Executive Search for the Defence Industry

An executive search assignment starts with the business, not the job title. We work through where the role sits in the value chain, who the end customer is, how long the sales or programme cycle runs, and what a person must already have done to succeed. Only then do we define the search universe.

We then map the relevant part of the market company by company, approach people personally and confidentially, and come back with a short, argued longlist rather than a volume of CVs. The assignment is not finished at signature: we stay involved through notice periods, counter-offers and the first months in post.

• Role brief anchored with owners, board and management
• Systematic market and competitor talent mapping
• Direct, confidential approach to passive candidates
• Structured interviews, referencing and background checks
• Support through offer, notice period and onboarding

Leadership in defence is tested against long procurement cycles, government customers, export control, security requirements and programmes measured in years. A leader who performs in fast-moving consumer or SaaS businesses is not automatically right here, and the reverse is equally true.

So we assess behaviour, not only a CV: how a candidate acted when a tender slipped three years, when a delivery missed a milestone, when a market closed for political reasons, or when a national customer changed its requirement mid-programme. Industry context is the difference between a credible shortlist and a plausible one.

Defence background is not a job description. Platforms, sensors, C4ISR, communications, vehicles, components and services are different businesses, and we are explicit about which experience actually transfers.

The assignments we take on are roles where a wrong appointment costs years rather than months — commercial ownership, programme delivery and the leadership of technical organisations.

• CEO and Managing Director
• Country Manager for Nordic establishment
• COO and Operations Director
• CTO and Engineering Director
• CFO and Commercial Director
• Sales and Business Development Director
• Programme Director and Project Director
• Supply Chain Director
• Head of Government Affairs
• Head of Strategy

A full breakdown of leadership, commercial, engineering and programme roles is on our roles we recruit page.

Most of the leadership searches we run cannot be advertised, for commercial or security reasons. Candidate approaches are personal and confidential, and we never disclose a client without permission.

Our searches are Nordic-centred but rarely Nordic-only. Candidates for a Swedish or Norwegian leadership role are frequently found in Germany, the UK, France, Israel or the wider European supply base, and we run those approaches directly.

Every assignment also produces market intelligence you keep regardless of outcome: who holds the equivalent role at comparable companies, what compensation looks like at that level, and where the realistic candidate pool actually is.

What is defence executive search?

Defence executive search is retained, research-led recruitment of senior leaders for defence, security and dual-use companies. Rather than advertising a role, the search firm maps the relevant market, identifies people already performing the equivalent job and approaches them confidentially.

How is it different from ordinary recruitment?

General recruitment works with candidates who are actively applying. In the defence industry the small number of people who can do a given leadership job are almost never applying, and many roles cannot be advertised at all. Executive search is the method for reaching them.

Which countries do you search in?

We are based in Sweden and work across Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland and Iceland, and we approach candidates in the wider European defence market when the right profile sits there.

Do you recruit for armed forces or government agencies?

No. We work with the defence industry and its supply chain — manufacturers, suppliers, dual-use technology companies and defence-adjacent advanced technology firms — not for armed forces or public authorities.