The executive board sets the direction. We find the personality who delivers it.
Executive board and managing director appointments for corporate groups, large family businesses and hidden champions.
Executive board and managing director appointments for corporate groups and large family businesses. Executive search for the strategic top level.
The executive board and the management board are a company’s highest governing body: they bear overall strategic responsibility, steer the operating business and are accountable for implementing the owners’ strategy. In corporate groups and large family businesses, filling this level has particularly far-reaching consequences, because it directly affects the governance structures between owners, the supervisory board and operational management. Wrong decisions at this level affect not only business results, but also the trust of the owners, the stability of the leadership team and the future viability of the entire company.
As a headhunter for executive board positions, Headgate specialises in filling the strategic top level in corporate groups, family-run companies and hidden champions. Through executive search for family businesses, we identify leadership personalities who, in addition to professional excellence, are able to reconcile owner interests, entrepreneurial responsibility and operational effectiveness.
With more than 2,500 successfully completed search assignments, a placement rate of over 95% and a 24-month guarantee, we provide planning certainty for decisions that shape the entire company.
Why executive board appointments in corporate groups and family businesses place the highest demands on process and discretion
An executive board or managing director appointment is no ordinary personnel decision. It is subject to regulatory frameworks, company law requirements and governance standards. In family businesses, there is an additional factor: the executive board must not only run the business, but also win and retain the trust of the owner family.
Owner and shareholder logic Executive boards in corporate groups and family businesses operate in the field of tension between operational responsibility and owner expectations. In family-run structures, acceptance by the shareholder family is not a soft factor, but a prerequisite for the executive board’s ability to act.
Supervisory board and advisory board dynamics. In companies with co-determination, the supervisory board is formally responsible for appointing the executive board. In family businesses without co-determination, an advisory board often takes on this function. In both cases, the search process must systematically incorporate the requirements of the supervisory body.
Confidentiality and timing. Executive board appointments are usually highly sensitive: they affect the capital market, employees, customers and competitors. A confidential search in executive search is often the only viable way to keep the process under control.
Cultural fit at the highest level. The best board members do not fail through a lack of competence, but through a lack of fit with the corporate culture, the owners’ values and the existing leadership team. That is why professional executive recruiting at board level relies on well-founded aptitude assessment that goes beyond the CV.
Executive search with a 24-month guarantee
Executive board appointments are too far-reaching for compromises. Should an executive we have placed leave prematurely within 24 months, we will conduct a new search once, free of charge. Our guarantee rate is below 3%.
Which executive board and managing director positions we fill
As executive headhunters, we fill the entire spectrum of executive board and managing director positions in corporate groups, large family businesses and mid-sized groups of companies – in Germany, in the DACH region and internationally where required.
- Chairman of the Executive Board (CEO)
- Spokesperson of the Executive Board
- Chairman of the Management Board
- Managing Director (GmbH)
- Managing Director
- General Manager
- Chief Financial Officer
- Chief Sales Officer
- Chief Technology Officer
- Chief Human Resources Officer
- Chief Production Officer
- Chief Information Officer
- Chief Digital Officer
- Chief Legal Officer
- Chief Marketing Officer
- Chief Operating Officer
- Chief Procurement Officer
- Chief Logistics and Supply Chain Officer
- Chief Strategy Officer
- Chief Communications Officer
- Chief Compliance and Risk Officer
- Chief R&D Officer · Chief Sustainability Officer (ESG)
- Board Member Plant Operations
- Board Member for a Business Segment
- Divisional Board Member
- Regional Board Member
- Country Board Member
- Board Member Markets
- Board Member Networks (energy/infrastructure)
- Medical Director (Board)
- Hospital Board Member
- Board Member Retail
- Board Member Transformation
- Board Member Integration (PMI)
- Board Member Restructuring
- Interim Board Member
- Turnaround Board Member
- Project Board Member
You will find detailed information on individual leadership roles on our pages on C-level positions, for example Managing Director / CEO, Chief Financial Officer / CFO or Chief Operating Officer / COO.
Five situations in which we are commissioned with executive board appointments
Planned succession on the executive board
The incumbent board member is retiring or moving to the supervisory board. The succession must be prepared early and discreetly to ensure continuity and the ability to act. Find out more under succession planning in family businesses.
Expanding the executive board
Growth, internationalisation or new business areas require additional board portfolios. The new role must fit into the existing board team and the governance structure.
Replacement during an ongoing term of office
A board member is to be replaced without causing internal or external unrest. In these cases, a confidential search with coordinated approval processes is crucial.
Post-merger and integration
Following corporate transactions, the board level often has to be reorganised – quickly, robustly and with a view to the integration phase. On request, we combine this with our M&A advisory.
Tensions at owner or governance level
When owners and the executive board are no longer pulling in the same direction, the reorganisation needs an external perspective, discretion and clear process management.
Transformation starts with a conversation
The Headgate formula for success in executive board appointments
What separates a 95% placement success rate from the market average? Five success drivers that we apply consistently at board level too: from an understanding of governance and comprehensive market coverage through to safeguarding the decision with aptitude assessment and a guarantee.
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Beyond C-level: further leadership levels we fill
Not every strategic key role in top management carries a Chief title. That is why our C-level recruiting also covers leadership roles at adjacent levels:
C-level positions
CEO, CFO, COO, CTO and other chief officers in GmbH, SE and AG structures.
Find out more >
The industries in which we fill executive board and managing director positions
Appointments at top management level require an in-depth understanding of industry-specific governance requirements, market dynamics and leadership requirements. We know which competence profiles work at executive board and managing director level in which industry.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about executive board appointments
The systematic identification, qualification and recruitment of personalities for the highest management level: chairs of the executive board, spokespersons, functional board members, managing directors. In corporate groups and family businesses, the process includes involving the owners, supervisory board or advisory board and assessing cultural fit.
We clarify roles, expectations and decision-making paths at an early stage and moderate the requirements between the supervisory body and the owners. This creates a shared vision before the search begins.
In five steps: briefing and governance analysis, market analysis and search strategy, structured direct search, aptitude assessment with candidate reports, and shortlist with support through to signing. On average, it takes 9 to 12 weeks to find your preferred candidate.
A central one. We conduct the majority of our appointments at top management level as confidential searches, with an anonymised approach, a 7-level NDA system and coordinated approval processes.
Executive board positions are subject to company law requirements (the supervisory board’s power of appointment, governance standards, co-determination where applicable) and require a particular degree of stakeholder management. C-level positions also include managing director roles in GmbH structures, which are subject to formally different requirements. We fill both levels through executive search.
The fee structure depends on the role, the search effort and individual agreement. Aptitude assessment, candidate reports and the 24-month guarantee are included in the project fee. We clarify the details transparently in the initial consultation.
Looking to fill an executive board position? Let’s talk in confidence.
In 15 minutes, we clarify the role, governance requirements and search strategy for your executive board appointment. Confidential, with no obligation and on equal terms. Headgate is your headhunter for leadership positions, specialising in executive board positions in corporate groups and large family businesses.