Executive search in Halifax & Atlantic Canada.

What executive search is

Executive search is a research-led way to hire for senior roles. Instead of advertising and waiting for applicants, the search firm maps the market, approaches the people best suited to the role, most of whom are not looking, assesses them carefully and presents a short list of people worth meeting.

Hawthorne Recruitment runs executive searches for chief executives, vice-presidents, directors, board members and other senior leaders in Halifax, across Atlantic Canada and, when a role calls for it, nationally. Hawthorne works on a retained or engaged basis, not contingency: the client engages Hawthorne exclusively, and Hawthorne commits fully to the mandate.

When to use an executive search firm

• The role is senior enough that the wrong hire would cost far more than the search.
• The people you want are employed, performing well and not reading job boards.
• The search has to stay confidential, such as a sensitive replacement or a leadership transition.
• The market is small, and every approach to a candidate reflects on your organization.

How a Hawthorne executive search works

1. Discovery. Serious time with you before any searching starts: the role, the team, the culture and the gap the hire needs to close. If the brief, the compensation or the timeline is off, we say so here, before it costs you a search.
2. Market mapping. A target list of organizations and people across Halifax, Atlantic Canada and beyond, built from research and from relationships.
3. Direct approach. Personal, discreet outreach. Most strong candidates are not looking, so the first conversation is about whether this could be right for them.
4. Assessment. Each candidate is assessed on technical fit, leadership style, values alignment and long-term potential before you meet them.
5. Shortlist and interviews. A short list of people worth your time, with our candid read on each. Candidates are briefed too, so interviews are real conversations.
6. Offer and close. We manage the offer with honesty on both sides, so the hire starts well.
7. After the start. We stay close after the hire. A placement is measured a year out, not at the offer.

Executive search, professional search and contingency recruitment

The three are often confused. The difference is the level of the role, how candidates are found and how the firm is engaged.

For specialist and management roles, see professional search. For how the retained model works, see retained search vs. contingency.

Sectors we serve

Hawthorne works across the sectors that shape communities in Atlantic Canada:

• Real Estate & Development
• Construction & Infrastructure
• Technology
• Energy & Renewables
• Healthcare
• Professional Services
• Nonprofit & Social Sector
• Government & Public Sector
• Financial Services & Insurance
• Legal
• Education & Post-Secondary
• Arts, Culture & Tourism

Why Hawthorne

Hawthorne is a boutique firm based in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, with deep market knowledge, long-standing candidate relationships and a genuine commitment to discretion. Every search is led by someone who has done this long enough to know the difference between a candidate who looks right and one who actually is. You work directly with the people doing the search, never a junior associate. We take on a limited number of searches so the ones we run get our full attention.

See representative mandates, meet the team or read how we think about leadership in The strongest leaders share one trait.