Bønes Virik
Bønes Virik is a Norwegian executive search and human capital advisory firm founded in 2006, operating across Oslo and Bergen with 11-14 partners serving international corporations, listed companies, and large Norwegian enterprises through confidential C-suite, board, and specialist recruitment mandates.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2006
- HeadquartersOslo, Norway
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Bønes Virik does
Bønes Virik AS is a Norwegian executive search and human capital advisory firm founded in 2006 by Lasse Virik, operating as a private limited partnership across offices in Oslo (Holbergs gate 21) and Bergen (Kanalveien 66). The firm employs 11-14 partners and advisors and is registered both as 'Bønes Virik AS' and 'Bønes Virik Executive Search AS' in Norway. It is described as one of Norway's leading executive search agencies and serves international corporations, listed companies, and large Norwegian enterprises with confidential C-suite, board, and specialist mandates.
Its service portfolio comprises seven professional offerings: Executive Search (Lederrekruttering), Board Recruitment (Styrerekruttering), Board Evaluation (Styreevaluering), Specialist Recruitment (Spesialistrekruttering), Candidate Assessment (Kandidatvurdering), Advertised Recruitment (Annonsert rekruttering), and Career Sparring (Karrieresparring). Two proprietary digital assets underpin the practice: Teknologikartet, an interactive map launched in 2023 cataloguing approximately 300 Western Norway technology companies across ten competency categories, and a Board Candidate Database (Styredatabase) hosted on the Recman platform. All consultants are DNV-certified in third-party psychometric tools (Assessio's MAP, MAP-X, and Matrigma), and the firm operates a structured 10-step search methodology with a 6-month free replacement guarantee.
The business model is professional services, project-based, with per-mandate pricing; only Career Sparring has a publicly listed price (15,000 NOK excl. VAT for a 3-hour package). Revenue is not disclosed. Customer acquisition is entirely direct enterprise field sales — partner-led engagement with boards, CEOs, and CHROs — supplemented by LinkedIn, Facebook, Google Display, and Norwegian media-house (Schibsted, Amedia, finn.no) programmatic advertising. The firm is privately held by its partners, with no external investment or parent company. The Bergen office holds Miljøfyrtårn (Eco-Lighthouse) environmental certification.
Bønes Virik firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Bønes Virik
- Legal name
- Bønes Virik AS
- Website
- https://bonesvirik.no
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2006
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Bønes Virik is a Norwegian executive search and human capital advisory firm founded in 2006, operating across Oslo and Bergen with 11-14 partners serving international corporations, listed companies, and large Norwegian enterprises through confidential C-suite, board, and specialist recruitment mandates.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Bønes Virik industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Executive Search & Recruitment Consulting
- NAICS
- Executive Search Services (561312)
- SIC
- Services-Employment Agencies (7361)
- akta.pro primary industry
- C-Suite & Board Search (BPACAAAA)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Functional Leadership Search (HR/Finance/Legal/Marketing/Sales/Ops) (BPACAAAB), Public Sector, Education & Nonprofit Leadership Search (BPACAAAI)
Keywords
Where Bønes Virik is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Oslo
- HQ country
- Norway
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices2 records
Markets served
Bønes Virik business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Others
Revenue model
- Executive Search (Lederrekruttering): Discretionary, project-based executive search mandates for top executives, middle managers, specialists, and board members. Clients engage Bønes Virik for confidential mandates; pricing is quoted per mandate.
- Board Recruitment (Styrerekruttering): Specialised board member recruitment with a structured process including kick-off meeting, needs mapping, candidate identification, and evaluation.
- Board Evaluation (Styreevaluering): External evaluation of board composition, performance, and dynamics through interviews, leadership audits, and team-based tools.
- Specialist Recruitment (Spesialistrekruttering): Targeted specialist-level recruitment using proprietary research methodology, databases, and digital marketing to reach passive candidates.
- Candidate Assessment (Kandidatvurdering): Independent quality assurance and assessment of candidates identified by the client, using interviews and psychometric tools.
- Advertised Recruitment (Annonsert rekruttering): Job advertising services using targeted, dynamic digital campaigns across Norwegian media to reach active and passive candidates, combined with executive search methodology.
- Career Sparring (Karrieresparring): Career coaching package for leaders and experienced specialists including personality testing, in-depth interview, CV/LinkedIn review, and interview training. Priced at 15,000 NOK excl. VAT.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Pay-as-you-go | Career Sparring Package – 15,000 NOK excl. VAT |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels9 records
Bønes Virik product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Bønes Virik is a Norwegian executive search and human capital advisory firm that recruits top executives, board members, specialists, and senior leaders for private and public sector organizations. Services span confidential executive search, board recruitment and evaluation, specialist recruitment, psychometric candidate assessment, advertised recruitment, and career coaching for individuals. The firm operates from Oslo and Bergen with 11–14 partners and a structured 10-step recruitment methodology backed by certified psychometric tools.
