Client Testimonials

Strategy hires fail not from lack of intellect but from a mismatch between the strategist's clock-speed and the board's appetite for ambiguity. Our reference work for CSO mandates focuses less on consulting credentials than on a candidate's behaviour during the eighteen-month stretches when no signal is conclusive — when the M&A target is half-attractive, when the portfolio review demands an unpopular divestiture, when an option needs to be kept alive at cost.

A diversified industrial conglomerate's Chief Strategy Officer we placed in 2024 ran the playbook in reverse — references describe a six-month embargo on new acquisitions while he rebuilt the post-merger integration discipline that had quietly broken across three earlier deals. Another placement, a Chief Corporate Development Officer at a growth-stage SaaS company, declined an inbound strategic investment that the founder had emotionally pre-committed to; the reference quote that mattered came from the chairman who initially pushed back.

We are happy to share substantive references for any CSO, Chief Corporate Development Officer, or Head of Strategy candidate — under NDA, once we understand your portfolio configuration, capital priorities, and the strategic decisions you expect to face in the first 12 to 24 months.