Talent Nation
Talent Nation is a boutique recruitment agency founded in 2012 that places ESG, sustainability, environment, climate, and sustainable finance professionals across Australia and New Zealand, serving more than one-third of ASX100 companies via executive search, contracting, and consulting services.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2012
- HeadquartersBrighton, Australia
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Talent Nation does
Talent Nation Pty Ltd is a privately held, boutique recruitment agency founded in 2012 and headquartered in Melbourne (Sandringham), with additional offices in Sydney and Auckland. The firm specializes exclusively in placing professionals across ESG, sustainability, environment, climate and energy, and sustainable finance roles, serving primarily large Australian enterprises and financial institutions — including more than one-third of ASX100 companies — as well as environmental organisations and NZ-based clients.
The company's core technology consists of a curated candidate database and job board for ESG/sustainability professionals in Australia and New Zealand. Its core products include retained Executive Search, Contracting Services (interim and project-based placements), Consulting Services for team structuring and KPI development, a Fractional Chief Sustainability Officer offering, and a newly launched AASB S2 Recruitment service targeting mandatory climate reporting compliance. A flagship asset is the annual FY26 Remuneration Report, now in its 6th edition and based on data from over 1,500 contributing professionals, which serves as both a content marketing anchor and a sector intelligence product.
The business model is professional services fee-based, with executive search and contracting placements generating the primary revenue stream, supplemented by consulting engagements and a "pay-what-you-wish" donation model for the remuneration report channelled to charity One Girl. Talent Nation is B Corp certified (since 2014, the first recruitment firm in ANZ to do so) and is a UN Global Compact signatory. The company is founder-led, with Richard Evans as CEO, and operates without external institutional investment or a parent entity.
Talent Nation firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Talent Nation
- Legal name
- Talent Nation Pty Ltd
- Website
- https://talentnation.com.au
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2012
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Talent Nation is a boutique recruitment agency founded in 2012 that places ESG, sustainability, environment, climate, and sustainable finance professionals across Australia and New Zealand, serving more than one-third of ASX100 companies via executive search, contracting, and consulting services.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Talent Nation industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Executive Search & Recruitment Services
- NAICS
- Employment Placement Agencies and Executive Search Services (56131), Human Resources Consulting Services (541612)
- SIC
- Services-Employment Agencies (7361)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Professional & Technical Direct Hire (IT, Engineering, Finance, Healthcare) (BPACAFAC)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Human Capital & Workforce Transformation Consulting (BPAHACAE), Compensation, Benefits & Rewards Consulting (BPAHAGAF)
Keywords
Where Talent Nation is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Brighton
- HQ country
- Australia
- HQ region
- Oceania
Offices3 records
Markets served
Talent Nation business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Technology or R&D
Revenue model
- Recruitment Services: Talent Nation provides recruitment services including executive search and contracting to clients seeking ESG, environment, sustainability, climate, and sustainable finance professionals.
- Remuneration Survey: Annual remuneration survey report on ESG, Environment & Sustainability professionals in Australia, available for a small donation to charity One Girl.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Other | Annual | Remuneration Report access |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels5 records
Talent Nation product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Talent Nation is a boutique recruitment agency that places ESG, environment, sustainability, climate & energy, and sustainable finance professionals into organisations across Australia and New Zealand. Its core services include retained executive search, contract and interim staffing, advisory consulting on team structure and salary benchmarking, and fractional Chief Sustainability Officer placements. The firm also publishes an annual remuneration benchmarking report and supports candidates through a dedicated resource hub.
Product overview
Talent Nation operates as a boutique recruitment agency offering a unified portfolio of executive search, contracting, and consulting services specialized for the ESG, sustainability, environment, climate & energy, and sustainable finance sectors across Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand. The core offering comprises Executive Search and Contracting Services, supplemented by Consulting Services for team structuring and salary benchmarking, plus a Fractional CSO service for organizations needing part-time senior leadership. The company also publishes the annual FY26 Remuneration Report as a flagship research product and provides a Candidate Resource Hub with free materials for job seekers. Recent additions include AASB S2 Recruitment services addressing mandatory climate reporting talent needs.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Executive Search Retained executive recruitment service placing senior-level talent in sustainability, environment, and ESG leadership positions across Australia and New Zealand.
- Contracting Services Short-term and contract staffing solutions for organisations needing interim sustainability, environmental, or ESG professionals to fill temporary or project-based roles.
- Consulting Services Advisory and consulting engagements helping organisations structure sustainability teams, develop KPIs and metrics, and benchmark salaries for ESG roles.
- Fractional CSO Service Part-time or fractional Chief Sustainability Officer service providing senior leadership access for organisations that may not require or cannot afford a full-time executive.
- FY26 Remuneration Report Annual comprehensive salary benchmarking report for ESG, Environment and Sustainability professionals in Australia, based on data from over 1,500 professionals; widely referenced by industry professionals and mainstream media.
