0 open roles
=27Blueprint Search PartnersExecutive search and strategic recruitment23.8
Not statedNot disclosed0 open roles
=27Bonn Search Partners23.8
Not statedNot disclosed0 open roles
=27BoydenBoard, C-suite and senior leadership executive search23.8
Not statedNot disclosed0 open roles
=27Brakeley SearchSan Mateo · Nonprofit executive and development leadership23.8
RetainedNot disclosed0 open roles
=27CaldwellExecutive and board search, senior legal and functional leadership23.8
RetainedNot disclosed0 open roles
=27Calibre One23.8
Not statedNot disclosed0 open roles
=27Castlerock ConsultingExecutive search, recruiting and HR support23.8
Not statedNot disclosed0 open roles
=27Catalyd23.8
Not statedNot disclosed0 open roles
=27Click Partners Executive SearchTechnology, growth companies and private equity executive leadership23.8
Not statedNot disclosed0 open roles
=27CoCreate TalentPeople, talent, go-to-market, finance, operations, product and engineering leadership.23.8
Not statedNot disclosed0 open roles
=27Colosi AssociatesC-level finance, HR and operations23.8
RetainedNot disclosed0 open roles
=27Crowe-Innes & Associates23.8
Not statedNot disclosed0 open roles
=27DaversaTechnology company executive and functional leadership23.8
Not statedNot disclosed0 open roles
=27ErevenaExecutive and board search for technology and investor-backed growth companies23.8
Not statedNot disclosed0 open roles
=27Exec AvenueExecutive and board recruitment across technology, financial services, healthcare and industry23.8
Not statedNot disclosed0 open roles
=27Foundry SearchTechnology executive search23.8
RetainedNot disclosed0 open roles
=27Fruition Executive SearchLeadership and specialist recruitment across accounting, finance, HR, legal, software and artificial intelligence.23.8
Not statedNot disclosed0 open roles
=27ILM Partners23.8
Not statedNot disclosed0 open roles
=27Impact Search23.8
Not statedNot disclosed0 open roles
=27Kindred PartnersExecutive leadership search for venture-backed technology and healthcare companies23.8
Not statedNot disclosed0 open roles

Score built from public signals · Fee model from firm websites · Terms reported by firms · Terms never affect the score

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How these firms are scored

Rank here is within Executive Search. Every score is built from public signals and measures specialisation and activity, not a guarantee of service quality. Terms, claiming and sponsorship never change it.

Specialist focus: 40%
Market activity: 35%
Track record: 25%

Read the full methodology →

What Exec Search firms charge

Market context · Fee survey

Collecting responses. No market range until enough firms answer.

0 of 150 NYC firms so farReport publishes at 150

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Hiring in Executive Search?

Describe the role once. We route it to the San Francisco Bay Area firms that specialise in it, and they reply with their approach and terms.

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Executive search firms in San Francisco Bay Area: questions

How do executive search firms in San Francisco Bay Area charge?

Of the firms ranked here, by their own websites: 12 retained and 1 hybrid. Most agencies charge a percentage of the hire's first-year base salary. Contingency recruiters are commonly quoted at around 15–25% and are paid only when you hire; retained and executive search firms often charge 25–35%, paid in stages as the search progresses.

How are executive search firms ranked here?

Rank is within this specialty only. The biggest factor is specialist focus: the share of a firm's open roles that are in this field. Hiring activity and track record make up the rest. No firm can pay for placement.

Should I use more than one recruiter?

For contingency roles many employers brief two or three firms at once. Retained searches are exclusive by design. Posting one brief here sends it to the specialists and lets you compare their approach and terms before you commit.