The Challenge
A 47-year executive search firm with an established retained model wanted to launch an entirely new On Demand division — a fundamentally different service requiring different leadership, different workflows, and different commercial thinking. The risk of getting the founding hires wrong was high.
Our Approach
LAC led the search for three founding roles — EVP (retained), Director of Client Partnerships (contingent), and Lead Recruiter (contingent) — with each brief shaped around building a new business unit rather than filling existing seats. Each hire was assessed for their ability to build from scratch, not just execute within an established model.
The Outcome
The division launched successfully. The Lead Recruiter was subsequently promoted to Director. 42 MSAs were signed. The partnership between LAC and SSP is an ongoing contingent partnership.
Why Both Models
The EVP hire was urgent and critical — the division couldn’t launch without the right founding leader. We ran a full retained search. Once the division was live and the profile for the next two roles was clear, contingent was the right model — high bar, no deadline, passive pipeline headhunted until the right people surfaced. Same trusted advisor. Different context. Different model.