Cobalt Search
Cobalt Search is a boutique, women-led executive search firm placing C-suite, VP, and director-level leaders globally across 24 countries. It operates on a 100% referral-based model with senior consultants personally leading every retained search engagement.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2016
- HeadquartersWantage, United Kingdom
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Cobalt Search does
Cobalt Search is a boutique, women-led executive search firm specializing in senior leadership placements at the C-suite, VP, and director levels. Founded by Helen Goddard and operating as Cobalt Search Ltd, the firm serves three primary customer segments: founders hiring their first external leader, growth-stage companies expanding their senior leadership bench, and large organizations seeking top-tier candidates beyond traditional recruitment channels. It maintains a registered UK entity with a Boston, MA office as its primary US hub and reports placements across 24 countries with engagement of more than 100,000 candidates cumulatively.
The firm's core methodology is human expertise rather than technology. Its process centers on global market mapping to surface passive A-player candidates not in standard databases, a two-round in-depth interview assessing technical and cultural fit, and a culture-add framework that seeks alignment plus fresh perspective. All engagements are retained search backed by a 90-day replacement guarantee and a full-refund guarantee if a qualified shortlist cannot be delivered. Senior consultants — including the Founder & CEO and Vice President — lead every engagement from brief through 90-day onboarding support with no hand-offs.
The business model is professional services revenue on a success-fee basis typical of retained search, with pricing not publicly disclosed. Go-to-market is 100% referral-based, with no paid marketing channels; the website serves as the primary digital touchpoint. The senior team consists of approximately six named professionals (Founder & CEO, Vice President, Operations & Client Excellence Manager, Researcher, Executive Assistant, and Trainee Headhunter), and the firm reports an average time-to-hire of 2.5 months and average placement retention of 3+ years. Notable repeat customers include Keolis North America (40+ placements across US, Canada, UK) and Lorval Capital Management (15 placements), with additional logos spanning transportation, financial services, construction, education, healthcare, tourism, and tax credit services.
Cobalt Search firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Cobalt Search
- Legal name
- Cobalt Search Ltd
- Website
- https://cobaltsearch.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2016
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Cobalt Search is a boutique, women-led executive search firm placing C-suite, VP, and director-level leaders globally across 24 countries. It operates on a 100% referral-based model with senior consultants personally leading every retained search engagement.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Cobalt Search industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Executive Search Services
- NAICS
- Executive Search Services (561312), Employment Placement Agencies and Executive Search Services (56131)
- SIC
- Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)
- akta.pro primary industry
- C-Suite & Board Search (BPACAAAA)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Confidential/Replacement & Succession Search (BPACAAAK), Financial Services Leadership Search (Banking/Insurance/PE/Asset Mgmt) (BPACAAAF)
Keywords
Where Cobalt Search is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Wantage
- HQ country
- United Kingdom
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices2 records
Markets served
Cobalt Search business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Others
Revenue model
- Retained Executive Search Services: Boutique executive search firm providing retained search services for senior leadership and C-suite placements. Revenue derived from successful placements with a 90-day replacement guarantee. Operates on a success-fee basis typical of retained search engagements, with most clients coming through referrals.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Other | Multi-year contract | Full-service retained search with guarantee |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels1 record
Marketing channels3 records
Cobalt Search product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Cobalt Search is a boutique, women-led executive search firm that provides retained search services to place chief, VP, and director-level leaders for organizations in the US, Canada, UK and across 24 countries. Every search is led by a senior consultant from briefing through offer and onboarding, using a two-round in-depth interview process, culture-add assessment, and global market mapping to identify passive A-player candidates, and is backed by a 90-day replacement guarantee.
Product overview
Cobalt Search is a women-led boutique executive search firm offering a unified service portfolio centered on placing high-impact senior leaders. The core offering is their Executive Search & Leadership Hiring Services, supported by three specialized sub-products: First Leadership Role Hiring (for organizations making their first external leadership hire), Senior Leadership Team Expansion (for scaling businesses), and Enterprise Talent Attraction (for large organizations seeking confidential or hard-to-fill roles). All placements are backed by a 90-Day Guarantee and Full Refund Guarantee, which serve as risk mitigation add-ons that differentiate their service from transactional recruitment. The firm operates across 24 countries with an average time-to-hire of 2.5 months and places leaders with 3+ year longevity.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Executive Search & Leadership Hiring Services Boutique retained executive search service placing senior leadership roles (C-suite, VP, executive-level) across global markets, focused on cultural alignment and long-term impact, led end-to-end by senior consultants.
