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It was the search process. We run a different kind of firm — niche recruiters backed by AI sourcing tools that find leaders your internal team can't reach. You get curated shortlists, not resume dumps. And every placement comes with a 90-day performance guarantee.
— James Pemberton, Founder · 15 years in executive recruiting. Virginia Beach, VA.
Engaged Headhunters is a boutique executive search firm specializing in retained leadership placements for healthcare, technology, and finance organizations. We use proprietary AI sourcing combined with rigorous human vetting to find, assess, and secure passive C-suite, VP, and Director-level talent nationwide. Every executive placement is backed by our 90-day Signature Guarantee to eliminate hiring risk for our clients.
Founded by James Pemberton in 2022 with a research-first methodology built on 300+ executive placements, Engaged Headhunters serves organizations that cannot afford a mis-hire at the leadership level. Read the Executive Search Guide or explore our placement case studies to see the methodology in action.
Verified Track Record
We're not just recruiters. We're strategic partners invested in your success.
From community hospitals to Fortune 500 tech. We adjust to your culture, not the other way around.
Healthcare, technology, finance, and manufacturing. Deep enough to know what ‘good’ looks like in your industry.
If a placed candidate doesn’t work out within 90 days, we restart the search at no additional fee.
You’ll hear from a human within one business day. Not a chatbot. Not an autoresponder.
Three focused steps. No spray-and-pray. Every search run by a senior recruiter with 15+ years of industry experience.
We learn who you need - not just the title, but the cultural DNA, leadership style, and success metrics. Most searches start within 48 hours.
We reach leaders who aren't looking. The passive candidates your competitors can't find on LinkedIn - identified, vetted, and engaged on your behalf.
You meet a curated shortlist - typically 3–5 exceptional candidates. Every placement backed by our Signature Performance Guarantee.
Typical searches launch within 48 hours · 90-day guarantee
Healthcare organizations face a leadership gap that conventional recruiting cannot close. Hospital systems, behavioral health networks, home health agencies, and digital health companies all compete for the same senior clinical and operational leaders. Our healthcare recruiting practice places C-suite operators, VPs of clinical services, and department directors who understand regulatory complexity, payor dynamics, and the operational demands of modern care delivery.
We specialize in behavioral health recruiting and home health recruiting, two of the most underserved leadership markets in the sector.
Technology leadership searches carry a specific failure mode: a technically excellent candidate who cannot operate at the pace and communication style a given organization requires. Our technology recruiting practice places CTOs, VPs of Engineering, Chief Product Officers, and senior engineering directors at growth-stage and enterprise technology companies.
Senior finance leaders at the CFO, VP Finance, and Controller level shape organizational strategy as much as any operational executive. Our finance executive search serves investment management, private equity-backed companies, healthcare finance, and financial technology organizations.
300+
Leaders Placed
93%
Year-One Retention
90-Day
Signature Guarantee
Nationwide
Search Reach
Engaged Headhunters was founded by James Pemberton to bring a research-first, relationship-driven approach to executive search in competitive and niche markets. Every search is personally managed. Every placement is guaranteed. Read the executive search guide or join our executive network.
Specialists who understand your market and know exactly where to find elite leadership.
Proven results across critical industries
Leadership for healthcare systems, clinical directors, and health-tech innovators.
Engineering leaders and product visionaries who scale global technology organizations.
Strategic CFOs and financial executives who drive fiscal growth and enterprise value.
Operations executives and plant leaders optimizing high-performance industrial teams.
AI-powered screening, your own careers page, and employer branding that cuts staffing agency dependency.
We measure our success by the long-term impact of the leaders we place.
Engaged Headhunters didn't just find us a candidate; they found us a transformational leader. Their process is surgically precise and their performance guarantee gave us total peace of mind.
The speed and quality of our CTO search was unprecedented. They understood our technical requirements and cultural nuances from day one. Highly recommended for elite tech roles.
The most professional search firm I've worked with in 20 years. Their niche expertise in the finance sector is unmatched. They delivered three perfect candidates within the first month.
Whether you're hiring your next executive or exploring your next opportunity - the best outcomes come through relationships, not job boards.
Join 200+ companies who've hired through Engaged
Expert insights on executive search and leadership placement.
An executive search firm is a specialized recruitment agency retained to identify, evaluate, and place senior-level professionals in leadership roles. Unlike general staffing agencies, executive search firms use targeted research, direct outreach, and rigorous vetting to surface candidates who are often not actively looking for a new role.
Engaged Headhunters specializes in healthcare, technology, and finance executive search. This includes behavioral health, home health, healthtech, life sciences, manufacturing, and financial services sectors.
The Signature Guarantee is a placement retention guarantee. If a placed executive does not remain in the role, Engaged Headhunters conducts a replacement search at no additional retainer cost within the guarantee window.
Executive search fees typically range from 25% to 35% of the placed executive's first-year compensation. Retained search firms charge upfront in installments, while contingency firms charge only upon successful placement. The investment protects against the far greater cost of a failed senior hire.
A standard executive search takes between 45 and 90 days from the initial intake session to the signed offer. We prioritize speed without sacrificing quality, typically presenting the first qualified candidate shortlist within the first 21 days of the search launch.
Whether you're hiring your next executive or exploring career opportunities, we're ready to connect.
Your information is kept confidential.
