Trewstar Corporate Board Services

What Trewstar Corporate Board Services does

Trewstar Corporate Board Services is a privately held, 100% female-owned boutique board search firm founded in 2012 by Beth Stewart and headquartered in Manhattan, New York. The firm specializes in placing qualified candidates on corporate boards across the United States, serving clients that range from Fortune 50 companies to venture-backed and pre-IPO firms, with a stated mix of approximately 70% public company and 30% private/pre-IPO engagements. Services include traditional board director search, board assessments, advisory board creation, activist defense searches, C-suite executive placements, reverse searches, and mixed-slate director searches, all delivered through a team of approximately 12 professionals with deep direct boardroom experience.

The firm operates on a fee-based professional services model, with pricing customized per engagement and not publicly disclosed. Its competitive positioning rests on a proprietary, continuously refreshed database of thousands of vetted board-ready candidates, partners who collectively have served on more than 10 public company boards for over 30 years, and a singular focus on board search that distinguishes it from diversified executive search firms. Marketing is primarily relationship-driven through referrals, the TrewNews blog, LinkedIn presence, and earned media coverage in major business publications, with a Harvard Business School case study further reinforcing brand credibility.

The company has no external investors, no parent company, and no subsidiaries; growth has been entirely organic. The technology stack is minimal, centered on standard productivity tools rather than a proprietary platform. Strategic momentum is evidenced by a 2023 service line expansion (activist defense, executive search, advisory boards, reverse searches), the addition of a dedicated COO in 2022, and ongoing team expansion, while headline performance metrics include a 98% search completion rate, 97% candidate renomination rate, and an average 4-month time-to-completion per assignment.

Name

Trewstar Corporate Board Services

Legal name

Trewstar LLC

Website

https://trewstar.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2012

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Trewstar is a 100% female-owned boutique board search firm that places corporate directors and C-suite executives for Fortune 50 to pre-IPO companies across the United States. Founded in 2012, it combines deep partner-level boardroom experience with a proprietary vetted-candidate database and a stated 98% placement completion rate.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Executive Search / Board Placement Services

NAICS

Executive Search Services (561312)

akta.pro primary industry

C-Suite & Board Search (BPACAAAA)

akta.pro secondary industry

Governance & Board Effectiveness Advisory (BPAHAFAC)

Keywords

• Board search services
• Executive search
• Corporate governance
• Board director placement
• Advisory board services

Headquarters

HQ city

New York

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, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Board Search Services: Fee-based professional services for placing candidates on corporate boards. The firm offers board director searches, C-suite executive placements, board assessments, advisory board creation, and reverse searches.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Trewstar Corporate Board Services is a boutique board search firm that specializes in placing outstanding candidates on corporate boards across public, private, and pre-IPO companies in the United States. The firm offers traditional board director placement, C-suite executive searches, board assessments, advisory board formation, activist defense searches, reverse searches, and mixed-slate director searches. Trewstar maintains a proprietary talent pool of vetted board-ready candidates across all genders, races, and ethnicities, and is recognized for its singular focus on boardroom placements.

Product overview

Trewstar is a boutique board search firm offering a core board director placement service with expanded modules including board assessments, advisory board formation, activist defense searches, executive search, reverse searches, and mixed slate director searches. The firm specializes in placing diverse candidates (with focus on gender and racial diversity) on corporate boards across Fortune 50, mid-cap, and pre-IPO companies. The company was founded in 2012 and operates from Manhattan, New York, with a 100% female-owned and operated team.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• TrewNews: Company blog featuring board governance commentary, industry insights, and firm updates.

Products and services

• Traditional Board Search Full-service corporate board director placement, identifying and vetting exceptional candidates for board positions across public, private, and pre-IPO companies.
• Advisory Board Formation Creation and launch of advisory boards composed of 3-7 experts with relevant expertise to support corporate boards on specific challenges such as cybersecurity, AI, go-to-market strategy, and human capital.
• Activist Defense Searches Board updates and searches conducted in response to activist investors, either proactively or reactively, to strengthen board composition.
• Executive Search C-suite and executive team level placements, including CEO succession planning projects.
• Reverse Searches Identifying appropriate board roles for high-potential C-suite executives, positioned as a development opportunity and retention tool for CEOs to offer their talent.
• Mixed Slate Director Searches Board searches that identify candidates with needed skills and experiences without respect to gender and racial diversity when companies have broadened board composition requirements.
• Board Assessment Services Independent board evaluations conducted through detailed company research and confidential interviews with directors and management, with recommendations for improving board effectiveness.

Quantifiable outcome

• 98% successful completion rate
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers7 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 indicators9 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Allegis Partners: Boutique executive search firm specializing in board director and CEO placements. Direct competitor; notably, Trewstar Managing Director Heather Wolf previously led board placements at Allegis Partners.
• Russell Reynolds Associates: Global executive search firm with a strong Board & CEO practice. Directly comparable to Trewstar in board director search services, particularly for large public-company mandates.
• Spencer Stuart: Global executive search firm with a long-standing board and CEO practice serving large-cap public companies. Direct competitor to Trewstar in the board director placement space, but at materially larger scale and with global reach.
• Heidrick & Struggles: Publicly-traded global executive search firm with a dedicated Board of Directors practice. Competes with Trewstar for board search mandates and C-suite placements across Fortune 500 clients.
• Boyden: Global executive search firm with a board practice serving public, private, and PE-backed companies. Comparable to Trewstar across mid-cap and PE portfolio company board mandates.
• Diversified Search: Mid-sized executive search firm with board and C-suite practices, with notable strength in diversity-focused placements. Closely comparable to Trewstar in positioning, scale, and service mix.
• Egon Zehnder: Global executive search and leadership advisory firm with a board practice. Direct competitor in board placement services, with similar emphasis on cross-border board talent.

Broad incumbents

• Korn Ferry: Large global organizational consulting firm with a substantial Board & CEO Search practice. Competes with Trewstar for board mandates, but operates a much broader portfolio including consulting, RPO, and assessment.

Others

• Equilar: Provider of executive and board data, analytics, and governance tools. Not a direct competitor to Trewstar but an ecosystem partner/adjacent business in the board governance space.
• Nasdaq Center for Board Excellence: Governance and board-effectiveness solutions provider affiliated with Nasdaq. Adjacent to Trewstar's board assessment and advisory offerings, though operating more as a technology/data platform than a search firm.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/trewstar-corporate-board-services

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles12 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 Trewstar Corporate Board Services