SearchWide Global

What SearchWide Global does

SearchWide Global is a full-service executive recruitment firm founded in 1999 and headquartered in St. Paul, Minnesota, specializing in C-Level and Director-level executive search across the travel, tourism, hospitality, convention, trade association, venue management, and experiential marketing industries. The firm places senior leaders for clients ranging from Fortune 500 corporations to mid-sized public and private companies and associations, with an 11–50 employee team and several regional offices supporting a claimed global footprint.

The firm's product portfolio comprises retained executive search as the core offering, SearchWide Connect as an expedited contingent placement service for mid-level management, proprietary industry research reports co-developed with partners such as Fired Up! Culture and Sports ETA, an Emerging Leaders apprenticeship program run jointly with Destinations International and IAVM, a Client Portal, and the Take Carra Foundation community initiative. Its underlying technology stack is light: the differentiator is a proprietary search process and candidate research methodology, augmented by a project logistics and client collaboration portal — not an AI-driven platform. The firm holds no patents or trademarks disclosed in the source data and reports no AI/ML capabilities, integrations, or APIs.

The business model is professional services on a retained basis, with project-based fees negotiated per engagement (specific pricing not publicly disclosed). Go-to-market is enterprise field sales supported by referral networks, direct outreach, and deep industry association involvement: team members hold board, council, and committee seats at Destinations International, HSMAI, IAVM, MPI, PCMA, and the U.S. Travel Association, which functions as the primary demand-generation channel. SearchWide Connect adds a self-serve / contingent-placement channel that targets mid-market management hiring across the same verticals.

Name

SearchWide Global

Legal name

SearchWide Global

Website

https://searchwideglobal.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1999

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

SearchWide Global is a 1999-founded executive recruitment firm specializing in C-Level and Director-level placements for the travel, tourism, hospitality, convention, trade association, venue management, and experiential marketing industries.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Executive Search Services

NAICS

Executive Search Services (561312)

SIC

Services-Employment Agencies (7361)

akta.pro primary industry

C-Suite & Board Search (BPACAAAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Confidential/Replacement & Succession Search (BPACAAAK), Functional Leadership Search (HR/Finance/Legal/Marketing/Sales/Ops) (BPACAAAB)

Keywords

• Executive search services
• Hospitality recruitment
• Travel industry staffing
• Leadership placement
• Contingent talent placement

Headquarters

HQ city

Saint Paul

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, Others

Revenue model

1. Retained Executive Search: SearchWide Global primarily operates on a retained executive search model, placing C-Level and Director-level executives for clients in travel, tourism, hospitality, convention, trade association, venue management, and experiential marketing industries. The firm conducts customized, consultative searches ranging from Fortune 500 corporations to mid-sized public and private companies and associations.
2. SearchWide Connect (Contingent Placement): SearchWide Connect provides expedited contingent placement services for mid-level management candidates across all sectors the firm serves, bridging the market gap between traditional retained search timelines and faster talent needs.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

SearchWide Global is a full-service executive recruitment firm providing customized retained executive searches for C-Level and Director-level positions across the travel, tourism, hospitality, convention, trade association, venue management, and experiential marketing industries. The firm serves Fortune 500 corporations, mid-sized public and private companies, and associations. It complements retained search with SearchWide Connect, an expedited contingent placement service for mid-level management candidates across the same verticals.

Product overview

SearchWide Global is a full-service executive recruitment firm offering a unified suite of talent solutions. The core offering is Executive Search Services for C-Level and Director-level placements across travel, tourism, hospitality, convention, trade association, venue management, and experiential marketing industries, complemented by SearchWide Connect for expedited mid-level placements. Additional services include industry research reports, an Emerging Leaders apprenticeship and development program, the Take Carra Foundation community initiative, and a Client Portal for collaboration. The portfolio ranges from Fortune 500 corporations to mid-sized public and private companies and associations.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Named customers1 record

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and minor.

• Destinations InternationalcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2011SearchWide Global is the founding partner and sponsor of Destinations International's 30 Under 30 program since 2011. The firm also partners with DI on apprenticeship programs through its Emerging Leaders initiative. Multiple SearchWide Global team members hold leadership positions on DI's board, council, and committees.
• International Association of Venue Managers (IAVM)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSearchWide Global has partnered with IAVM on an apprenticeship program as part of its Emerging Leaders initiative, providing hands-on professional work experience for talented apprentices with participating lead organizations.
• Fired Up! CulturemajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSearchWide Global collaborated with Fired Up! Culture to produce the '2024 Destination Leaders of the Future: Engaging and Retaining Emerging Talent' report, collecting and analyzing proprietary data jointly. The firm is also a two-time recipient of the Fired Up! Culture Achievement Award.
• Sports ETAmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSearchWide Global partnered with Sports ETA to release the '2023 Sports Destination Leaders Salary, Compensation and Benefits Report,' led by researchers from Stoll Strategies and sponsored by Northstar Meetings Group.
• G.R.O.W.T.H. Community (Goals. Relationships. Opportunity. Workplace. Tourism. Hospitality.)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSearchWide Global supports the G.R.O.W.T.H. community, a professional development network for rising leaders in the travel, tourism, and hospitality industries. GROWTH focuses on professional development content and relationship building in collaborative settings.

Scale indicators3 records

Broad incumbents

• Spencer Stuart: Premier global executive search firm serving consumer, hospitality, and leisure clients at the C-suite and board level. Comparable business model of retained senior-level search, with a strong practice serving travel and hospitality organizations globally.
• DHR International: Global executive search firm serving hospitality, leisure, and consumer clients. Comparable in retained senior executive search with industry specialization, though it serves broader verticals and geographies.
• Korn Ferry: Largest global organizational consulting firm with a major executive search practice serving hospitality and tourism clients. Comparable in performing retained C-suite and senior leadership searches, though it also offers RPO, consulting, and assessment services across all industries.
• Egon Zehnder: Global executive search and leadership advisory firm with a hospitality, travel, and leisure practice. Directly comparable in serving executive-level placement needs for hotels, resorts, and travel organizations across geographies.
• Russell Reynolds Associates: Global executive search firm with a dedicated consumer and hospitality practice. Comparable in performing retained senior leadership searches for travel, tourism, and hospitality clients, though at significantly larger scale.
• Heidrick & Struggles: Global executive search and leadership advisory firm with a dedicated hospitality, travel, and leisure practice. Comparable because it serves the same client segments (hotels, destination organizations, associations) for senior leadership placements, though it operates at much larger scale across all industries.

Direct peers

• HVS Executive Search: Hospitality-focused executive search division of HVS, a global hotel consulting firm. Closely comparable because it exclusively serves hotels, resorts, and hospitality organizations for senior leadership placements, directly overlapping with SearchWide Global's hotels & resorts segment.
• Renard International Hospitality Search Consultants: Specialty executive search firm dedicated exclusively to the hospitality industry worldwide. Directly comparable in its sole focus on hotels, resorts, and hospitality leadership placements with a similar boutique model.
• Gecko Hospitality: Hospitality-focused executive recruiting firm specializing in restaurant, hotel, and resort leadership placements. Comparable in vertical specialization and mid-to-senior management placement focus, though with stronger concentration in restaurant operations.

Emerging players

• True Search: Boutique executive search firm with a growing hospitality and consumer practice. Comparable in offering retained senior executive search, though it operates as a more tech-forward, cross-vertical boutique competing for similar mid-market mandates.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/SearchWide
• Facebookfacebook.com/Searchwide
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/searchwide

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles14 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 SearchWide Global