How to Evaluate an Executive Search Firm Before Giving It a Family Office Mandate

Choosing an executive search firm is itself a leadership decision. 

For a family office, that decision carries particular weight. The search partner may gain access to the Principal, family members, internal structures, investment priorities and information that is not intended for the wider market. The executive eventually appointed may then influence decisions, relationships and the operating model for years. 

This makes the choice of search partner more consequential than a conventional recruitment decision. 

The context is changing too. PwC's 2025 Global Family Office Deals Study analysed more than 20,000 family offices, finding that 75% were established after 2001 and half after 2012. Deloitte found that 40% of family offices were looking to hire additional staff, while 29% were increasing their use of professional, non-family talent. 

As family offices become more professionalised, senior hiring is becoming more specialised. Before giving a firm a mandate, the question is therefore not simply whether it can find senior candidates. It is whether it understands the environment, can assess people properly and can be trusted with the process. 

Understanding the Mandate Behind the Role

A search should begin with the family office itself, rather than the job description. 

A Chief Operating Officer joining a newly established office may be expected to build infrastructure and teams. The same title in an established family office could mean taking responsibility for an existing operating platform, coordinating external advisers or working closely with several generations of the family. 

The title alone does not explain the requirement. 

A search firm should take time to understand: 

• Why the role exists, and whether it is a new position, replacement or succession appointment 
• What the Principal expects, including the level of involvement and autonomy 
• Where decision-making authority sits 
• How the role fits into the existing leadership and governance structure 
• What success should look like after the appointment

This initial diagnosis shapes the entire search. A poorly defined mandate can produce an impressive shortlist that is ultimately wrong for the organisation. 

Assessing Relevant Experience

A firm's overall executive search credentials do not automatically demonstrate family-office expertise. 

Family-office leadership can require a different combination of skills. Executives may need to move between strategic and operational responsibilities, work directly with Principals and family members, manage external advisers and navigate relationships that are both professional and personal. 

Deloitte's research found that 49% of family offices expected a non-family professional to lead the office following succession, underlining the growing role of professional leadership. 

The relevant question is therefore not how many senior appointments a firm has completed, but how relevant those appointments are. 

Has the firm worked with family offices of comparable complexity? Has it handled Principal-led mandates? Does it understand the transition from institutional environments into family-office structures? Can it demonstrate successful appointments in similar functions, markets or circumstances? 

A long track record is useful. A relevant track record is more meaningful. 

Evaluating How Candidates Are Assessed

The shortlist is where the search firm's judgement becomes visible. 

Senior executives are usually straightforward to assess on credentials. Their career history, previous employers and technical expertise can be established relatively quickly. What is harder to determine is how they make decisions, what motivates them, how they handle ambiguity and whether their leadership style will work within a particular family-office environment. 

That requires more than CV screening. 

The firm should be able to explain how it tests motivation, leadership behaviour and professional reputation, as well as how it conducts references and investigates conflicting information. For sensitive appointments, a candidate's public profile and digital exposure may also be relevant. 

The objective is not to eliminate every possible risk. It is to give the Principal enough context to understand both the strengths and potential concerns before making a decision. 

Reviewing Confidentiality and Discretion

In many executive searches, confidentiality is important. In family-office search, it can be fundamental. 

A leadership appointment can reveal information about succession, governance changes, investment priorities or future plans. Even approaching a small group of potential candidates can create exposure if the process is poorly managed. 

The search firm therefore needs a clear approach to information access, candidate outreach, conflicts of interest and internal confidentiality. 

This sits within a wider operating environment. Bank of America's 2025 Family Office Report identified future planning, governance and attracting and retaining talent among the key challenges facing family offices. 

The search partner needs to understand that discretion is not a separate administrative layer. It is part of how the assignment is designed and executed. 

Assessing the Firm's Advisory Capability

The strongest search relationships are not purely transactional. 

The original brief may look clear when the mandate is first discussed. But once the firm maps the market, new information can emerge. Compensation may be below market. A combination of requirements may make the candidate pool unnecessarily narrow. The reporting structure may discourage the calibre of executive the family office wants to attract. 

These are issues that should surface early, not after months of searching. 

A capable adviser should be willing to bring market evidence back to the Principal and, where necessary, challenge the original assumptions. That may mean changing the profile, widening the talent pool, reconsidering the role's scope or repositioning the opportunity. 

The value of the adviser is therefore not only in knowing who is available, but in understanding what the market is telling the client. 

Understanding Who Will Deliver the Search

There is also a practical distinction between the firm that wins the mandate and the team that delivers it. 

The senior adviser presenting the proposal may not be the person conducting the market mapping, speaking to candidates or managing the process. For a family-office mandate, that distinction matters. 

Before appointing the firm, the Principal should be clear on: 

• Who leads the assignment 
• Who conducts the market mapping 
• Who assesses candidates 
• Who manages references 
• How directly the lead adviser remains involved 
• How the Principal will be updated throughout the process 

The methodology matters, but so does the judgement and seniority of the people applying it. 

How Dot& Approaches Executive Search

At Dot&, we approach executive search as part of a broader decision-making process. 

We begin by understanding the Principal, the organisation and the purpose behind the appointment. From there, we combine market mapping and executive assessment with relevant intelligence around the individual, including leadership, reputation, professional relationships and digital exposure where appropriate.

This allows the search to look beyond whether an executive can perform the role. It considers whether the individual is appropriate for the environment, the relationships and the level of trust attached to the position.

The objective is to give the Principal a more complete basis for the decision while maintaining the discretion expected of a high-stakes mandate.