BOARD & EXECUTIVE LEADER
“She would be the first resource I would call.”
Board Member & Chief Product Supply Officer
Global Technology Company
The answer is not more resumes.
It is better judgment.
Whaley Search Partners leads retained searches nationwide for C-suite and senior executives at pivotal moments—when growth, succession, or transformation demands better judgment, not more candidates.
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Senior Leadership Mandates
Across the United States
From First Question Through Transition
SELECTED RECOMMENDATIONS
WHO WE SERVE
We lead executive searches shaped by company context, functional mandate, and the industries where our experience and judgment run deepest.
COMPANIES
Ownership, pace, stakeholders, and the business moment all shape who can succeed.
Owner-led and family-owned
Private equity-backed
Companies at an inflection point
Explore Companies We Serve →
FUNCTIONS
We recruit senior leaders across the enterprise—from general management to operational, commercial, and corporate functions.
CEO, President & General Management
Operations, Manufacturing & Supply Chain
Commercial, Sales & Marketing
Finance, People & Transformation
M&A, Board & Governance
Explore Functions We Recruit →
INDUSTRIES
Our experience helps us recognize relevant talent, adjacent capability, and leadership that can translate.
Consumer Goods
Food & Beverage
Beauty & Personal Care
Health & Wellness
Pharma & Nutraceutical
Retail, E-commerce & Food Service
Distribution, Transportation & Logistics
Manufacturing & Industrial
Explore Industries We Serve →
OUR APPROACH
A disciplined sequence. A distinctly human read.
01 — MANDATE
Understand the real business need before defining the role.
02 — DEFINE
Build the success profile, package, and interview process.
03 — BUILD
Map the market and engage qualified passive talent.
04 — EVALUATE
Assess capability, career pattern, motivation, fit, and risk.
05 — SHORTLIST
Present deliberately varied, defensible options.
06 — FINISH
Guide interviews, references, pre-close, offer, and transition.
See How a Search Works
— Heather Whaley
FOUNDER & MANAGING PARTNER
The person behind the judgment.
Heather Whaley is Founder & Managing Partner of Whaley Search Partners. She brings more than 20 years of retained executive search experience across privately owned, PE-backed, and growth-focused companies. Clients know her for candid counsel, deep market knowledge, and hands-on leadership through the decisions they cannot afford to get wrong.
Heather has also served as a speaker, moderator, mentor, and committee member in national client-industry associations and executive forums—often as the only executive recruiter in the room alongside senior operators and business leaders.
At many firms, the partner who wins the work hands it off. Here, the person who understands the mandate also leads the search—from role definition and market strategy through assessment, close, and transition.
Meet our Founder
WHEN TO CALL US
When the next leader carries the weight of what comes next.
We are built for consequential mandates, complex contexts, and executive hires whose impact reaches far beyond an open seat.
01
Succession plans are put on hold.
The business needs an objective read on the internal bench, the external market, readiness, and risk—without sentimentality.
02
The mandate has changed
The leader who built the current chapter may not be the leader required for the next one.
03
The search must remain confidential
A sensitive replacement or undisclosed change requires controlled outreach, careful sequencing, and discretion.
04
The capability does not exist yet
Growth or transformation requires experience the organization has never previously needed.
The Whaley Wire
Articles from our Million Dollar Mistakes Series:
MILLION DOLLAR MISTAKES · 04
More stakeholders do not automatically produce better executive hiring decisions. Without clear ownership, input becomes noise and strong candidates walk away.
Read Article
MILLION DOLLAR MISTAKES · 03
Why prestigious employers, titles, and credentials can create false confidence—and what actually predicts whether an executive will succeed in your organization.
MILLION DOLLAR MISTAKES · 02
Executive interviews reward confidence, but competence must be validated through evidence, judgment, execution, and the results a leader leaves behind.
MILLION DOLLAR MISTAKES · 01
A wrong executive hire can cost far more than compensation, draining momentum, trust, talent, and leadership credibility long after the decision is made.
FOR COMPANIES, BOARDS, AND HIRING LEADERS
Have an executive hire you cannot afford to get wrong?
Discuss a Confidential Leadership Need
Exploring future executive opportunities?
Visit our executive page to learn how we work with executives and submit or update your resume.
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