Product overview
Bønes Virik operates as a professional services firm offering executive search and recruitment consulting rather than a software product company. The service portfolio consists of eight core consulting services centered around leadership and specialist recruitment: Executive Search (leader recruitment), Board Recruitment, Board Evaluation, Specialist Recruitment, Candidate Assessment, Advertised Recruitment, and Career Coaching. Supporting these services are two platforms: Teknologikartet (an interactive technology map of ~300 companies in Western Norway) and a Board Candidate Database for registering board position interests. All services follow a structured recruitment methodology including needs assessment, search strategy, candidate evaluation (using psychometric tools MAP and Matrigma), interviews, reference checks, and follow-up support.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Executive Search (Lederrekruttering)
Quantifiable outcome
- Free replacement guarantee: if a placed executive leaves within 6 months due to inadequate qualifications or attributes that should have been detected in the process, Bønes Virik conducts a new search at no charge.
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use Bønes Virik
Customer profileNamed customers6 records
Segments5 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
Bønes Virik technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature3 records
Bønes Virik partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
One partnership is on record.
- Media House Partners (Schibsted, Amedia, finn.no)minorNorwegian media houses (Schibsted, Amedia) and finn.no serve as advertising channel partners for Bønes Virik's dynamic digital job advertising campaigns, helping reach passive candidates across Norway.
Scale indicators4 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Bønes Virik competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Heidrick & Struggles: Global executive search and leadership advisory firm with Norwegian presence. Directly comparable in C-suite and board-level mandates across enterprise clients in Norway.
- Spencer Stuart: Global executive search firm with Norwegian practice. Competes for Norwegian board and CEO search mandates with a similar senior-partner-led delivery model.
- Korn Ferry: Global executive search and organizational consulting leader with established Norwegian presence. Several Bønes Virik partners (Eva Sandboe, Lasse Virik, Katrine Nygaard, Arild Mjøs Andersen) previously worked at Korn Ferry's Futurestep subsidiary, making it a directly comparable peer in target market and methodology.
- Dfind (Randstad Norway): Norwegian recruitment and executive search brand under Randstad. Comparable as a domestic Norwegian competitor in specialist and executive recruitment across multiple industries.
- Mercuri Urval: Swedish-headquartered global executive search and leadership advisory firm with strong Nordic presence. Most directly comparable peer in size, methodology, and Nordic market focus; Bønes Virik partner Anne S. Posner previously worked at Mercuri Urval.
- Amrop: European-headquartered executive search partnership with strong Nordic presence. Closely comparable boutique-like structure competing for Scandinavian C-suite and board mandates.
- Egon Zehnder: Global executive search and leadership advisory firm with strong Nordic operations. Competes for the same Norwegian C-suite and board mandates with deeper international resources and brand recognition.
- Russell Reynolds Associates: Global executive search firm serving Nordic enterprise and board clients. Comparable in target customer segment, methodology, and mandate size in the Norwegian market.
- Hudson Global Resources: International recruitment and talent solutions firm with Norwegian operations. Partner Katrine Nygaard previously worked at Hudson Global Resources, indicating a closely comparable methodology and market overlap.
Broad incumbents
- ManpowerGroup Norway: Global staffing and recruitment conglomerate with Norwegian operations. Competes more broadly across staffing categories rather than specializing in C-suite executive search, but overlaps in mid-management and specialist recruitment.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Bønes Virik social profiles
Digital presenceBønes Virik compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance2 records
Bønes Virik financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Bønes Virik leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles14 records
Bønes Virik funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Bønes Virik 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 Bønes Virik
What does Bønes Virik do?
Bønes Virik is a Norwegian executive search and human capital advisory firm that recruits top executives, board members, specialists, and senior leaders for private and public sector organizations. Services span confidential executive search, board recruitment and evaluation, specialist recruitment, psychometric candidate assessment, advertised recruitment, and career coaching for individuals. The firm operates from Oslo and Bergen with 11–14 partners and a structured 10-step recruitment methodology backed by certified psychometric tools.
Is Bønes Virik a public or private company?
Bønes Virik is a private company. It is classified as management employee owned and is currently operating.
When was Bønes Virik founded?
Bønes Virik was founded in 2006. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Bønes Virik based?
Bønes Virik is headquartered in Oslo, Norway, in the Europe region.
How does Bønes Virik make money?
Seven revenue lines are on record. Executive Search (Lederrekruttering) is the primary driver. The others are board Recruitment (Styrerekruttering), board Evaluation (Styreevaluering), specialist Recruitment (Spesialistrekruttering), candidate Assessment (Kandidatvurdering), advertised Recruitment (Annonsert rekruttering) and career Sparring (Karrieresparring).
Who are Bønes Virik's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Heidrick & Struggles, Spencer Stuart, Korn Ferry, Dfind (Randstad Norway), Mercuri Urval, Amrop, Egon Zehnder, Russell Reynolds Associates and Hudson Global Resources. ManpowerGroup Norway is listed as a broad incumbent.
Does Bønes Virik have an API?
No public API is recorded for Bønes Virik.
What industry is Bønes Virik in?
Bønes Virik's product category is Executive Search & Recruitment Consulting. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPACAAAA, C-Suite & Board Search, with a secondary code of BPACAAAB, Functional Leadership Search (HR/Finance/Legal/Marketing/Sales/Ops). Its NAICS code is 561312 and its SIC code is 7361.