For Banks

Make your bank
the standout.

Most of my engagements are with banks where a single hire genuinely matters. The EVP of Commercial Banking who shapes the loan book for the next decade. The Chief Credit Officer change that resets the culture of the institution.

The hires that shape a decade

Those searches don't reward speed. They reward judgment, discretion, and a recruiter who knows the candidate's reputation three banks back. I've spent 25 years building the network and the vocabulary to be useful in exactly those conversations.

I build the search around your bank's actual strengths, not a generic profile.
I help you strengthen your brand and culture in the markets that matter most to your growth.
I position your bank to be a talent magnet for the next decade, not just for this opening.
I'll tell you the hard things: when your credit box is too tight for the talent you're chasing, or when a candidate you like won't hold up in committee.
Retained or contingency, priced to the role. The model matters less than getting the search right.

Why a specialist

The whole asset of this firm is depth in one place: California community and regional banking. I don't dabble, I don't take a favor search outside the niche, and I won't tell you what you want to hear if I think you're about to make a mistake. That focus is the difference between a resume forwarder and a recruiter who actually understands the seat.

Engagement Options

Retained search, when the seat is too important to leave to chance

For the hires that shape the loan book or reset the culture, a committed, exclusive search beats a race to forward resumes. Here's when retained is the right call, and what it gets you.

When retained fits

A senior or business-critical hire. A confidential replacement where discretion matters. A niche skill set or a tough market. Multiple seats at once. The roles where getting it wrong is expensive, and getting it right is worth a real process.

What you get

A committed partner who works the search until it's filled. Real market intelligence on comp and talent movement. A controlled, discreet process. And a shortlist that's been assessed against your brief, not just sourced and forwarded.

A full briefing with your stakeholders to define the role, the competencies, the geography, and your value proposition.
A complete map of the market: every candidate who fits the criteria, not just the ones already looking.
Systematic, professional outreach to active and passive talent alike.
A weekly, transparent progress report. Every candidate, every conversation.
An assessed shortlist of three to five, qualified against the brief and genuinely interested.
A guarantee: if the hire leaves inside the first year for any reason but a layoff, I find the replacement at no additional fee.

Retained or contingency

Priced to the role, not to a formula

Contingency works for the straightforward, lower-level hire. When the seat is senior, confidential, or hard to fill, a retained process is what gets it right. I pick the model that fits the search and price it fairly.

Talk through a search

Get in touch

A search that matters?

I connect and broker strategic conversations between senior Commercial Banking and Credit professionals and the Executive and C-Suite hiring managers who can grow both banks and banking careers. If you are a bank with a mission-critical hire, or a seasoned banker looking for expert advice on how to navigate the next five years, here's how to reach me: