A Retained Search Built Around Your Outcomes, Not Ours.
We partner with business owners, PE-backed leadership teams, and HR executives who need to get a critical hire right the first time. That takes time, strategy, and dedicated effort. Which is why we work on a retained basis.
No pressure, no obligation. Let us talk about whether Artemis is the right fit.
Two-Year Success
Our placements are still thriving two years after hire
Actually Interviewed
Every candidate personally evaluated by our team
Client Relationships
Many clients have worked with us for over a decade
Placement Guarantee
If the hire does not work, we reopen the search at no additional fee
We do not blast your role to a database and hope for a match. We do not juggle dozens of open searches hoping a few land. And we do not disappear for weeks and resurface with a handful of resumes.
We run a focused, structured search process that starts with understanding your business, your leadership gaps, and what success actually looks like in the role. Then we go find the right person. Not the fastest available person. The right one.
The Engagement Model
What "Retained" Means (and What It Does Not)
Retained means you are our priority. An engagement deposit secures that commitment. The deposit is not a separate cost. It applies directly to your placement fee. Think of it as a down payment on the outcome, not a fee for starting.
The deposit is one-third of the estimated placement fee, due at the start of the engagement. It covers the dedicated research, sourcing, candidate interviews, and strategic work that begins on day one. If priorities shift and you need to redirect the search to a different role, we can apply the deposit accordingly.
The Search Process
What Happens After You Engage Us
Every search follows a structured process. No shortcuts, no guesswork. Here is exactly what you can expect from engagement through placement.
1. Discovery and Role Definition
We start with your business, not a job description. What does the company need this person to accomplish in the first 90 days? What does the team look like around them? What has been tried before? We build the search around outcomes, not titles.
2. Search Strategy and Market Mapping
We identify where the right candidates are, which industries and companies they are coming from, and what it will take to get their attention. This includes candidates who are not actively looking but are exactly who you need.
3. The Actually Interviewed Standard
Every candidate we present has been through a substantive, in-depth interview with our team. Not a 15-minute phone screen. Not a resume review. A real conversation that covers leadership style, decision-making under pressure, team-building approach, and alignment with your specific environment. We call this our A.I. Standard: Actually Interviewed. It is the reason our placement success rate sits at 94% after two years.
4. Candidate Presentation
You receive a curated shortlist, not a stack of resumes. Each candidate comes with our assessment of fit, risk areas, and interview recommendations. You spend your time meeting people who are worth meeting.
5. Interview Coordination and Offer Management
We manage the interview process, handle scheduling, gather feedback from both sides, and guide the offer conversation to a successful close. If behavioral assessments are part of your process, we integrate those as well.
6. Placement Guarantee
Every retained search includes a guarantee period. If the hire does not work out within the defined window, we reopen the search at no additional fee. That guarantee is only possible because of the depth of work that goes into the process from the start.
Why This Model Works
The Retained Model Changes the Incentive Structure Entirely
When a recruiting firm has no financial commitment from the client, they have to spread their time across as many open searches as possible to stay viable. That is just how the economics work. The more roles they juggle, the less time any single search receives. The result is speed over depth, volume over precision, and candidates who may check the boxes on paper but have not been evaluated for the things that actually determine success in your organization.
The retained model changes that. Because you have committed to the engagement, we commit our best resources, our full attention, and the time it takes to find the right leader. Not just a qualified one. The right one.
The Real Cost
The Recruiting Fee Is the Smallest Number in the Equation
Most companies focus on the recruiting fee when evaluating cost. But when a leadership hire does not work out, the real cost is measured in months of lost momentum, not dollars on an invoice.
| Cost Factor | Typical Timeline |
|---|---|
| Time to recognize the hire is not working | 3 to 6 months |
| Time to manage the exit | 1 to 3 months |
| Time to restart the search | 2 to 4 months |
| Time for the new hire to reach full productivity | 3 to 6 months |
| Total Leadership Disruption | 9 to 19 months |
That does not include the salary paid during underperformance, the severance, the toll on the team, or the best employees who left because they lost confidence in leadership.
Our engagement deposit protects you from that math. It is not about paying more. It is about investing in a process designed to get it right once, so you never have to do it twice.
A single failed leadership hire at the VP or C-suite level typically costs an organization 3x to 5x the executive's annual compensation when you account for salary, severance, team turnover, lost productivity, and the cost of restarting the search.
Common Questions
Frequently Asked Questions
We do not, and that is a deliberate choice. The level of work required for a successful leadership placement, including deep candidate interviews, behavioral assessment, strategic alignment with your organization, and ongoing coordination, is not sustainable in a model where the firm only gets paid if a placement closes. We chose the retained model so we can do this work at the standard our clients expect, without cutting corners.
That is a great reason to have a conversation before engaging. We are happy to talk through whether the timing is right, whether the role is correctly defined, or whether a different approach might make more sense. There is no cost to that conversation and no pressure to engage before you are ready. When you are ready, we will be here with a clear process and a clear commitment.
The deposit is one-third of the estimated placement fee, due at the start of the engagement. It applies in full toward your final fee. It is not an additional charge. It covers the dedicated research, sourcing, candidate interviews, and strategic work that begins on day one of the search. If priorities shift and you need to redirect the search to a different role, we can apply the deposit accordingly.
Three things. First, our Actually Interviewed (A.I.) Standard means every candidate has been through a substantive personal interview before you ever see their name. Second, we specialize in "implementers," high-performing executives displaced from major organizations due to restructurings, ownership changes, or organizational shifts, not performance. These are leaders with real operational track records who are often invisible to firms that rely on database searches. Third, we have a 94% two-year placement success rate. Our clients do not have to redo their searches.
Most retained executive searches take 60 to 90 days from engagement to accepted offer. The timeline depends on the seniority of the role, market conditions, and your internal decision-making process. We provide regular progress updates and adjust strategy as needed throughout the engagement.
Every retained search includes a guarantee period. If the hire does not succeed within that window, we reopen the search and find a replacement at no additional professional fee. This guarantee reflects our confidence in the process and our commitment to the outcome, not just the placement.
Ready to Start a Conversation?
Let Us Talk About Your Leadership Needs and Whether Artemis Is the Right Fit.
No pressure, no obligation. A confidential conversation about what you are trying to accomplish, what kind of leader the business needs, and whether our process is the right approach for your situation.
20 minutes. Confidential. No cost or obligation.
Or call Johanna Watson directly: 833-639-4868 x101