Prepare before announcing.
Identify potential successors while an existing leader remains in place and the organization agrees its transition plans.
Confidential executive search
When a leadership
search cannot
begin in public.
Private Mandate Search helps boards, business owners, and executive teams identify senior leaders worldwide for appointments that require discretion.
Private Mandate Search manages targeted research, private approaches, and initial candidate assessment within an agreed search brief.
PMRESEARCH · DISCRETION · ACCOUNTABILITYPRIVATE MANDATE SEARCH / CONFIDENTIAL EXECUTIVE SEARCH
BOARD & CEO APPOINTMENTSSENIOR FUNCTIONAL LEADERSHIPCONFIDENTIAL SUCCESSION
Why employers use confidential search
The appointment matters.
So does the timing.
A public vacancy is not always the right first step. An organization may need to explore leadership options before informing employees, announcing a transition, or disclosing plans to the market.
Assess options privately.
Explore the available leadership market when an open advertisement could reveal a proposed change prematurely.
Recruit around a sensitive brief.
Research leadership for an acquisition, expansion, or new function whose details are not ready for public disclosure.
What the firm takes responsibility for
A defined search.
A direct point of contact.
The employer sets the business requirements and makes the hiring decision. Private Mandate Search conducts the agreed search activity and manages communication with potential candidates.
Identify relevant leaders.
Translate the brief into target organizations and candidate profiles, including executives who may not be actively looking for a role.
Contact candidates privately.
Discuss the opportunity using approved information, explore interest, and assess experience against the requirements.
Present a relevant shortlist.
Introduce candidates with permission, explain the basis for consideration, and coordinate the employer’s next conversations.
How an assignment begins
How an employer starts
a confidential search.
A mandate is the written agreement defining the appointment and the work the firm is authorized to undertake.
See the full search process ↗Discuss the requirement.
Explain the role, the business circumstances, and the reason for confidentiality. Private Mandate Search assesses whether the assignment fits the firm’s expertise and capacity.
Agree on what to share and when.
Confirm responsibilities, candidate criteria, scope, fees, communication, and what may be disclosed at each stage.
Authorize the search.
Research and outreach begin under the agreed terms. Employer interviews follow once suitable candidates are ready to progress.
An illustrative situation
A finance appointment
before a public announcement.
A business is planning to replace its finance leader but is not ready to announce the change. It needs to understand the candidate market without publishing a vacancy.
The employer’s brief.
Define the leadership requirements, identify organizations that must not be approached, and agree when the company’s identity can be disclosed.
The search firm’s role.
Research relevant finance executives, make private approaches using an approved description, and assess interest before arranging authorized introductions.
This example explains the process. It is not a client case study or an advertised vacancy.
Firm leadership
Lana Gail Bradley.
Lana Gail Bradley is the founder and CEO of Private Mandate Search. Her background spans recruitment research, board and executive appointments, and confidential succession.
Private Mandate Search gives a dedicated identity to her independent recruitment work and a vision developed over more than a decade.
Lana Gail Bradley
FOUNDER & CEO · PRIVATE MANDATE SEARCH
Meet the Team ↗Confidentiality in practice
When candidates learn
the employer’s name.
Confidentiality protects the timing and handling of an assignment. It must also allow candidates to understand the opportunity before making a commitment.
Explore the employer service ↗When will candidates learn the employer’s identity?
The disclosure stage is agreed with the employer before outreach. Candidates receive the identity and sufficient role information before progressing to substantive employer interviews.
Will the vacancy be advertised?
A search can begin through direct research and outreach. Any advertising must be authorized by the employer and consistent with the agreed confidentiality arrangements.
Who makes the appointment?
The employer retains the hiring decision. Private Mandate Search researches, assesses, and introduces candidates within the agreed scope.
A separate service for executives
Considering a career move?
Confidential career representation supports professionals exploring potential employers. Approaches, exclusions, and permission to share identifying information are agreed separately.
Learn about career representation ↗Discuss a confidential appointment
Discuss the role
you need to fill.
Begin with the position and business context. Sensitive details can follow once the appropriate boundaries are agreed.