Sterling Search

What Sterling Search does

Sterling Search, Inc. is a privately held, women-owned boutique executive search firm founded in 2002 by Sarah Agee and headquartered in Costa Mesa, California. The firm specializes exclusively in retained executive search across three mission-driven verticals: healthcare and wellness nonprofits, nonprofit organizations (including social services, advocacy, and community benefit causes), and educational institutions (universities, school districts, and education foundations). Sterling Search operates with a small team of approximately seven consultants, researchers, and administrative staff, supported by a Managing Partner, an Executive Search Consultant, a Director of Administration, and research and executive assistant roles.

The firm delivers full-cycle retained search services including candidate identification and outreach (including passive candidates not actively seeking new roles), in-person candidate interviews, reference checking, offer negotiation, and facilitation of interviews between search committees and candidates. Sterling Search provides regular candidate prospect reports every three weeks and offers a transparent, collaborative process. The underlying delivery model is human-expertise-driven, with no proprietary technology platform — competitive advantage rests on the team's 115+ years of combined executive search and nonprofit experience, sector-specific candidate networks, and the founder's prior tenure at Korn Ferry International - Futurestep.

Sterling Search generates revenue through customized retained search engagements billed on a fee-for-deliverables basis with mutually agreed milestones and multi-year contract cadences; pricing is not publicly disclosed. The go-to-market motion is consultative and relationship-driven, targeting organizations seeking senior leadership placements through direct client engagement. The firm serves clients nationally from its Southern California base, including American Family Housing, Catholic Charities of Orange County, California State University Stanislaus, Orange County Head Start, and REACH. Sterling Search was recognized by Forbes as one of the best executive recruiting firms of 2020. The company is independent with no parent company, venture capital backing, or institutional investors.

Name

Sterling Search

Legal name

Sterling Search, Inc.

Website

https://sterlingsearchinc.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2002

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Sterling Search is a women-owned, Costa Mesa-based boutique executive search firm founded in 2002 that places senior leaders in healthcare, nonprofit, and education organizations nationwide through retained search engagements. The firm is recognized by Forbes (2020) and is run by a small team of approximately seven professionals.

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

Public Sector, Education & Nonprofit Leadership Search (BPACAAAI)

akta.pro secondary industries

Healthcare & Life Sciences Leadership Search (BPACAAAE), C-Suite & Board Search (BPACAAAA)

Keywords

• Executive search services
• Retained search firm
• Nonprofit executive recruiting
• Healthcare leadership search
• Education executive placement

Headquarters

HQ city

Costa Mesa

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, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Retained Executive Search Services: The recruiting fee structure is based on deliverables to clients, offering a partnership based on mutually agreeable milestones. Fully immersive experience including facilitating interviews between search committee and candidates.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Sterling Search is a boutique retained executive search firm that places senior leaders in Healthcare, Nonprofit, and Education organizations across the United States. The firm delivers full-cycle recruiting services including search committee consultation, candidate identification, screening, in-person interviews, reference checking, offer negotiation, and placement support, typically surfacing 3-6 highly qualified candidates per engagement.

Product overview

Sterling Search is a boutique retained executive search firm offering a single, integrated service offering. The company specializes exclusively in placing senior-level executives across three verticals: Healthcare, Nonprofit, and Education organizations. The firm operates as a unified service without modular products—clients engage Sterling Search for retained search engagements where the team provides full-cycle recruiting from candidate identification through placement, including interview facilitation, reference checks, and offer negotiations. The company is headquartered in Costa Mesa, California with national reach, and is recognized by Forbes as one of the best executive recruiting firms of 2020.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Executive Search Services Retained executive search services placing senior leaders in Healthcare, Nonprofit, and Education organizations across the United States. The service covers full-cycle recruiting from search committee consultation and candidate identification through screening, in-person interviews, reference checks, offer negotiations, and placement, typically surfacing 3-6 highly qualified candidates per engagement with regular prospect reports delivered every three weeks.

Quantifiable outcome

• Delivers 3-6 highly qualified candidates for each search engagement
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 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 highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Isaacson, Miller: Largest U.S. executive search firm exclusively focused on the nonprofit sector, placing CEOs, senior leaders, and development officers at foundations, advocacy, and social-service organizations — Sterling Search's most direct competitor in the nonprofit vertical.
• Greenwood/Asher & Associates: Executive search firm focused on higher education and associations, placing presidents, provosts, and senior administrators — directly overlapping with Sterling Search's education vertical.
• Diversified Search: Mid-sized executive search firm serving nonprofit, education, healthcare, and corporate clients — comparable in scope to Sterling Search and a frequent competitor for similar mandates.
• Koya Leadership Partners: Mission-driven executive search firm serving nonprofits, foundations, and higher education, with a values-led, diversity-centered approach that closely mirrors Sterling Search's positioning and DEI emphasis.
• On-Ramps: Boutique executive search firm specializing in nonprofit and social-impact leadership placements, including development, communications, and operations roles — directly comparable in size, mission, and verticals.

Broad incumbents

• Heidrick & Struggles: Global executive search firm with dedicated nonprofit, education, and healthcare practices; competes with Sterling Search for senior leadership mandates and offers much broader geographic and functional reach.
• Korn Ferry: Global executive search and organizational consulting giant; Sterling Search's founder Sarah Agee previously ran the nonprofit/education/healthcare practice inside Korn Ferry's Futurestep division, making it the canonical incumbent benchmark.
• Russell Reynolds Associates: Global executive search firm with strong higher education and healthcare practices; competes with Sterling Search for university presidential, dean, and health-system C-suite searches.
• Spencer Stuart: Large global executive search firm with established education, social enterprise, and healthcare practices; a likely competitor for the largest search mandates Sterling Search targets.

Emerging players

• Bridgespan Group: Nonprofit and social-sector consulting and executive search provider; Bridgespan's leadership recruiting practice competes with Sterling Search for nonprofit CEO placements, while its consulting arm shapes client hiring strategies upstream.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/sterling-search-inc-
• Facebookfacebook.com/sterlingsearchinc

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 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 Sterling Search