Talent intelligence, before you need it.

A confidential study of the people, the moves and the comp benchmarks shaping a defined market — commissioned before a hire, a restructure, or a transaction. The kind of intelligence that changes how you plan, not just how you recruit.

01 What it is

A market map is a structured view of who’s where, doing what, for how much — across the segment, region or function you’re focused on.

Unlike a search, the deliverable isn’t a hire. It’s intelligence: a comprehensive, anonymised picture of the senior talent pool in your defined market, with insight into who’s mobile, who’s settled, what they’re paid, and where the next moves are likely to happen.

It’s commissioned by founders sizing up a build-out, boards planning a succession, PE sponsors assessing a portfolio company’s leadership depth, or M&A teams stress-testing a target’s key people. The work is always confidential, always bespoke, and always senior-led.

02 When to use it

Four scenarios where mapping pays for itself.

Pre-hire

Before you commit to a search

Map the market first. Understand who exists, what they cost, and whether your target profile is realistic before you write the brief — or before you decide whether to hire externally at all.

PE / M&A

Due diligence on leadership

Assess the depth of senior bench in a target company. Identify single points of failure, retention risk, and external candidates who could step in quickly if the deal closes.

Strategy

Build-out & expansion planning

Entering a new region or segment? Map the available talent before committing capital. Understand the moves, the comp, and the realistic timeline to building a credible team.

Succession

Quiet succession planning

Identify potential successors for board or C-suite roles confidentially, well ahead of an announcement. The work is done discreetly, with no approach to candidates unless and until you decide.

03 What you receive

A structured intelligence report. Yours to keep.

The deliverable is a confidential PDF report plus a structured candidate dataset, presented in a working session with you and any nominated stakeholders.

Market overview

The competitive landscape — operators, service companies, vendors and their relative scale. Recent leadership moves, ownership changes, and emerging entrants.

ii.

Senior talent profiles

Anonymised individual profiles of the senior population matching your target — current role, tenure, background, mobility signals and rough comp benchmark.

iii.

Compensation benchmarks

Salary, bonus, LTIP and total package ranges for the level and region in scope. Drawn from live market intelligence, not stale survey data.

iv.

Strategic observations

Where the market is moving, who’s likely to be available in 6–12 months, and the practical implications for how you should approach your next hire or move.

04 How it works

From scoping call to delivered intelligence, in four to six weeks.

Week 1

Scoping

A discovery call to define the scope: market segment, geography, target seniority, the specific question you’re trying to answer. We’ll agree the deliverable and fee in writing before any work begins.

Weeks 1–4

Research

Desk-based competitive landscape work, then primary research — discreet conversations with our network, structured outreach to mapped individuals, comp validation against live offers and recent moves.

Week 5

Synthesis

Research is consolidated into the structured report, profiles are written up, and observations are drawn from the body of evidence rather than a single data point.

Week 6

Delivery

A working session — usually 60 to 90 minutes — to walk through the findings, answer questions, and discuss implications. Report and dataset delivered confidentially in your preferred format.

A note on confidentiality.

Mapping work is confidential by default.

No approach to any individual identifies you as the commissioning party unless we agree it explicitly in advance. Reports are delivered to named stakeholders only. NDAs are standard, and we’re comfortable working under client-side legal frameworks for sensitive transactions.