DRiWaterstone

What DRiWaterstone does

DRiWaterstone Human Capital is a privately held, female-founded executive search and leadership advisory firm headquartered in Arlington, Virginia. Founded in 2001 as Development Resources, Inc. (DRi), the firm merged with Waterstone Human Capital in 2022 to form the current entity. The firm is a strategic operating company under the Waterstone Human Capital parent and employs 11-50 staff, including Managing Directors, Senior Consultants, Executive Search Associates, and a Candidate Stewardship Manager.

The company specializes in retained executive search for nonprofit, foundation, association, and social impact organizations across North America, placing C-Suite, VP, and Director-level leaders across functions including development/fundraising, communications, finance, operations, programs, and human resources. Its core product, Executive Search Services, is delivered on a retained basis with a 60-day time-to-interview target and a stated 98% completion-and-retention rate; the firm reports 97% of candidates are sourced through its own active outreach. A secondary offering, Leadership & Culture Advisory, extends the engagement model into culture assessment, leadership development, strategic planning, and organizational effectiveness. The firm also operates the America's Most Admired Culture Awards program, launched in 2025, as both a recognition platform and a marketing engine, with presenting sponsors AFP, CFRE International, and BetterWorld.

DRiWaterstone's go-to-market is exclusively direct enterprise sales, generating leads through referrals, RFPs, and inbound inquiries, with senior partners engaged personally on every search. Pricing is not publicly disclosed and is negotiated per engagement based on role seniority and scope. The firm has completed over 1,000 executive searches since inception and reports that more than 75% of CEO placements have been women and more than 40% have been people of color, reflecting a deliberate diversity, equity, and inclusion orientation. Technology is referenced in the form of candidate management platforms and a candidate stewardship workflow, but no proprietary AI/ML capabilities or software products are disclosed.

Name

DRiWaterstone

Legal name

Development Resources, Inc.

Website

https://driwaterstonehc.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2001

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

DRiWaterstone Human Capital is a privately held, Arlington, VA-based executive search and leadership advisory firm that places C-Suite, VP, and Director-level leaders for nonprofit, foundation, association, and social impact organizations across North America on a retained basis, with complementary culture and leadership consulting services.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Arlington

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Retained Executive Search Services: DRiWaterstone works on a retained basis, committing resources to identify, assess, and recruit leaders for nonprofit and social impact organizations. Clients pay a retainer fee for comprehensive search services that include active candidate outreach, stakeholder engagement, interview facilitation, and ongoing advisement.
2. Leadership and Culture Advisory Services: The firm offers a broad portfolio of consulting services including culture assessment, culture measurement, culture curation, leadership development, strategic planning, and organizational effectiveness services. These are offered alongside core executive search to help clients achieve sustainable organizational and cultural growth.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

DRiWaterstone is a retained executive search firm that recruits C-Suite, VP, and Director-level leaders for nonprofit, foundation, association, and social impact organizations across North America. The firm pairs retained search engagements with a Leadership & Culture Advisory practice that delivers culture assessment, leadership development, strategic planning, and organizational effectiveness consulting. Additional offerings include a proprietary Candidate Stewardship program and the America's Most Admired Culture Awards recognition program.

Product overview

DRiWaterstone is a nonprofit and social impact executive search firm offering a unified portfolio of services centered on executive recruitment and leadership advisory. The core offerings include Retained Executive Search Services for C-Suite, VP, and Director-level positions across 12 sectors, paired with Leadership & Culture Advisory consulting services. The firm differentiates through its Candidate Stewardship Model, providing dedicated candidate care throughout the search process. Additional offerings include the America’s Most Admired Culture Awards program and the DRi Candidate Advantage career services. The company operates on a retained search basis with a 98% completion rate.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Executive Search Services Retained executive search services for nonprofit, foundation, association, and social impact organizations, recruiting C-Suite, VP, and Director-level leaders across development, communications, finance, operations, HR, and program functions.
• Leadership & Culture Advisory Consulting services supporting purpose and mission-driven organizations across recruitment and retention, development strategy, team culture, organizational efficiency, team and leadership development, strategy and Board work, and marketing and communications.
• America's Most Admired Culture Awards An awards and recognition program that celebrates leadership excellence, organizational integrity, and mission-driven impact across the nonprofit and social impact sector.