- AASB S2 Recruitment Specialised recruitment service for mandatory climate reporting talent, addressing the new AASB S2 climate-related financial disclosures requirements for Australian entities.
Quantifiable outcome
- More than 1/3 of ASX100 companies served as clients
- +1 more outcomes
Companies that use Talent Nation
Customer profileNamed customers8 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Talent Nation technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Talent Nation partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
One partnership is on record.
- Australian Supply Chain Sustainability SchoolminorTalent Nation has partnered with the Australian Supply Chain Sustainability School, a for-purpose organisation working to integrate ethical standards within the construction industry. The partnership supports the School's mission to increase knowledge and competency among supply chain members in Australian construction and infrastructure fields.
Scale indicators4 records
Recent moves7 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Talent Nation competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Acre: Acre is a global specialist sustainability and ESG recruitment firm, offering executive search and interim placement for sustainability, climate, and ESG leadership — the closest global analog to Talent Nation's ESG executive search franchise, differentiated by a wider international footprint.
- Allen & York: Allen & York is a boutique international recruitment firm running a dedicated sustainability and ESG desk, placing sustainability, environmental, and CSR professionals across permanent and contract roles — directly comparable to Talent Nation's niche positioning and candidate/employer approach.
- Novus Executives: Novus Executives is a specialist executive search firm focused on sustainability and purpose-led leadership hires, working across corporates, NGOs, and investors — a direct peer to Talent Nation's executive search franchise within the same ESG and sustainable finance talent pool.
Regional players
- Talent International: Talent International is an ANZ-headquartered recruitment and workforce solutions firm covering technology, digital, and increasingly ESG/data roles — a regional peer that competes in overlapping ANZ enterprise contracts but does not focus exclusively on sustainability.
Broad incumbents
- Korn Ferry: Korn Ferry is a global organizational consulting and executive search firm with sustainability and ESG leadership advisory capability, competing at the senior end of the same ESG talent market that Talent Nation serves across ANZ enterprises.
- Heidrick & Struggles: Heidrick & Struggles is a global executive search firm with a dedicated Sustainability and ESG Practice that places chief sustainability officers and senior ESG leaders — a broad incumbent that competes for top-end ASX100 ESG executive mandates alongside Talent Nation.
- Michael Page ANZ: Michael Page (PageGroup) is a large generalist recruiter with ANZ operations that places ESG, sustainability, and energy transition professionals alongside a wide portfolio of white-collar roles — a broad incumbent that draws from the same candidate pool as Talent Nation.
- Hays (ANZ): Hays is a large global staffing group with deep ANZ operations that handles ESG and sustainability roles as part of a much broader permanent and contract recruitment portfolio — a broad incumbent that competes with Talent Nation on ESG mandates but lacks dedicated specialist focus.
- Robert Walters ANZ: Robert Walters is a global specialist recruiter with established ANZ offices and a growing ESG, sustainability, and climate-risk practice that overlaps with Talent Nation's executive search and contract offering, particularly for sustainable finance and climate strategy hires.
- Hudson ANZ: Hudson is a major ANZ recruitment and talent solutions firm covering permanent, contract, and executive search across industries including ESG and sustainability — a broad incumbent peer that competes on the same Australian corporate ESG mandates.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Talent Nation social profiles
Digital presenceTalent Nation compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance2 records
Talent Nation financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Talent Nation leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles2 records
Talent Nation funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Talent Nation 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 Talent Nation
What does Talent Nation do?
Talent Nation is a boutique recruitment agency that places ESG, environment, sustainability, climate & energy, and sustainable finance professionals into organisations across Australia and New Zealand. Its core services include retained executive search, contract and interim staffing, advisory consulting on team structure and salary benchmarking, and fractional Chief Sustainability Officer placements. The firm also publishes an annual remuneration benchmarking report and supports candidates through a dedicated resource hub.
Is Talent Nation a public or private company?
Talent Nation is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Talent Nation founded?
Talent Nation was founded in 2012. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Talent Nation based?
Talent Nation is headquartered in Brighton, Australia, in the Oceania region.
How does Talent Nation make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Recruitment Services are the primary driver. The others are remuneration Survey.
Who are Talent Nation's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Acre, Allen & York and Novus Executives. Talent International is listed as a regional player. Broad incumbents are Korn Ferry, Heidrick & Struggles, Michael Page ANZ, Hays (ANZ), Robert Walters ANZ and Hudson ANZ.
Does Talent Nation have an API?
No public API is recorded for Talent Nation.
What industry is Talent Nation in?
Talent Nation's product category is Executive Search & Recruitment Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPACAFAC, Professional & Technical Direct Hire (IT, Engineering, Finance, Healthcare), with a secondary code of BPAHACAE, Human Capital & Workforce Transformation Consulting. Its NAICS code is 56131 and its SIC code is 7361.