An American downtown financial district of glass towers at golden hour

American Executive Search

The right leader changes everything.

Whitmore Partners finds the executives who take American companies further — and the boards, investors and founders who back them trust us to get it right the first time.

Start a search See how we work

Why Whitmore

We don't fill seats. We find the people who decide what a company becomes.

Three decades in, we're known for one thing above all — conviction. Every search is led by a partner, built on real research, and measured by the decade of leadership that follows, not the day the offer is signed.

An American firm, headquartered in Los Angeles, working coast to coast.

A calm executive office high above an American city

Expertise

Leadership across the mandates that move the needle.

Board & Chief Executive

Chairs, chief executives and directors for the decisions that set a company's direction for years.

C-Suite & Functional Leaders

CFO, COO, CTO and CMO — the operators who turn a strategy into results the board can measure.

Private Equity & Growth

Value-creation leaders for private equity, growth-stage and founder-led companies at every inflection.

Succession & Advisory

Succession planning, leadership assessment and the counsel that lives above the org chart.

The process

How a Whitmore search works.

No black boxes. A disciplined, partner-led process that gets you to the right hire — and keeps it.

  1. Define the mandate

    We start with the business and a shared definition of success — the culture, the context and the appointment everyone can commit to.

  2. Map the market

    Research-led mapping of the entire market — the obvious names and the ones no one else will reach.

  3. Assess with rigor

    Structured assessment of capability, leadership and fit, so the shortlist is a decision — not a pile of résumés.

  4. Appoint and support

    We stay through the offer, onboarding and the first year, because a placement only counts if it lasts.

30 yrsBuilding American leadership teams
500+Board & C-suite searches delivered
9 in 10Still leading at three years
Partner-ledEvery search, start to finish

What boards tell us

Trusted with the appointments that can't go wrong.

“They brought us three candidates and the conviction to choose. Our chief executive is three years in and setting the standard.”
Lead Director
Industrial holdings company
“The most rigorous process we've seen. No noise, no filler — just the right shortlist, on time.”
Managing Partner
Private equity firm
“The partner who pitched us ran the search from first call to signed offer. That's rare — and it showed.”
Board Chair
Financial services group

Perspectives

What we're thinking about leadership.

A leather executive chair beside a walnut table in warm light

Leadership

What separates a good CEO hire from a defining one

The difference is rarely the résumé. It's judgment under pressure — and how you test for it before the offer.

A wide, empty modern boardroom in warm daylight

Boards

Building a board that can actually govern

The best boards are designed, not assembled. Composition, tenure and independence are the first hires that matter.

The glass facade of an American skyscraper reflecting a golden sky

Private Equity

The first hundred days decide the next five years

Value creation lives or dies on the leadership team you back — and how fast you get it right after close.

Make the hire that matters.

Tell us about the role and the moment your company is in. A partner will be in touch — in confidence.

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Contact

Start a conversation.

Email [email protected]
Call +1 (213) 486 2400
Visit 555 West 5th Street, Suite 3200
Los Angeles, CA 90013

By appointment · Monday to Friday