Quantifiable outcome

• 98% of searches result in placed candidates who commit to and stay with the client organization
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers22 records

Segments7 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered flagship, minor and core.

• Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP)flagshipGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 March 2026AFP serves as a presenting sponsor of the inaugural America's Most Admired Culture Awards, taking place April 22, 2026 in Washington DC. AFP's credibility and influence in the nonprofit sector aligns with the award program's goal of recognizing exceptional organizational cultures.
• CFRE InternationalflagshipGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 March 2026CFRE International serves as a presenting sponsor of the inaugural America's Most Admired Culture Awards. CFRE (Certified Fund Raising Executive) is the global standard for fundraising and philanthropy excellence, and its partnership reinforces the credibility of the awards program in the nonprofit sector.
• BetterWorldflagshipGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 March 2026BetterWorld serves as a presenting sponsor of the inaugural America's Most Admired Culture Awards. BetterWorld is a nonprofit technology and fundraising platform, and its sponsorship aligns the awards program with modern philanthropic technology and engagement practices.
• Lincoln LeadershipminorOthers · 1 February 2026Andrew Wheeler and Daniel Guerrero joined DRiWaterstone from Lincoln Leadership. Andrew Wheeler previously founded Lincoln Leadership in 2021 after 18 years at DSG Global, and brings 27 years of executive search experience exclusively in mission-driven organizations. The addition of these professionals from Lincoln Leadership strengthens DRiWaterstone's executive search platform.
• Waterstone Human CapitalcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2022In 2022, DRi (formerly Development Resources, Inc.) joined with Waterstone Human Capital to form DRiWaterstone Human Capital. The combined entity offers executive search services for nonprofit and social impact organizations alongside culture transformation and leadership advisory services. Waterstone Human Capital brought 20 years of culture-centric talent management expertise to the partnership, expanding the firm's service portfolio and geographic reach across North America.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Emerging players

• Arts Consulting Group: Arts Consulting Group provides executive search, leadership transition, and organizational development services exclusively to arts and culture nonprofits, an important subsector within DRiWaterstone's practice.
• Bridgespan Group: Bridgespan is a nonprofit consulting firm advising on strategy, leadership, and organizational development for the social sector, overlapping with DRiWaterstone's advisory services and occasionally placing nonprofit executives.

Broad incumbents

• Russell Reynolds Associates: Russell Reynolds is a top-tier global executive search firm with dedicated Social Impact, Nonprofit, and Education practices, competing for the same C-suite nonprofit mandates as DRiWaterstone while serving a much broader set of industries.
• Korn Ferry: Korn Ferry is a global organizational consulting firm with executive search across industries including a dedicated nonprofit and social sector practice, competing for high-end leadership engagements that overlap with DRiWaterstone's retained work.
• Heidrick & Struggles: Heidrick & Struggles is a global executive search firm with a Social Impact practice serving nonprofits, foundations, and associations, positioning it as a broad incumbent competing in DRiWaterstone's segment.
• Spencer Stuart: Spencer Stuart is a global executive search and leadership advisory firm with a dedicated Nonprofit, Philanthropy & Social Innovation practice, often engaging at the CEO and board level of mission-driven organizations that DRiWaterstone also serves.

Direct peers

• Nonprofit HR: Nonprofit HR is a consultancy providing executive search, HR outsourcing, and talent management services exclusively to the nonprofit sector, offering overlapping retained search and advisory capabilities to DRiWaterstone's target market.
• Koya Partners: Koya Partners is a national executive search firm dedicated exclusively to nonprofits, foundations, associations, and social impact organizations, directly mirroring DRiWaterstone's core mission and retained search model.
• Isaacson, Miller: Isaacson, Miller is one of the largest retained executive search firms in the U.S. focused on the nonprofit sector, serving education, advocacy, arts, and social impact organizations in direct competition with DRiWaterstone.
• Diversified Search Group: Diversified Search operates a dedicated nonprofit, social impact, and higher education practice with retained executive search and leadership advisory services, directly competing for the same client base and engagements as DRiWaterstone.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/DevResInc

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles19 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 DRiWaterstone