Ottawa Headhunter for Hard-to-Fill Leadership Roles

The best leaders are rarely applying. They're busy delivering results somewhere else. That's why companies hire an Ottawa headhunter: to identify, approach and recruit executives who are not actively on the market but may be exactly right for the mission.

Perry-Martel International helps CEOs, owners and boards reach and secure leaders that other firms never get close to. We don't start with who's in our database. We start with who can accomplish the mission — then we go find them.

When Should You Use an Ottawa Headhunter?

You don't need a headhunter when dozens of qualified executives are already knocking on your door. You need one when the person capable of changing the trajectory of your business is already working somewhere else.

That's the market Perry-Martel works in. We identify, approach and recruit executives who aren't actively applying for jobs — leaders who are busy running companies, growing revenue, fixing operations, building teams and delivering results.

That can include CEOs, Presidents, COOs, CFOs, CROs, General Managers, Vice-Presidents and specialized operating leaders. In many cases, the person we're looking for hasn't even considered making a move until we call.

The Best Candidate Probably Isn't Looking

Here's the problem with traditional recruiting: it usually starts with the people who are available. Executive search shouldn't.

The person you really need may be leading a competitor, scaling a business, fixing an operation or quietly delivering results somewhere you've never thought to look. They're not refreshing job boards. They're not sending out résumés. And they're probably not waiting for a recruiter to call.

Our job is to figure out who those people are, why they might listen and what would make your opportunity compelling enough for them to move.

Executive Search Starts With the Mission

Most recruiting processes start with a vacancy. Somebody pulls out a job description, updates a few bullets and then starts looking for candidates who match it.

We work the other way around.

Perry-Martel's Inside-Out Approach® starts with the business. What must this executive accomplish? What problems will they inherit? What has to change? What capabilities will matter most? What kind of leader will actually succeed inside this particular organization?

Only after we've answered those questions do we go to market. The objective isn't to find the best executive looking for a job. It's to find the best executive for the mission — including the people who aren't looking at all.

How Perry-Martel Runs an Executive Search

First, we define the mission. We get clear on what the new leader must accomplish, what will be waiting for them on day one and what success should look like a year or two down the road.

Then we map the market. We identify the companies, sectors and leaders most likely to have solved comparable problems. That research matters because the strongest candidate may not come from the most obvious competitor.

Next, we approach the people we believe can actually do the job. Many of them aren't actively considering a move, so getting their attention takes more than forwarding a job description. They need to understand the business problem, the opportunity and why the conversation might be worth having.

From there, we assess leadership fit against the mission, the environment, the capabilities required and the behaviours that will determine whether this person can really succeed inside your company.

Then we help you make the decision. That means bringing evidence, judgement and context to the table — not simply delivering a stack of résumés and leaving you to figure it out.

And when you've found the person you want, we help secure them. That includes offer strategy, compensation discussions, negotiation and getting the right executive across the finish line.

Who We Recruit

Perry-Martel recruits senior leaders who carry real operating responsibility. At the C-suite level, that can mean CEOs, Presidents, COOs, CFOs, CROs and CTOs.

We also recruit General Managers, Vice-Presidents, division leaders, functional executives, commercial leaders and specialized operating executives. The title matters less than the mandate. If the business needs someone who can take ownership of an important outcome, that's the kind of search we do.

Executive Search Across Three Core Industries

Our work is concentrated in three areas where leadership decisions have an outsized impact on growth, execution and enterprise value.

Ottawa Is Home Turf

Perry-Martel has been recruiting executives from Ottawa since 1988. We've worked through technology booms and busts, real estate cycles, construction growth, corporate restructurings and leadership transitions. We've watched companies get built, sold, reinvented and rebuilt again.

That means we know the Ottawa market. But knowing Ottawa doesn't mean limiting the search to Ottawa. If the right leader is in Toronto, Montreal, Calgary, Vancouver, New York, Chicago or somewhere nobody has thought to look, that's where the search goes.

The assignment determines the geography. The mission determines the candidate.

Proof, Not Promises

Anybody can tell you they know how to recruit executives. The better question is what happens when the assignment is difficult, the obvious candidates aren't available and the person you really need has no reason to take your call.

That's where Perry-Martel has built its reputation.

Those numbers matter, but what matters more is what sits behind them. We've recruited leaders for technology companies, real estate organizations, construction and engineering firms, entrepreneurs, established businesses and companies going through major change.

Some assignments begin with a vacancy. Others begin with a much harder question: Who can actually lead us through what comes next? Those are the searches we were built for.

Read Perry-Martel Executive Search Case Studies →

Why CEOs and Owners Use Perry-Martel

Executive search isn't a résumé-matching exercise. The cost of getting a senior hire wrong can dwarf the recruiting fee, and the damage isn't limited to salary. A bad leadership decision can cost momentum, customers, employees, credibility and years of lost opportunity.

That's why our process is built around defining the mission before we begin recruiting, mapping the market properly, approaching the right leaders, assessing fit and then helping you secure the executive who can actually deliver.

Perry-Martel International was founded in 1988 and has completed more than 1,600 executive and senior leadership placements. David E. Perry has personally led or closed more than 1,000 executive search assignments and negotiated more than $423 million in executive compensation.

Only five placements have required replacement under Perry-Martel's guarantee since the firm was founded. That isn't a claim about perfection. It's evidence of what happens when you take the time to define the leadership problem properly before you start recruiting.

Learn about Perry-Martel's One-Year Guarantee →

Meet the Headhunter Behind the Search

David E. Perry is Managing Partner of Perry-Martel International and has spent more than 40 years in executive search. He's also the author or co-author of Hiring Greatness, Executive Recruiting For Dummies, Guerrilla Marketing for Job Hunters and Revolutions Need Leaders.

But credentials only tell part of the story. Executive search gets difficult. Candidates say no. Markets change. Deals get complicated. The obvious person turns out not to be the right person. That's when persistence, judgement and the willingness to keep looking matter.

If you're looking for David's formal career history, books, frameworks and credentials, visit David E. Perry — Executive Recruiter, Author & Managing Partner.

If you want to understand the person behind the search — and why persistence matters when an assignment gets difficult — read The Making of a Headhunter: Why I Don't Give Up on a Search.

Need a Leader Who Isn't Looking for a Job?

You don't need to have the job description finished. In fact, I'd rather you didn't start there.

Tell us what has to change. Tell us what has to be built. Tell us what's keeping you awake at night and what you need the next leader to accomplish.

We'll tell you whether Perry-Martel can help.