100%
of retained searches filled — every one since 2015
Retained CTO search · New York City
The hire you can't afford to get wrong.
Retained CTO, VP Engineering and Chief AI Officer search for VC and PE-backed AI, FinTech and HealthTech scaleups in New York. We bring certainty to the one appointment where the cost of a mis-hire is too high to leave to chance.
15 minutes. No pitch deck. Just whether we're the right fit for the search.
96%
of 50+ placements since 2015 still in role at 12 months
30 days
typical time to a secured hire from engagement
12 months
replacement guarantee as standard, whatever the reason
Measured across 50+ retained searches Edison Hill has run since 2015.
Who we do this for
Two very different reasons to call us.
Founders are making the most consequential hire of the company's life. Investors are making it across a portfolio. The search is the same discipline — the conversation isn't.
For founders & CEOs
Your first — or next — CTO
You've raised, the roadmap is committed, and the technology leadership layer hasn't caught up with the business. Most scaleups don't stall because the team is weak. They stall because leadership didn't scale at the same pace.
- First-time CTO appointments post-Series A, B and C
- VP Engineering and Chief AI Officer search
- Platform rebuilds and engineering team build-out
For VC & PE investors
Technology leadership across the portfolio
You need the same standard of appointment repeated across portfolio companies, with a process your founders will actually engage with and a result you can report on with confidence.
- Post-investment CTO and Director of Engineering mandates
- Consistent, transparent assessment your board can see
- A structured approach through transformation and change
How we de-risk it
A process built to remove the guesswork.
The 96% isn't luck and it isn't a slogan. It's what a structured search, assessment, selection and onboarding process produces when it's followed every time.
01
Behavioural job survey
We get every hiring stakeholder aligned on what “right” actually means — before a single candidate is approached.
02
Deep market mapping
The whole addressable market, mapped and screened — not a shortlist drawn from whoever happens to be looking.
03
Competency-based screening
Structured, video-based assessment against the agreed brief, so every candidate is measured the same way.
04
Onboarding & retention
The search doesn’t end at the offer. It ends when the hire is embedded — which is why they’re still there at 12 months.
Selected searches
What it looks like in practice.
Confidential venture
A Head of Technology search run on almost no information
A serial founder, backed previously by major New York investors, launching something too sensitive to name. No company. No sector. No reference to past exits — and still a Head of Technology to find who could rebuild a platform from the ground up.
3 weeks to three screened candidatesOffer accepted, started the following month
PE-backed SaaSThe company’s first ever CTO
A founder-led B2B software business, c.50 engineers, acquired by a consortium and mandated to become a product-led SaaS company. That meant creating a CTO role that had never existed.
125+ candidates mapped and screened30-day turnaround on the follow-on Director of Engineering
VC-backed · HarperThe client, the investors and the CTO
A critical CTO appointment where the founders, the investor and the candidate all had to be brought along together — and all three went on record afterwards.
Endorsed by all three — client, investor and the CTO placed
Repeat client · Tribal WorldwideThe CTO I didn’t place, who became a repeat client
Months spent advising a CTO on his next move ended with no placement and no fee. Weeks later he resigned from Tribal Worldwide — and recommended us to the board to find his own replacement.
Appointed a CTO from one of Tribal’s direct competitors — seamless transitionRepeat client — multiple senior appointments at his next organisation
One search, three perspectives
The rarest kind of reference.
Most search firms can show you a happy client. On the Harper search, the founder, the investor who introduced us, and the CTO we placed all said so publicly.
The client
“We worked with Warren to support Harper in finding a rockstar CTO. It was a long and thorough search given the importance of this position but Warren delivered and some. I was initially reluctant to invest in direct search but given how integral this position is and how well it turned out for us, I wouldn’t think twice about this in the future.”
Liam YoungFounder, Harper
The investor
“With this being such a critical hire and with the market being the way it is, I was happy to introduce Warren to Harper’s founders. I’m happy it paid off and I’m looking forward to helping their new CTO settle into their new role.”
Andrew DeeleySolid Bond Capital
The CTO placed
“Speaking from the other side — Warren is a genuine guy. It was clear he wasn’t looking for time-wasters and he wasn’t too pushy during the process. All of us were focussed on finding the right fit.”
Martin MossCTO, Harper
In their words
Three references. Three different seats at the table.
Serial founder
“I have over 20 years' experience with successful global venture backed technology start-ups. One of these was UK based and Edison Hill Search were engaged to source two senior appointments in particular. Warren Beazley and his team handled the search and as a result we hired a Head Of Technology & Head Of Finance, both of whom proved suitable and highly successful in their roles. I found Warren to be a good listener and thorough. While he understood the urgency of our search he demonstrated a necessary level of patience in sourcing the correct fit. I confidently recommend Warren to any business, and in particular to any start up.”
John GogginSerial Tech Entrepreneur
PE portfolio SaaS
“Warren and Edison Hill Search didn't just find us two exceptional leaders — they gave us the process, tools, and confidence to hire the right people under extreme pressure. Both have been game-changers for the business.”
Andrew HolgateCEO, Jaama
Hired his own replacement
“I have worked with Warren both in my own quest for a new CTO role, and also to hire my replacement in my old business. Yes, Warren is a big step difference from others in this market. My Exec colleagues and I were very pleased with Warren's ability to comprehend the CTO role we were looking to fill and then actually deliver on the goods with a shortlist of all competent candidates, one of whom we appointed. Don't look further.”
Andrew LilesCTO
Straight answers
The questions founders actually ask.
How do I find a CTO for my recently funded startup?
Start by getting the brief right, not by looking at resumes. The most common reason a CTO search fails is that the founders, the board and the investor each had a different job in mind. We run a behavioural job survey with every stakeholder first, map the full market against that agreed brief, and screen every candidate the same structured way. For a Series B CTO in New York, expect a secured hire around 30 days from engagement.
What is a retained search firm — and why not contingency?
Retained means we work exclusively on your search, on a dedicated basis, and are committed to it until it’s filled. Contingency recruiters are paid only if their candidate lands, so they’re incentivised to send volume quickly across many clients at once. For a pivotal leadership hire that incentive is pointed the wrong way. Every retained search we have run since 2015 has been filled.
How long does a CTO search take?
Typically your new hire is secured within 30 days of engaging us. The variable is rarely the market — it’s how quickly the hiring group can agree what they’re actually looking for, which is why we front-load that work.
What happens if the hire doesn’t work out?
Every placement carries a 12-month replacement guarantee as standard — if they leave, for any reason, we run it again. In practice it’s rarely called on: 96% of the people we place are still in role 12 months later.
Do you work with investors on portfolio hires?
Yes. Alongside founder-led searches we work directly with VC and PE investors who need CTO, VP Engineering or Chief AI Officer appointments across NYC-based portfolio companies — with a consistent assessment framework across every one.
If you’re responsible for a pivotal hire, let’s talk.
Fifteen confidential minutes on the role, the market and whether we’re the right firm for it.