CIO and IT Executive Search Firms: 14 to Compare

A. Davis Grant says it has specialized "exclusively in the field of Information Systems and Technology" since it was founded in 1985. Its About page (opens in a new tab) lists chief information officers and chief technology officers first among the roles it recruits, followed by security leaders, architecture, infrastructure and ERP implementation.

The services page (opens in a new tab) describes the process in more detail than most firms on this list. A position description is agreed in what is usually at least a two-hour meeting, and the firm tries, whenever possible, to present a "benchmark" candidate within two weeks so the brief can be calibrated. Research is never farmed out to third parties, the managing partner meets every candidate presented, and the firm aims to present three to six finalists. References are delivered in writing, and the firm stays in touch with the hire and the hiring manager for at least twelve months.

The pages read name no clients or placements and do not date their service descriptions.

Berkshire's homepage describes named client searches, several tied to the CIO role. At Augusta Sportswear the brief was a head of applications who could succeed the soon-to-retire CIO, "which the hired candidate ultimately did". At Exopack, the retiring CIO retained Berkshire to find his successor. Other cases describe building IT teams, including an increase of 40+ IT leadership and technical staff at B/E Aerospace and five technical leaders hired for CSL. The cases carry no dates; the site shows a 2024 copyright notice.

Senior partner Ken Ferguson runs every search himself, one at a time, and the site cites more than 40 years in IT search. It recruits CIOs, CDOs, CISOs and CTOs as well as VPs, directors, architects and technical leads, and says it is industry and size agnostic. A "100% search completion rate" appears without a definition, and no fee or guarantee is published.

JB Homer's case study describes being retained by five Federal Home Loan Banks over eighteen months to find their chief information officers, in Des Moines, Topeka, Indianapolis, Cincinnati and Boston. It presented short lists of five to eight candidates to each bank's leadership team, and each bank selected a candidate. The case page carries a 2014 copyright notice.

Its testimonials page (opens in a new tab) includes David Johns, SVP and Chief Information Officer of Ascena Retail Group, who says the firm recruited him as CIO and then "a significant portion" of his senior IT leadership team. The representative assignments (opens in a new tab) list completed CIO searches in financial services, distribution, higher education, retail, venture capital, entertainment and advertising.

The search process (opens in a new tab), as published in October 2026, promises three to six pre-screened, reference-checked candidates within the first four to six weeks, weekly progress reports and contact with client and hire for a full year. The newest news item linked from the homepage is dated 2018, and the site publishes no fee.

Alpha Apex Group's CIO page reports more than 2,000 placements worldwide and a 43-day average time-to-fill for full-time hires, figures that are not specific to CIO searches. Client logos on the page include AWS, Meta, Siemens and Zendesk, without saying which of them used CIO search. The page names no CIO placement and publishes no fee or guarantee.

The service it describes is targeted executive search with a technology leadership assessment, across four areas: strategic technology leadership, cybersecurity and risk management, IT infrastructure and operations, and data analytics and business intelligence.

Aruba Exec publishes more about its terms than most firms on this list. Its FAQ page (opens in a new tab) said in October 2026 that the fee is paid in three stages: a retainer at briefing, a payment at the assessment and shortlist stage, and a final payment on offer and acceptance. The same page says search firms typically charge 25% to 35% of first-year base salary, without stating Aruba's own rate. A 12-month replacement guarantee covers a hire who leaves voluntarily or is asked to leave in the guarantee period: Aruba runs a replacement search for no additional professional fee, charging only direct research costs. The CIO page adds that the specific terms are set in the engagement agreement.

The CIO page says most CIO searches take 12 to 16 weeks from initial briefing to accepted offer, and that a senior partner leads each one. Aruba says it was established in 2009 and works only with technology and innovation-driven companies.

Its testimonials page (opens in a new tab) quotes clients by first name and title, such as "Steve S., CEO - Tech Scale-Up", without company names, and none mentions a CIO search. Aruba reports a 99%+ search success rate, and its homepage (opens in a new tab) defines its 98% retention figure as candidates retained within the placed company after three years. The pages read do not say either figure is CIO-specific or how it is calculated.

Atlantic Research Technologies (ART) works across industrial, technical and service markets. Its IT management page lists CIO, CTO, CISO, VP of information technology and cybersecurity director roles, and says it recruits only at senior managerial levels and has done so since the late 1990s. Its IT and information security searches have been mainly for corporations, and major US counties and cities have also asked it to help find department heads.

