Fairfield Partners

What Fairfield Partners does

Fairfield Partners is a private retained executive search firm founded in 2008 by Brian J. Curry and headquartered in Connecticut (Norwalk/Darien, with partners in Fairfield, CT and Gilbert, AZ). The firm specializes in placing senior leadership for high-growth consumer brands in the natural products, CPG, food, beverage, supplement, personal care, and pet care sectors. Its service covers Executive Leadership (CEO, President, GM, COO), Sales Leadership, Marketing & eCommerce, Finance & HR, and Operations/Supply Chain functions at the C-Suite, VP, and Director levels. The firm has 11-50 employees and four named Managing Partners; a fifth Managing Partner (Eric Montgomery) is also referenced.

The firm's business model is professional services revenue from retained executive search fees, with pricing not publicly disclosed and per-engagement terms negotiated. The offerings are differentiated by a two-Managing-Partner engagement model (no junior handoffs), passive talent sourcing through referrals rather than job boards, a brand ambassador representation approach, and a 1-year placement guarantee. There is no proprietary technology platform, API, or software product — the moat is the partner network and category expertise accumulated since 2005, when the team's early search work supported brands such as Bear Naked, KIND Snacks, and Food Should Taste Good that went on to successful exits.

Fairfield Partners serves both enterprise and mid-market consumer brands (e.g., a2 Milk Co., KIND Snacks, HIPPEAS, Acme United/First Aid Only, Zesty Paws, BrightFarms, YumEarth, UNREAL) and private equity firms (North Castle Partners as a core client, plus L Catterton, KKR, Alliance Consumer Growth, Amphora Equity Partners) running leadership mandates for portfolio companies. The firm is independently owned with no identified institutional backing, sponsors Naturally New England/New York/Chicago, and the founder mentors at EmergeCPG and serves on the Food'NBev Connect advisory panel. Geographic footprint is North America with no explicit global expansion claimed.

Name

Fairfield Partners

Legal name

Fairfield Partners

Website

https://fairfieldpartners.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2008

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Fairfield Partners is a Connecticut-based retained executive search firm founded in 2008 that places C-Suite, VP, and Director-level leaders for high-growth consumer brands in the natural products, food, beverage, pet care, and personal care sectors. It serves enterprise and mid-market clients (including PE-backed brands) through a partner-led, no-job-board model with a 1-year placement guarantee.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Executive Search Services

SIC

Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)

akta.pro primary industry

Consumer & Retail Leadership Search (BPACAAAG)

Keywords

• Executive search services
• Retained search firm
• Consumer brands recruiting
• Natural products placement
• CPG leadership hiring

Headquarters

HQ city

Norwalk

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations

Revenue model

1. Retained Executive Search Fees: Retained search model where the firm represents clients as true brand ambassadors, presenting candidates with one opportunity at a time without competing with other clients for the same talent. Offers 1-year guarantee on placements.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Fairfield Partners is a retained executive search firm that places C-suite, VP, and Director-level leaders into high-growth consumer brands in the natural products, food, beverage, snack, supplement, personal care, and pet care sectors. Two Managing Partners lead every search, sourcing passive candidates through referrals rather than job boards, presenting clients as brand ambassadors, and providing a 1-year replacement guarantee.

Product overview

Fairfield Partners offers a unified retained executive search service for high-growth consumer and natural product brands. The core offering is specialized executive placement across multiple functional areas—Executive Leadership, Sales, Marketing/eCommerce, Finance/Human Resources, and Operations—all delivered through a two-Managing Partner model with a 1-year guarantee. The firm does not offer modular add-ons or separate platform products; all services are bundled within their retained search engagement.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Executive Search Services

Quantifiable outcome

• 20+ searches completed for single client relationship (First Aid Only / Acme United)
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers15 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Naturally New EnglandminorGTM or Marketing PartnerProud sponsor of Naturally New England, a regional industry organization supporting the natural products community in New England.
• Naturally New YorkminorGTM or Marketing PartnerProud sponsor of Naturally New York, a regional industry organization supporting natural products brands in New York.
• Naturally ChicagominorGTM or Marketing PartnerProud sponsor of Naturally Chicago, a regional industry organization supporting the natural products community in the Chicago area.
• North Castle PartnerscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPrivate equity firm for which Fairfield has conducted several key searches for portfolio companies including hiring company Presidents and filling other top management roles in Finance and Sales.
• EmergeCPGminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerFounder Brian Curry is a mentor for the EmergeCPG network, an industry program helping early-stage CPG companies become healthy trading partners and accelerate growth.
• Food'NBev ConnectminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerBrian Curry serves on the advisory panel for Food'NBev Connect, which provides early-stage food companies access to food industry experts through a cluster community.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• ZRG Partners: Mid-sized retained executive search firm with consumer products and PE-backed brand coverage. Comparable on retained leadership search for growth-stage consumer brands and PE portfolios.
• True Search: Boutique retained executive search firm with consumer and growth-stage expertise. Most directly comparable on firm size, retained model, and passive-talent sourcing approach; differs by being less narrowly focused on natural products.
• ON Partners: Boutique retained executive search firm serving consumer, tech, and growth markets. Comparable on partner-led delivery and retained model for VP/C-suite placements in CPG-adjacent companies.
• Herbert Mines Associates: Boutique executive search firm specializing in consumer products and retail. Comparable on niche CPG/consumer focus, retained search methodology, and similar firm size.
• Battalia Winston (now part of LHH): Executive search firm historically focused on consumer/CPG and media. Highly comparable on retained search for natural/CPG leadership, now operating under LHH/Korn Ferry.

Broad incumbents

• Russell Reynolds Associates: Global executive search firm with consumer products expertise. Comparable on retained CEO/VP placements; differs by industry breadth and scale.
• Heidrick & Struggles: Global executive search firm with strong consumer markets coverage. Comparable on retained C-suite and VP placements, but operates across all industries with a public-company parent versus Fairfield's natural products niche.
• Korn Ferry: Large diversified talent and organizational consulting firm with deep consumer practice. Comparable as a retained executive search provider, though its search business sits inside a much broader HR consulting platform.
• Spencer Stuart: Global executive search leader with a dedicated consumer products practice. Comparable as a retained search firm placing C-suite leaders, though much larger and serving broader industries beyond natural/CPG.
• DHR International: Global executive search firm with consumer products practice. Comparable on retained CPG search mandates; differs by multi-industry breadth and larger partner count.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks1 record

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/fairfield-partners
• Xx.com/fairfieldptrs
• Facebookfacebook.com/Fairfield-Partners-Executive-Searc

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 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 Fairfield Partners