Criterion Executive Search

What Criterion Executive Search does

Criterion Executive Search, Inc. is a privately held, veteran-owned executive search and direct-hire staffing firm headquartered in Tampa, Florida, founded in 1981. The firm specializes in the national recruiting and placement of professionals across nine verticals — Insurance, Information Technology, Legal, Finance/Accounting, Healthcare, Transportation/Logistics, Construction, Engineering, and Consulting Management — with the deepest bench in insurance (underwriting, marketing, claims, operations, employee benefits) and legal (attorneys, paralegals, compliance specialists). Service delivery is organized around 15 named industry-specialized recruiters, with average industry experience of nearly 15 years; placement capabilities include both executive and non-executive roles, and coverage extends to the United States, South America, and Europe, with a Cincinnati branch opened in 2007. The firm won Tampa Bay Business Journal's Largest Permanent Employment Firm award in May 2020 and a Gulf Coast Top 500 Businesses recognition.

Revenue is generated primarily through direct-hire placement services on a contingency or retained fee basis, structured per engagement; exact fees are not publicly disclosed. The go-to-market model is sales-led and relationship-driven: recruiters engage directly with hiring managers and candidates across verticals, supplemented by a self-serve job portal (cesfl.com) and organic social channels (LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter including dedicated insurance-focused handles). The firm runs no proprietary technology platform — sourcing, screening, and matching are performed manually by recruiter teams, with website infrastructure limited to a basic CMS, advertising cookies, and standard log analytics.

From a competitive positioning standpoint, the firm competes in a fragmented executive search market by leaning on recruiter tenure and vertical specialization rather than technology differentiation. No AI, automation, or proprietary matching tooling is present; no M&A, venture funding, or external ownership has been disclosed; and the firm operates as an independent, single-entity corporation registered in Florida. Headcount is in the 11–50 range per the firmographic record, and no revenue figures are publicly available.

Name

Criterion Executive Search

Legal name

Criterion Executive Search, Inc.

Website

https://cesfl.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1981

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Criterion Executive Search is a veteran-owned, Tampa-based executive search firm founded in 1981 that places insurance, IT, legal, finance, healthcare, transportation, construction, engineering, and consulting professionals nationally through industry-specialized recruiters with an average of ~15 years of vertical experience.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Executive Search Services

NAICS

Executive Search Services (561312), Employment Placement Agencies and Executive Search Services (56131)

SIC

Services-Employment Agencies (7361)

akta.pro primary industry

C-Suite & Board Search (BPACAAAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Financial Services Leadership Search (Banking/Insurance/PE/Asset Mgmt) (BPACAAAF), Functional Leadership Search (HR/Finance/Legal/Marketing/Sales/Ops) (BPACAAAB), Technology & Product Leadership Search (CIO/CTO/CDO/CPO) (BPACAAAC), Confidential/Replacement & Succession Search (BPACAAAK)

Keywords

• Executive search services
• Executive recruiting
• Permanent placement staffing
• Direct hire recruitment
• Talent acquisition

Headquarters

HQ city

Tampa

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Direct Hire Placement Services: Permanent placement and executive search services for employers, charging contingency or retained fees for successful candidate placements across Insurance, IT, Legal, Finance, Healthcare, Transportation, Construction, Engineering, and Consulting Management sectors.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Criterion Executive Search is a national executive recruiting and placement firm that delivers direct hire and search services across Insurance, Information Technology, Legal, Finance/Accounting, Healthcare, Transportation/Logistics, Construction, Engineering, and Consulting Management. The firm matches employers with executive and non-executive professionals through industry-specialized recruiter teams conducting contingency and retained searches.

Product overview

Criterion Executive Search operates as a single unified executive staffing and placement service, not a software platform. The company offers specialized recruiting teams organized by industry sector (Insurance, IT, Legal, Finance, and others) but does not provide distinct branded software products, modules, or technology offerings. Their core service is targeted job placement and talent acquisition, supported by a team of industry-specialized recruiters with extensive domain expertise.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Executive Search and Placement Services

Named customers6 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Randstad North America: Global staffing and recruiting firm offering permanent placement, temp staffing, and RPO across multiple industries. Comparable in cross-vertical professional placement though at vastly larger scale.
• Hays plc: Global recruitment firm placing professionals across accounting, finance, IT, legal, and other specialties. Comparable in offering cross-vertical professional and executive placement services.
• Robert Half International: Major publicly traded staffing and recruiting firm placing professionals across finance, technology, legal, and administrative roles. Comparable in professional placement model but operates on a national platform with proprietary technology.
• Korn Ferry: Global organizational consulting firm with a large executive search practice plus broader HR consulting, RPO, and talent assessment. Comparable on executive search but operates at far greater scale across many verticals.

Direct peers

• Heidrick & Struggles: Global executive search firm serving board, C-suite, and functional leadership needs across industries including insurance, financial services, and technology. Comparable in core service delivery though significantly larger in scale.
• DHR Global: Mid-sized global executive search firm with practice areas spanning financial services, insurance, technology, healthcare, and legal. Closely comparable to Criterion in offering cross-vertical executive search.
• Citadel Search Group: Boutique executive search firm focused on insurance, legal, and risk management placements. Direct competitor in the insurance vertical recruiting space where Criterion is most concentrated.
• Spencer Stuart: Premier executive search firm focused on C-suite, board director, and senior leadership placements. Overlaps with Criterion on senior leadership search across insurance and other verticals.
• The Jacobson Group: Insurance-focused executive search and recruiting firm with similar practice areas across underwriting, claims, and operations. Closely comparable given shared insurance-vertical specialization and mid-market positioning.
• Lucas Group: Executive search firm (now part of Korn Ferry) placing mid-to-senior-level professionals across accounting, finance, legal, IT, and operational roles. Highly comparable in placing both executive and non-executive professionals across multiple industries.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/InsuranceJobsCE
• Facebookfacebook.com/CriterionExecutiveSearchInc
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/criterion

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles15 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Criterion Executive Search