Executive Search in Chicago

The Chicago Executive Talent Market

Chicago's executive talent market is less discussed than New York or San Francisco but has grown significantly in the 2020–2026 period. The city has a strong base of enterprise software, fintech, and B2B marketplace companies, supported by a VC ecosystem (Lightbank, MATH Venture Partners, and the Chicago offices of national funds) and a talent pool shaped by strong local universities and an established finance and consulting sector.

Majhi Group conducts retained executive search for growth-stage technology companies in the Chicago market — placing VP and C-suite leaders across Engineering, Product, Sales, Marketing, Finance, and People functions. Our search model reaches passive candidates through the specific networks that matter in the Chicago market: the local VC and investor community, peer executive networks, and sector-specific communities.

Roles We Place in Chicago

The Chicago Search Approach

The Chicago market has a specific characteristic that shapes executive search: a higher proportion of growth-stage company leaders have backgrounds in finance, consulting, or enterprise software rather than the consumer tech or pure SaaS backgrounds more common on the coasts. This produces candidates with strong analytical and commercial skills, but sometimes requires a broader market search to find candidates with the specific stage-specific operating experience that growth-stage VP roles require.

Every Majhi Group search — in Chicago and nationally — follows the same four-phase retained process: profile alignment before sourcing, passive candidate mapping and outreach, structured assessment with independent references, and managed offer process with equity narrative preparation. The average close is 41 days. The offer acceptance rate is 90%+. The guarantee is 90-day replacement at no additional fee.

The Retained Search Model

Majhi Group operates exclusively on a retained basis — one-third at engagement, one-third at candidate submission, one-third at placement. This structure aligns our incentive with search quality, not search speed: we are not paid to present the first available candidate, we are paid to place the right one. In competitive markets like Chicago, where the strongest candidates are not actively seeking, this alignment matters.

The fee is 20–25% of total first-year compensation, consistent with the retained search market. The 90-day replacement guarantee means that if the placed executive departs within 90 days, Majhi Group re-conducts the search at no additional fee. In our placement history, the guarantee has been invoked at a rate significantly below the industry baseline — because the pre-search assessment and reference process reduces the probability of a hire that fails early.