Hire Horizons

What Hire Horizons does

Hire Horizons is a privately held, founder-led executive search firm headquartered in Pickerington, Ohio, that recruits Engineering, Technical Sales, Marketing, Operations, and Executive Management professionals for industrial and manufacturing clients across the United States. The firm is led by Bernie Nutter (President and Founder, B.S. in Chemical Engineering from The Ohio State University, 25+ years across Fortune 100 and pre-IPO industrial companies) and operates with approximately ten professionals, including two Executive Recruiting Managers, five Technical Recruiters, a Project Coordinator, a Business Operations Manager, and Research Specialists distributed across Ohio and Metro Detroit. Every Executive Recruiter holds a Certified Personnel Consultant (CPC) credential and has prior operating experience inside the industry niche they now recruit for — a positioning the firm brands as having "walked in the shoes" of the positions it fills.

The core product is a professional services engagement: contingency or retained search fees for sourcing, vetting, and placing candidates ranging from entry-level technical staff to C-level executives in verticals including water treatment, specialty chemicals, food & beverage, oil & gas, nuclear, power generation, refining, automotive, pulp & paper, plastics, and mining. The technology underlying the offering is conventional — Boolean search, candidate database management, LinkedIn sourcing, a Career Alerts email system, and a job board on hirehorizons.com — with no proprietary platform, AI/ML capabilities, or software product. Go-to-market is direct, relationship-driven sales: Executive Recruiters with vertical specialization (e.g., Bernie Nutter covering water treatment, pulp & paper, chemicals; Julie Mysinger covering oil & gas, specialty chemicals, manufacturing) engage hiring managers via phone, email, and inbound contact form, supported by memberships in NAPS, ORA, Top Echelon Network, and NPA Worldwide for extended candidate reach.

Revenue mechanics are placement-fee based and undisclosed; named enterprise clients include SUEZ Water Advanced Solutions, Nalco (an Ecolab Company), Cytec-Solvay Group, Bay State Milling, Comtech Industries, AstenJohnson, The MC Group, and TAEUS International Corporation, with multiple testimonials crediting Hire Horizons with multi-year engagements and transformational client outcomes. The firm has no institutional investors, no parent company, no subsidiaries, no acquisitions, no funding history, and no patents or regulatory actions on record — it is an independent, relationship-driven boutique competing in a fragmented segment of the broader US staffing market.

Name

Hire Horizons

Legal name

Hire Horizons

Website

https://hirehorizons.com

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Hire Horizons is a privately held, Ohio-based executive search firm that places Engineering, Technical Sales, Marketing, Operations, and Executive Management professionals into industrial and manufacturing clients nationwide. Its ~10-person team of CPC-credentialed recruiters all have prior operating experience inside the verticals they serve.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Executive Search Services

NAICS

Executive Search Services (561312), Employment Placement Agencies (561311)

SIC

Services-Employment Agencies (7361)

akta.pro primary industry

C-Suite & Board Search (BPACAAAA)

Keywords

• Executive search services
• Industrial recruitment
• Engineering talent placement
• Technical sales recruiting
• Manufacturing staffing

Headquarters

HQ city

Pickerington

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices7 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations

Revenue model

1. Executive Search Services: Contingency or retained search fees for sourcing and placing Engineering, Technical Sales, Marketing, Operations, and Executive Management professionals for employers. Services cover entry-level to C-level executive placements.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Hire Horizons is an executive search firm that sources, vets, and places Engineering, Technical Sales, Marketing, Operations, and Executive Management professionals for industrial and manufacturing employers nationwide. The firm operates on contingency or retained search fee models, with each recruiter specialized in a specific industry niche and holding Certified Personnel Consultant (CPC) credentials, placing candidates from entry-level through C-level executive roles.

Product overview

Hire Horizons is an executive search firm that provides talent acquisition services for Industrial and Manufacturing clients. The company offers candidate sourcing, placement, and career support services including resume preparation, interview coaching, social media guidance, and job evaluation advice. Their core offering is the recruiting service itself—a human-delivered matchmaking process connecting employers with professionals in Engineering, Technical Sales, Marketing, Operations, and Executive Management roles. The company operates primarily through their website at hirehorizons.com, which functions as a candidate portal and employer contact point.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Executive Search Services Contingency and retained executive search services for industrial and manufacturing employers, placing vetted Engineering, Technical Sales, Marketing, Operations, and Executive Management professionals from entry-level through C-suite. Each engagement is handled by CPC-credentialed recruiters specialized in a specific industry niche.

Quantifiable outcome

• Record-setting growth and increased profitability achieved by client using Hire Horizons-placed team
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers9 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered minor.

• National Association of Personnel Services (NAPS)minorOthersProfessional association membership providing access to industry best practices, networking, and professional development resources for recruiting professionals.
• Ohio Recruiters Association (ORA)minorOthersRegional professional association for recruiters in Ohio, providing networking opportunities and industry standards alignment.
• Top Echelon NetworkminorOthersRecruitment network enabling collaboration on searches and access to extended candidate networks across member firms.
• NPA Worldwide Recruitment NetworkminorOthersGlobal recruitment network providing access to international candidate sourcing capabilities and collaborative placement opportunities.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• MRINetwork: Global recruitment network with strong industrial and manufacturing practice and CPC-style recruiting standards. Comparable business model to Hire Horizons, particularly through its shared network membership and cross-firm search collaboration.
• JMJ Phillip Executive Search: Executive search firm specializing in industrial, manufacturing, and engineering placements. Directly comparable niche focus and candidate profile to Hire Horizons, with similar recruiter industry-credibility positioning.
• Lucas Group (now HireGenics): Executive search firm historically focused on mid-to-senior level placements across industrial, manufacturing, and engineering functions — directly comparable vertical and level focus to Hire Horizons. Now part of HireGenics, it represents the most direct peer in industrial executive search.
• FPC (Franchise Personnel Consultants): Network of independently-owned executive search franchises specializing in professional, technical, and industrial placements. Closely comparable mid-market executive search model with shared CPC credentialing and vertical specialization.

Broad incumbents

• Robert Half: Large staffing and consulting firm with a dedicated executive search arm (Robert Half Executive Search) that places senior finance, technology, and operational leaders. Comparable on the mid-to-senior search side, though much broader in scope.
• Korn Ferry: Global organizational consulting firm with a major executive search practice spanning industrial, consumer, and technology sectors. A broad incumbent competing for the same enterprise clients on retained executive search mandates.
• DHR Global: Global executive search firm with industrial, private equity, and functional practices. Competes for C-suite and senior leadership searches in industrial end-markets similar to Hire Horizons' client base.
• Boyden: Global executive search firm with an Industrial Practice covering manufacturing, automotive, chemicals, and energy. Comparable at the senior executive placement level, particularly in the same industrial verticals Hire Horizons serves.
• Spencer Stuart: Global executive search and leadership advisory firm with an Industrial Practice and Functional Practices including operations and engineering leadership. Comparable at the senior executive placement level.
• Heidrick & Struggles: Global executive search leader with an Industrial and Functional Practices including manufacturing and engineering leadership. Represents the incumbent-scale peer Hire Horizons competes against on larger C-suite mandates.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/Hire_Horizons
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/hire-horizons

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 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 Hire Horizons