ART publishes its fee structure on its employer page (opens in a new tab). The fee is flat, "not on a percent of candidate salary basis", and is proposed in a written contract after ART reviews the title, salary range, location and difficulty. Research is free; a non-refundable shortlist fee is charged in most cases, but none if no suitable candidates are found. A placement fee applies only if the candidate starts, and the invoice is typically due 30 days after the start date. ART advertises a 100% money-back guarantee on placements, or a replacement candidate if available, typically for 90 to 180 days. No amounts were published in October 2026.

The services page (opens in a new tab) says ART typically presents candidates in three to four weeks. That timeline ends at presentation, not at a hire. No clients or placements are named on the pages read.

Battalia Winston's testimonials page (opens in a new tab) includes John Granato, CFO of The Andersons, who says the team worked with the company "to find a highly qualified CIO" and that it ended with more than one candidate it was comfortable hiring. Joe Rigger, CIO at DDB, says the firm placed him at DDB almost 20 years ago, without naming his role then. The page's structured data records a June 2020 update; the individual testimonials are undated.

CIO and technology leadership is one of its functional areas. The CIO page says it has recruited CIOs who understand security threats, cloud storage negotiations, hardware acquisitions, data migrations and enterprise software implementations. The firm has recruited executives since 1963 and describes itself as a retained search firm. Its CIO page also reports that 93% of searches are completed and 82% come from current clients, figures that are not specific to CIO searches. No fee or guarantee is published.

Cowen Partners' case study for Wesco, a paint and equipment supplier with over $1 billion in annual revenue and 200+ locations, describes a retained search for a CIO to lead an ERP migration and strengthen digital security. Cowen reports placing the CIO and says the result exceeded the client's expectations; the case was posted in April 2024 and does not name the candidate or the time taken.

Its CIO, CTO, CSO and CISO page lists placements by title and sector, including CIOs for a retailer, a SaaS company and an Alaskan Native corporation. It says clients typically range from $50 million in revenue to the Fortune 1000, or hold assets of $500 million to $15 billion. The About page (opens in a new tab) said in October 2026 that qualified candidate slates arrive in an average of three weeks from kickoff, without saying the average is CIO-specific. In October 2026 the homepage (opens in a new tab) showed a 365-day replacement guarantee without terms, and no fee was published.

DHR's Technology Officers practice covers information technology officers, cybersecurity officers, and product, engineering and data leaders, and its page names Sal DiFranco as managing partner of its CIO/CTO practices. It says it works with Fortune 100, private equity and privately held companies, without naming technology clients or placements.

Its executive search page (opens in a new tab) lists a Hogan assessment, 360-degree referencing and weekly progress reporting as part of the process. The homepage (opens in a new tab), read in October 2026, reports a 94-day average fill time and 83% repeat business, without defining them or saying whether they apply to technology searches. No fee is published.

Heidrick's recent mandates include "Chief Information Officer and digital transformation leadership roles across multiple industries", without client names. Its AI and Technology Officers page lists the CIO among its enterprise technology roles, with the CTO, chief digital officer and CISO. The page leads with AI leadership, and the firm also offers leadership assessment and interim technology executives. No fee or timeline is published.

Korn Ferry's digital and technology recruiting page names the CIO, CTO, chief digital information officer and chief digital officer among the technology roles it supports. It offers direct hire and interim IT recruitment, "both for single hires and at scale", and uses its Success Profiles to define what a role requires. The page publishes no placements, client names, timeline or fee.

Robert Half's Brisbane executive search page describes a CIO search for an ASX-listed distributor across Australia and New Zealand, which needed a leader for a major ERP implementation. The search "completed in nine weeks", with three external candidates reaching the final stage, and the firm reports that the appointed CIO has since accelerated the ERP timeline. The client is not named, and the page was first published in October 2025.

Its Australian digital and technology executive search practice says searches can also cover chief information officers. In the UK, its technology recruitment page (opens in a new tab) offers to find CIOs, CTOs, CISOs and heads of IT. These pages are regional; the US executive search page read names the CIO only in a list of roles placed. No fee is published on the pages read.

Russell Reynolds gives four anonymized examples on its page for technology, data and digital leaders. They include a CTO for a global retailer and a Group CTO for a financial institution, where the firm worked with the Group CIO to define the role. None of the examples is a CIO search. The page covers CIOs, CTOs and cybersecurity, AI and data leaders, and its FAQ said in October 2026 that a search typically takes 14 to 25 weeks from initiation to offer acceptance. No fee is published.

Spencer Stuart's CIO page reports that it placed 30 sitting Fortune 500 CIOs and more than 140 IT executives in the Fortune 1000 over a five-year period. It also reports more than 250 global assignments for senior technology executives in a one-year period. It serves clients from the Fortune 500 to private equity-backed companies.

Across all its work, nearly two-thirds of assignments are for clients it has worked with before, according to its executive search page (opens in a new tab). No fee, timeline or case study is published.