M&A Advisory Multi-Hire Principal and Partner Search
Scaling senior leadership across two practices for a scaling PE-backed strategy consultancy
Our client is a specialist strategy consulting firm providing commercial due diligence (CDD) and strategic advisory services to support M&A transactions and value creation efforts. Having historically grown its headcount through hiring and developing graduate and MBA talent, the firm had recently taken private equity investment and was ready to make its first significant move into the senior external talent market.
The objective was to hire at Principal and Partner level across two distinct practices — pricing and CDD — bringing in next-generation leaders capable of introducing new perspectives from leading competitors and helping shape the firm's future direction.
The challenge: A first foray into senior external hiring
This engagement carried strategic weight beyond the individual hires. For a firm unaccustomed to working with executive search partners, establishing a process that accurately reflected its culture and vision was as important as the outcome itself.
The pricing practice operated on a fully remote model, requiring a nationwide US search. The CDD practice search was concentrated in the firm's core markets of Boston and New York. Both briefs demanded individuals who could operate with authority at senior level whilst integrating into a firm building its leadership identity for the first time.
The InX solution: Parallel searches with structured candidate evaluation
We ran two concurrent searches — one for pricing, one for CDD — combining broad market research with a rigorous scoring framework to bring objectivity and consistency to candidate evaluation.
Initial research surfaced approximately 120 candidates for the Pricing search and 200 for CDD. A structured scorecard was applied to filter the field, with weekly client meetings used to continually refine the ideal profile and sharpen screening criteria. This iterative approach ensured that assessment remained closely aligned with the firm's evolving understanding of what each role required.
The result: Four placements, an expanded mandate and a four-year partnership
We placed a Pricing Principal within three months of initiating the search. Over the following seven months, three CDD Principals were placed from top-tier strategy consulting firms.
This initial success led directly to an expanded mandate. The team began a new search for revenue-generating Partners and potential team lifts. The firm subsequently engaged InX to support an average of one senior hire per quarter for the next four years.
"We are thrilled with the quality of candidates you have been able to provide and have done a great job at telling our story and sharing our vision for the future of the firm across both searches so far."
— Founder, Strategy Consulting Firm
Scaling a consulting practice and ready to make your first move into senior external hiring? InX brings the market knowledge and process rigour to get it right from the outset. Get in touch.