Search-Light Partners fka Lewis Consultants

What Search-Light Partners fka Lewis Consultants does

Search-Light Partners (formerly Lewis Consultants) is a boutique executive search firm founded in 1998 by Roy Lewis and headquartered in New York City. The firm specializes in C-suite and senior executive placements — including CEOs, CROs, CMOs, CTOs, VPs of Sales/Marketing, Sales Engineers, and Senior Technology/Compliance Executives — exclusively for technology startups and VC/PE-backed firms across North America. The firm operates with a small team of 12 employees led by two principals (Founder Roy Lewis and Partner Jon Lytle) and has completed over 775 executive searches across 25+ years, with placed leaders contributing over $2B in client top-line revenue growth and only 4 replacement searches required.

The firm operates on a customized retainer and contingency search model, offering performance guarantees with weekly progress reporting, and differentiates via proprietary methodologies including personality profiling, quantitative candidate ranking, cultural mapping, and a five-step search process (research, locate, qualify, motivate, deliver). Its distribution leverages the First Interview network — the largest independent Sales and Marketing Recruiter network with 1,000+ members — extending geographic reach beyond its single NYC office. The firm maintains a 30,000+ candidate database and 100+ strategic partners/resources, with no technology product, no AI/ML capability, and no disclosed external funding; revenue is generated purely from placement fees.

Name

Search-Light Partners fka Lewis Consultants

Legal name

Lewis Consultants

Website

https://search-lightpartners.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1998

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Search-Light Partners is a boutique New York-based executive search firm specializing in C-suite and senior technology placements for VC/PE-backed startups across North America, operating retainer and contingency models with proprietary personality profiling, quantitative ranking, and cultural mapping methodologies.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Executive Search Services

NAICS

Executive Search Services (561312), Employment Placement Agencies and Executive Search Services (56131)

SIC

Services-Employment Agencies (7361)

akta.pro primary industry

Technology & Product Leadership Search (CIO/CTO/CDO/CPO) (BPACAAAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

C-Suite & Board Search (BPACAAAA), Functional Leadership Search (HR/Finance/Legal/Marketing/Sales/Ops) (BPACAAAB)

Keywords

• Executive search services
• Technology executive recruiting
• C-suite talent acquisition
• Venture capital placements
• Retainer search firm

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, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Retainer Search Model: Customized retainer-based search engagement offering performance guarantees and weekly stats and reviews. Designed to limit client exposure while providing competitive search services.
2. Contingency Search Model: Alternative search model where fees are contingent on successful placement, offering shorter recruit times for increased economic impact.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Search-Light Partners is a specialized executive search firm that places C-suite executives (CEO, CRO, CMO, CTO), VP/Director-level sales and marketing leaders, sales executives, sales engineers, and senior technology/compliance executives at technology startups and VC/PE-backed firms. Engagements are delivered via customized retainer or contingency search models with performance guarantees, weekly stats and reviews, and proprietary personality profiling, quantitative ranking, and cultural mapping methodologies.

Product overview

Search-Light Partners is a specialized executive search firm (not a software product company) offering a unified service portfolio centered on executive recruitment. The core offering is Executive Search Services, which provides senior leadership placement across C-suite, VP/Director, and specialized sales/technology roles. This is complemented by Customized Search Models offering flexible retainer and contingency fee structures with performance guarantees. The company focuses exclusively on the technology sector in North America, serving venture capital and private equity-backed firms with high-impact leadership placement.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Executive Search Services

Quantifiable outcome

• Over $2B in top-line revenue contributions generated for clients
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers9 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

Feature4 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• First InterviewcoreGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 1979Search-Light Partners is an IT Advisory Board Member and major contributor to First Interview, the largest network of independent Sales and Marketing Recruiters in the world. First Interview was created in 1979 and has grown to over 1,000 member recruiters linked via Internet and secure intranet technologies. The network collectively fills over 11,000 jobs annually with base salaries exceeding $500 million. This partnership strengthens Search-Light Partners' ability to scale coverage nationally and internationally.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Riviera Partners: Riviera Partners is a tech-focused executive search firm specializing in placing engineering, product, and executive talent at technology companies. Directly comparable to Search-Light Partners given its similar technology-vertical focus and executive-level placement mandate for VC-backed startups.
• Glocap Search: Glocap Search is a New York-based boutique executive search firm focused on technology and growth-stage companies. Directly comparable to Search-Light Partners as a similarly-sized boutique specializing in tech sector executive placements with a New York presence.
• True Search: True Search is a specialized executive search firm focused on the technology sector, placing C-suite and senior leaders at VC/PE-backed startups. Directly comparable to Search-Light Partners in terms of tech-vertical focus, target client base (startups and growth-stage firms), and service offering of executive recruitment.

Broad incumbents

• Stanton Chase: Stanton Chase is a global executive search firm with a technology practice and offices worldwide. Comparable as a broad incumbent offering executive search services, though less specialized in tech startups than Search-Light Partners.
• Korn Ferry: Korn Ferry is a global organizational consulting firm with a large executive search practice covering technology and other verticals. Comparable as a broad incumbent offering overlapping executive search services but with much broader portfolio of services and larger scale.
• DHR International: DHR International is a global executive search firm with technology and private equity practice areas. Comparable to Search-Light Partners in serving tech and VC/PE-backed clients with executive placements, but operates at much larger scale across multiple industries.
• Heidrick & Struggles: Heidrick & Struggles is a global executive search and leadership advisory firm serving clients across multiple industries, including technology. A broadly comparable incumbent with overlapping capabilities in senior executive placement but operating at much larger scale and across many verticals, not specialized in tech.
• Egon Zehnder: Egon Zehnder is a global executive search and leadership advisory firm with technology practice coverage. Comparable as a broad incumbent in executive search, serving similar C-suite and senior leadership placements but operating across multiple industries and at much larger scale.
• Spencer Stuart: Spencer Stuart is a global executive search and leadership consulting firm with a dedicated technology, media, and telecommunications practice. Comparable as a broad incumbent offering executive search across industries but with a specialized tech practice that directly competes for similar placements.

Others

• Management Recruiters International (MRI): MRI is a global search and recruitment network where Search-Light Partners founder Roy Lewis began his career. It is comparable as a heritage network in the executive search industry, though it operates at a much larger franchise-network scale rather than as a boutique tech specialist.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/searchlightpartnersfkalewisconsultants

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 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 Search-Light Partners fka Lewis Consultants