Christian & Timbers works on the same retained model as traditional firms, and the differences that matter most are a focused client list and a scorecard agreed before any candidate is approached.
Search firms are often restricted from recruiting executives from their own clients, and those agreements can shape which candidates they can approach. For Christian & Timbers, a focused client list can mean fewer companies are off-limits than at larger traditional firms.
Disclosure: Christian & Timbers publishes this comparison and is one of the firms compared. Industry figures come from third-party sources, and claims about the firm come from its published process and search records.
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How Does a Traditional Retained Executive Search Work?
Retained search is a common model for C-suite and other senior executive appointments. The client appoints one firm exclusively and pays in stages, so part of the fee is due before anyone is hired. Fees typically run 25% to 33% of first-year cash compensation, paid in thirds at engagement, shortlist and placement.
Timelines vary by level. Recruiterflow’s 2026 benchmarks put retained searches at 90 to 120 days to offer, with executive and C-suite searches often taking 120 days or more.
The Association of Executive Search and Leadership Consultants (AESC) sets professional standards for its member firms. Its Client Bill of Rights calls for written agreements that define the terms of an assignment, including off-limits provisions. That last item is where firm size starts to matter.
Why Do Off-Limits Agreements Matter When Choosing a Search Firm?
An off-limits agreement restricts a search firm from recruiting employees from a client organization during an engagement and, often, for a specified period afterward. The AESC lists it among the questions clients should ask before hiring a search firm. Two years from the end of an engagement is a common term, though the binding term is whatever the contract says.
The protection works well for the client that negotiated it. It works against the next client. A firm with hundreds of clients may carry restrictions across a substantial part of its target market. The impact depends on which agreements remain active and which employees they cover.
Candidates already on a firm’s slates for other open searches can be off-limits as well, so a firm running many similar searches at once may have fewer people to present.
For technology searches the impact is direct. If the companies with the strongest AI or engineering leaders are covered by a search firm's off-limits agreements, some of those leaders may be unavailable for other searches the firm runs. Christian & Timbers is an independent firm with a focused client list. In 2026, its market maps averaged more than 300 leaders per search, and the firm contacted about 95% of the leaders on each map, according to its search records.
How Does Christian & Timbers Run an Executive Search?
Every search follows the same plan, built around OnPoint Scorecarding. It starts with a scorecard agreed with the client’s stakeholders at the outset, before any candidate is approached. The scorecard sets out the outcomes the role has to deliver and the experience that predicts them, and every candidate is measured against it from the longlist onward.
Market mapping and a longlist with candidate profiles come early. After that, the firm and the client conduct shortlist interviews, refining the candidate pool based on feedback until they agree on the finalists. References, compensation data and final assessments come at the end, followed by the offer. Support continues after the hire through the executive’s first phase in the role. Actual timing depends on the role, and specialized searches can take longer.
What Experience Does Christian & Timbers Bring to a Search?
Christian & Timbers builds its search scorecards on its partners’ industry experience and assesses candidates against the requirements of each role.
The firm has led CEO and board searches since 1980, including Steve Jobs’ final two board searches at Apple and the recruitment of Carly Fiorina for the Hewlett-Packard CEO position.
How Does Christian & Timbers Use AI in Executive Search?
AI tools are already widely used in executive search. At the start of 2026, 67% of executive search firms reported using AI-powered tools in their workflows, Hunt Scanlon Media reported.
Christian & Timbers uses AI tools for research and market mapping. Partners and clients make every candidate evaluation decision. The firm also publishes studies built from its own search data and interviews, including the Elite FDE Scarcity Study and The AI-Native CISO.
When Is a Large Traditional Firm the Better Choice?
A large global firm can be the stronger option in some situations. A search that needs local teams in several countries at once may suit a firm with offices in each market. A company that wants executive search bundled with leadership assessment, succession planning or board advisory under one contract may prefer a firm that offers those services together, and the AESC advises clients to consider whether they need more than search alone.
The off-limits question cuts both ways too. If a company’s target employers fall outside a large firm’s active off-limits restrictions, its client list may have little effect on that particular search.
What Should Boards and CEOs Ask Before Hiring a Search Firm?
The firm a board picks shapes which candidates it ever sees. Before signing, boards and CEOs should get direct answers to five questions:
- Which companies are off-limits for this search, by name, and how much of the target list does that remove?
- Who will run the search day to day, and did that person pitch the work?
- When is the scorecard agreed, and who signs off on it?
- Where does AI enter the process, and who makes the evaluation calls?
- What is the fee basis, and when is each payment due?
The answers usually say more about a firm than its size does. A smaller off-limits list matters most when the best candidates sit at a handful of competitors. Partner involvement also deserves attention when a company is hiring for a newly defined role, such as its first Head of AI or Chief Robotics Officer.
Questions Boards Ask About Choosing an Executive Search Firm
Is a Boutique Search Firm Better Than a Large One?
It depends on the search. A specialist firm tends to suit roles where the best candidates sit at a small group of competitors and off-limits restrictions would shrink the pool. A large firm can suit searches that need teams in several countries at once or bundled services such as succession planning.
What Does Off-Limits Mean in Executive Search?
An off-limits agreement stops a search firm from recruiting a client’s employees, usually during the engagement and for a set period afterward. The more clients a firm has, the more companies it may be unable to approach for a new search.
Do Large and Specialist Search Firms Charge Different Fees?
Most retained firms, large and specialist alike, charge a percentage of first-year compensation, paid in stages. Exact percentages, minimum fees and what the fee covers vary by firm, so it’s worth comparing the terms in each proposal side by side.
How Long Does a Retained Executive Search Take?
Recruiterflow’s 2026 benchmarks put retained searches at 90 to 120 days to offer, with C-suite searches often running 120 days or more. Timing depends on the role and how scarce the candidates are.
Today Christian & Timbers leads CEO and board searches, along with senior technology appointments including CTO, CPO, CPTO, VP of Engineering, VP of AI, Head of AI, Chief Robotics Officer and VP of AI Transformation, with a global reach that extends to passive candidates.
