Most executive search firms begin a search the same way: they post the role internally, pull up their database, and start making calls.
At The Carlisle Group, we start differently. We start with what we already know.
Before we ever agree to take on a search, we’ve likely had conversations with the top five performers in that exact role across your industry—not because we were searching for them, but because staying connected to the market is how we operate every single day.
This is what we call “closed-loop intelligence.” And it’s the difference between searching for talent and already knowing where talent lives.
Most firms treat executive search like archaeology. They dig through databases, sift through LinkedIn profiles, and hope to uncover someone qualified who might be open to a conversation.
We operate more like cartographers. We’re constantly mapping the terrain.
Every week, we’re speaking with executives, high performers, and industry insiders—not because we have an active search, but because those conversations are how we keep our finger on the pulse. We know which companies are pivoting. We know where morale is slipping. We know which CFO is frustrated with the lack of innovation in their current role and which VP of Operations is quietly exploring what’s next.
When you come to us with a search, we don’t start cold. We start with a live map of exactly where the talent you need is operating right now.
Here’s a scenario that plays out constantly in our industry:
A company posts a VP of Supply Chain role. They get 200 applications. They spend three weeks screening resumes. They conduct 15 first-round interviews. And six weeks later, they realize none of the candidates have the depth they actually need.
Now compare that to how we work.
Before we even present the first candidate, we’ve had 50 conversations. Not applications. Conversations. With supply chain leaders running operations for competitors, innovators solving the exact problems you’re facing, and high performers who aren’t looking but would consider the right opportunity.
Those 50 conversations tell us:
By the time we present candidates to you, we’ve already filtered the market through intelligence most firms will never access. You’re not sorting through resumes. You’re meeting the people who’ve already been vetted through dozens of real conversations with people who know their work firsthand.
There’s a reason most searches take 90-120 days. Firms are starting from scratch, making educated guesses about where talent might be, and hoping their outreach lands with someone qualified.
We don’t guess. We know.
We know which companies are losing talent. When a $500M manufacturer starts hemorrhaging mid-level managers, we hear about it—not from news reports, but from the leaders still there who are fielding calls from recruiters and wondering if it’s time to leave.
We know where A-players are hitting ceilings. The best performers don’t always leave because they’re unhappy. They leave because they’ve plateaued. We know which VP has been promised a C-suite role for three years and hasn’t gotten it. We know which director is being underutilized and quietly wondering if their skills would be valued more elsewhere.
We know when companies are about to make moves. Before the market hears about a merger, an expansion, or a strategic pivot, we’re hearing whispers. And when those moves create instability or opportunity, we know which leaders are re-evaluating their next step.
This isn’t speculation. It’s intelligence gathered through years of relationships and daily engagement with the market.
At The Carlisle Group, we don’t try to be experts in every industry. We specialize. We go deep in specific sectors—food and beverage, animal health, ingredients and flavors, public transit, human health and nutrition, and property and casualty insurance.
And specialization is what makes closed-loop intelligence possible.
When you work in the same industries for 30 years, you don’t just know the players. You know their networks. You know their mentors. You know who trained under whom and which organizations develop the strongest talent pipelines.
If we need a VP of R&D for a flavor company, we’re not starting with a LinkedIn search. We’re calling the three people we spoke with last month who are leading innovation at competing firms. We know their work. We know their reputations. And we know whether they’d even consider a move—and what it would take to get them interested.
That depth doesn’t happen by accident. It happens through consistent, deliberate engagement with the same markets year after year.
Algorithms can tell you who has the right job title and the right keywords on their resume. They can’t tell you who’s on the verge of burnout. They can’t tell you which high performer just got passed over for a promotion and is ready to listen. They can’t tell you who’s dealing with a toxic culture and would welcome a call—even if they’re not actively looking.
We know those things because we’re having real conversations. Not transactional InMails. Not database searches. Real relationships built over years.
When we reach out to a passive candidate on your behalf, we’re not cold-calling. We’re continuing a conversation we started months or years ago. We already know what matters to them, what frustrates them, and what kind of opportunity would make them reconsider their current trajectory.
That’s the kind of intelligence you can’t buy from a database. You earn it through consistency, credibility, and time.
Here’s the fundamental advantage:
When most firms take on your search, they’re starting at mile zero. They need weeks just to understand the landscape, identify potential candidates, and begin outreach.
When we take on your search, we’re starting at mile 40. We already know the landscape. We’ve already identified the talent. And in many cases, we’ve already had preliminary conversations that laid the groundwork.
That head start doesn’t just save time. It changes outcomes.
You’re not waiting 90 days for the first qualified candidate. You’re meeting vetted, pre-qualified leaders within the first two weeks—people we already know can do the job because we’ve been tracking their performance for years.
In tight talent markets, speed matters. The best candidates aren’t on the market long. If you’re starting from scratch while your competitors are tapping into established networks, you’ve already lost.
Closed-loop intelligence gives you a first-mover advantage. When a high performer becomes quietly available, we know before the market does. When someone is ready to make a move but hasn’t updated their LinkedIn, we’re already in conversation. When the right leader becomes disillusioned with their current role, we’re the first call they take.
That’s not luck. That’s the compounding value of staying connected to the market every single day for three decades.
Most search firms operate reactively. A client calls with a need, and they start searching.
At The Carlisle Group, we operate proactively. We’re always searching—not for specific roles, but for exceptional talent. We’re building relationships, gathering intelligence, and mapping the market so that when you need someone, we already know exactly where to find them.
You’re not hiring us to search. You’re hiring us because we’ve already done the work.
And in a market where the best talent is invisible to most firms, that makes all the difference.