A board-level appointment with no room for a mis-hire.
The previous leader had moved on and the board wanted certainty, not a shortlist of plausible CVs. The right person had to carry the organisation's relationships, satisfy a board that would have to live with the decision, and stay for the long haul.
The brief to K2 was to run a search the board could stand behind — with the evidence to explain why this candidate, and the fee agreed before any work began.
An evidence-led executive search, calibrated to the board.
We mapped the market against the competencies that actually predict success in the role, then ran every candidate through the same recorded, structured assessment — so the recommendation came as evidence, not opinion.
- 01
Mapped the market & calibrated competencies
Agreed with the board what "right" looked like before anyone was approached, so the search measured the things that mattered.
- 02
Recorded, structured interviews
Every candidate met the same framework, recorded with consent, so the comparison was consistent and defensible.
- 03
Competency-mapped reports to the board
Each recommendation came as evidence the board could read and forward — not a CV with a covering note.
- 04
Mid-campaign calibration checkpoint
We paused to recalibrate against what the search was teaching us, and kept the board aligned the whole way through.
"We didn't just get a name — we got the reasoning. The board could see exactly why this was the right appointment."
An appointment that stuck.
The hire is into a third year and counting, the board was aligned behind the appointment from the start, and the fee was the one agreed up front — fixed, with no percentage of salary.
