Define the real mandate
Clarify the business problem, decision rights, leadership context, scorecard, compensation, and evidence a candidate must show to succeed.
Retained executive search | Nationwide
Retained search for the hire that changes the company.
When the role carries revenue, culture, investor confidence, or the founder’s ability to sleep at night, a stack of résumés is not a search strategy. Unicorn Wranglers finds, assesses, and closes leaders whose evidence holds up after the interview performance ends.
Discuss a retained searchWhen retained search makes sense
The cost of waiting is high. The cost of getting it wrong is higher.
- The role owns a revenue stream, transformation, team, or decision the company cannot afford to stall.
- The best candidates are not actively applying and need a credible, informed reason to engage.
- The search is confidential, politically sensitive, or replacing a leader who is still in the seat.
- The internal team needs market intelligence and a stronger assessment process, not more candidate volume.
- A prior search produced polished finalists but not enough evidence to make a confident decision.
The Unicorn Wranglers difference
Fewer résumés. Deeper reads. A search built around the decision.
Rachel Hopper Grassi has spent more than 20 years recruiting inside and alongside companies, including Google, Meta, and TKO’s UFC, WWE, and PBR brands. She has advised hundreds of hiring managers and recruited more than 100 senior leaders and executives.
Every retained search is led directly by Rachel. The role is calibrated before outreach begins, the market is mapped beyond active applicants, and candidates are assessed against evidence of scope, judgment, and results.
No junior handoff. No résumé avalanche. No contingent race where five agencies submit the same person and everyone calls it market coverage.
How retained search works
One accountable partner from the first brief through the accepted offer.
Build the market, not just a posting
Identify target companies, adjacent talent pools, likely objections, compensation realities, and leaders who may never apply on their own.
Assess beyond interview polish
Test the story against the evidence, probe the gaps, understand motivation and risk, and present a clear recruiter read on every serious candidate.
Protect the decision through offer
Manage candidate communication, references, tradeoffs, offer strategy, and the details that can derail an otherwise strong hire at the finish line.
Engagement model
Retained means both sides are committed to getting the hire right.
50% at kickoff. 50% at hire.
The exact fee is scoped privately based on the role, market, level, and search complexity. The investment is clear before work begins, and retained searches include a 90-day replacement guarantee under the engagement terms.
Talk through the roleYou may need fractional recruiting support instead.
When the problem is broader than one critical hire, fractional support can add senior recruiting leadership, process, market intelligence, and execution without a full-time headcount.
Explore fractional recruiting support20+Years in recruiting
1,000+Professionals hired or placed
100+Senior leaders recruited
10+Industries recruited across
Direct answers
Retained executive search FAQs
What is retained executive search?
Retained executive search is an exclusive recruiting partnership for a leadership or business-critical hire. The search partner is engaged from kickoff through close and is accountable for market mapping, outreach, assessment, candidate experience, decision support, and offer strategy, not simply sending résumés.
How is retained search different from contingent recruiting?
Contingent recruiting usually rewards speed and volume because the recruiter is paid only if their candidate is hired. Retained search rewards depth, calibration, and accountability. Unicorn Wranglers works on a retained basis so the search can be built around the right hire instead of a race to submit the first available candidate.
How does the retained fee structure work?
Each search is scoped privately based on the role, market, complexity, and level. The engagement is structured with 50 percent due at kickoff and 50 percent due when the candidate is hired. The exact fee is discussed before the search begins.
What roles does Unicorn Wranglers recruit?
Unicorn Wranglers leads executive, senior leadership, and hard-to-fill searches across functions including marketing, growth, ecommerce, partnerships, operations, finance, legal, technology, and other roles where the cost of a weak hire is larger than the recruiting fee.
Does the search include a guarantee?
Yes. Retained searches include a 90-day replacement guarantee, subject to the terms agreed to at kickoff.
Do you work only in Las Vegas?
No. Unicorn Wranglers is based in Las Vegas and conducts retained searches for companies across the United States, including remote, hybrid, and onsite leadership roles.
The role is too important for a hiring bluff.