- First Leadership Role Hiring Service guiding founders and organizations through their first external leadership hire, including strategic role design, market benchmarking, cultural alignment, and structured onboarding support.
- Senior Leadership Team Expansion Service for scaling organizations to build senior leadership benches through high-impact search, structured two-round interviews, and 90-day onboarding support.
- Enterprise Talent Attraction Service for large organizations to attract top-tier candidates beyond traditional recruitment, featuring deep market mapping, confidential global search, and data-backed benchmarking.
Quantifiable outcome
- Average placement retention of 3+ years
- +5 more outcomes
Companies that use Cobalt Search
Customer profileNamed customers11 records
Segments5 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
Cobalt Search technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature3 records
Cobalt Search partnerships and signals
Strategic signalScale indicators7 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Cobalt Search competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Odgers Berndtson: International mid-sized retained executive search firm serving large enterprises and PE-backed growth companies. Comparable client base and senior-level mandate, though Odgers operates with broader geographic infrastructure than Cobalt.
- Heidrick & Struggles: Global retained executive search firm specializing in C-suite and senior leadership placements. Directly comparable to Cobalt in core service — board, CEO, and executive search — but operates at significantly larger scale with broader geographic coverage and proprietary research infrastructure.
- Caldwell Partners: North American retained executive search firm serving board, CEO, and senior functional leadership needs. Comparable service offerings and client profile to Cobalt, with similar emphasis on culture fit and long-placement success.
- Egon Zehnder: Boutique-leaning global executive search firm known for relationship-driven senior placements and cultural assessment depth. Closely mirrors Cobalt's culture-add emphasis and senior-consultant-led engagement model.
- JM Search: US boutique executive search firm specializing in senior leadership placements for PE-backed and growth-stage companies. Closely mirrors Cobalt's positioning around founder transitions, PE portfolio mandates, and time-sensitive placements.
- Spencer Stuart: One of the world's leading executive search and leadership advisory firms, with deep specialization in board and CEO placements. Overlaps directly with Cobalt's C-suite/VP/director-level mandate and culture-add assessment approach.
- Stanton Chase: Global retained executive search firm with offices across Americas, EMEA and APAC. Comparable to Cobalt in board/C-suite search depth and sector-agnostic coverage, and similarly emphasizes partner-led engagements.
- Russell Reynolds Associates: Global retained executive search firm focused on senior leadership across functional and sector practices. Compares to Cobalt in client profile (large enterprises, PE-backed firms) and search methodology emphasizing cultural and strategic fit.
Emerging players
- Witt/Kieffer: Boutique-leaning executive search firm with deep sector specialization (healthcare, education, life sciences, nonprofit). Overlaps with Cobalt's senior-leadership mandate but on a more sector-focused positioning; useful adjacent benchmark for vertical specialization strategy.
Broad incumbents
- Korn Ferry: Largest global executive search and organizational consulting firm with a much broader portfolio spanning RPO, leadership development, and talent consulting. Overlaps with Cobalt on retained executive search but encompasses adjacent services at scale.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat3 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Cobalt Search social profiles
Digital presenceCobalt Search financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Cobalt Search leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles6 records
Cobalt Search funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Cobalt Search M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Cobalt Search
What does Cobalt Search do?
Cobalt Search is a boutique, women-led executive search firm that provides retained search services to place chief, VP, and director-level leaders for organizations in the US, Canada, UK and across 24 countries. Every search is led by a senior consultant from briefing through offer and onboarding, using a two-round in-depth interview process, culture-add assessment, and global market mapping to identify passive A-player candidates, and is backed by a 90-day replacement guarantee.
Is Cobalt Search a public or private company?
Cobalt Search is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Cobalt Search founded?
Cobalt Search was founded in 2016. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Cobalt Search based?
Cobalt Search is headquartered in Wantage, United Kingdom, in the Europe region.
How does Cobalt Search make money?
One revenue line is on record: retained Executive Search Services.
Who are Cobalt Search's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Odgers Berndtson, Heidrick & Struggles, Caldwell Partners, Egon Zehnder, JM Search, Spencer Stuart, Stanton Chase and Russell Reynolds Associates. Witt/Kieffer is listed as an emerging player. Korn Ferry is listed as a broad incumbent.
Does Cobalt Search have an API?
No public API is recorded for Cobalt Search.
What industry is Cobalt Search in?
Cobalt Search's product category is Executive Search Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPACAAAA, C-Suite & Board Search, with a secondary code of BPACAAAK, Confidential/Replacement & Succession Search. Its NAICS code is 561312 and its SIC code is 8742.