Partner access
This document is confidential.
Enter your email and access code to continue.
Invalid email or access code.
A vision for the future of executive search

The search firm of the future runs on intelligence.

The $39 billion executive search industry hasn't fundamentally changed in 50 years. AI just changed everything. Force was built to be what comes next.

Scroll to explore
Market size
$39B
Global executive search market
Process vs. judgment
80%
Of search work is process — ripe for AI
Gross margins
55–70%
Boutique retained search — Force targets 70–80%
M&A readiness
58%
Of search firm founders open to a transaction
The diagnosis

Traditional search is structurally broken.

The old model scales linearly: more revenue requires more headcount, more partners, more overhead. Margins compress as the firm grows. The work is expensive, slow, and opaque. Clients have tolerated it because there was no alternative. There is now.

The old world
How search firms worked for 50 years
—Senior partners spend 60% of time on sourcing — work AI can now do in hours
—Mandates take 3–6 months. Clients wait. Budgets expire.
—Revenue scales with headcount. Large firms net 10–17% EBITDA. Boutiques cap at 55–70% gross.
—Institutional knowledge lives in people's heads — walks out the door when they leave
—No data moat. No tech moat. No real exit multiple beyond a revenue multiple.
The new world
How Force is being built
→AI handles sourcing, scoring, outreach and shortlist assembly — in 48 hours
→Venture partners provide domain expertise — a CFO vetting CFO candidates
→Revenue scales without proportional headcount. Margins reach 65–70%.
→Every search, every candidate, every outcome builds a proprietary data layer
→A technology platform commands a tech multiple — not just a revenue multiple
AI doesn't replace the judgment in executive search. It replaces the labour. That's the distinction the entire industry is missing.
The inflection point

Every executive search has two components: process and judgment. Process is sourcing, screening, scheduling, summarising — 70–80% of the work. Judgment is assessing cultural fit, leadership credibility, board dynamics, succession risk — the 20% that truly matters. AI makes process nearly free. Human judgment becomes more valuable, not less.

Real-world proof
Kingsley Gate
AI-native executive search firm, PE-backed. Growing revenue 35% year-over-year. Completed searches for 1,900+ clients. Launched IGNYTE AI in 2025 to push the model downmarket. The proof that AI-native search works.
Structural analogue
GLG — $600M+ Expert Network
Gerson Lehrman Group built a $600M+ business connecting clients with domain experts for knowledge calls. Force's venture partner model is structurally identical — applied to search rather than research. Expert networks scale, build moats, and command premium multiples.
M&A momentum
Consolidation accelerating
Executive search M&A hit record pace in 2025. Egon Zehnder, Spencer Stuart, ZRG all made acquisitions. Buyers are specifically targeting firms with repeatable revenue, durable client ties, and technology differentiation. The window to build and position is now.
The model

Three layers. One operating system for leadership talent.

Force is not a search firm that uses AI tools. Force is an AI-native operating system for executive search, with human expertise precisely placed where it creates irreplaceable value.

The three-layer model is what makes Force structurally different from every existing player — both legacy firms and AI recruiting tools that focus on volume hiring, not senior leadership.

01
The AI Delivery Engine
A multi-agent orchestration layer manages sourcing, scoring, outreach, and pipeline — each agent operating under human supervision with graduated autonomy. Longlist in 48 hours. 70%+ of candidates AI-sourced.
02
The Venture Partner Network
A curated network of domain specialists — CFOs who vet CFO candidates, CTOs who assess technical leaders. They bring demand from their networks and validate finalists from genuine expertise.
03
The Data & Intelligence Layer
Every search, every candidate response, every placement outcome feeds a proprietary intelligence layer. Over time this becomes the moat: market maps, compensation benchmarks, talent pool intelligence.
The trajectory

Built to scale. Designed to exit.

The revenue roadmap runs from €3M to €30M over three years, with acquisitions accelerating every stage. The exit story runs further — a technology-positioned firm with recurring revenue and a proprietary data layer commands a fundamentally different multiple than a boutique search shop.

2026 — Foundation
€3M
Target gross margin: 70–75% · 1st acquisition
AI delivery engine proven on live mandates. Venture partner network active. First acquisition integrated onto Force delivery platform. Technology metrics undeniable for partner conversations.
Proof of concept becomes proof of business
2027 — Scale
€12–15M
Target gross margin: 72–78% · 5+ acquisitions
Platform integrating acquired firms onto the Force engine. Subscription revenue live. Five or more acquisitions consolidated. Revenue per headcount surges as delivery cost stays flat.
Platform mechanics kick in — revenue per headcount surges
2028 — Platform
€30M
Target gross margin: 75–80% · 10 acquisitions
Full platform with recurring intelligence products, 10+ acquisitions consolidated, a 10+ VP network, and a data layer that makes Force the market standard for AI-native executive search in Europe.
Exit or expansion — on Force's terms
The defensibility

Six layers of compounding moat.

Legacy search firms have one moat: partner relationships. Force is building six. Each one compounds over time. Together they create a position that is structurally difficult to replicate.

⚡
Proprietary Data Layer
Every search, every candidate, every assessment outcome builds a dataset no competitor can buy or replicate. The longer Force operates, the smarter the engine.
◈
Venture Partner Network
A curated, credentialed expert network that brings demand AND credibility. Experts don't join multiple firms — this network is exclusive by design.
▲
AI Agent Orchestration
Force's core IP: a multi-agent system where specialised agents handle sourcing, scoring, pre-vetting, and outreach under human supervision. No competitor has built this for executive search.
◉
Domain Specialisation
Focus on leadership and senior ICs in technology — the segment least disrupted by AI elimination of roles, and most underserved by existing AI recruiting tools.
◎
Benchpark — Proactive Succession
A subscription product that continuously maps and nurtures succession candidates before a vacancy exists. Zero competitors offer this. The difference between a 4x and a 10x+ exit multiple.
✦
Technology Multiple Positioning
A firm with proprietary AI and recurring revenue exits at a technology multiple — not a services multiple. The difference between 3x and 10x at the same revenue level.
The opportunity

A buy & build platform hiding in plain sight.

Force is not just a search firm. It's a delivery engine that can absorb legacy search capacity, upgrade it with AI, and operate it at dramatically better economics.

I
Prove the engine (2026)
Hit €3M runrate. Demonstrate AI delivery at scale. Complete first acquisition. Make the technology metrics undeniable for the next phase.
II
Identify acquisition targets
Legacy boutique search firms with strong client relationships but outdated delivery infrastructure. They have the demand; Force has the engine.
III
Acquire, integrate, upgrade
Bring acquired firms onto the Force delivery platform. Strip out the manual delivery overhead. Retain the client relationships. Margin expansion is immediate.
IV
Platform exit or continued expansion
A portfolio of search capacity running on a single AI engine — with proprietary data, recurring revenue, and a network effect from every VP and client added. This is the exit story.
Why now. Why Force. Why this partner.
→The window is 12–24 months. AI-native search is not yet standard. The firms that build the engine now will own the category. Waiting is the risk.
→Force has the technology vision, the operating experience in executive search, and a model validated on live mandates across Europe and North America.
→The buy & build partner brings operating scale, capital access, and the commercial network to accelerate what Force has already built. The engine is ready. The scale-up is the opportunity.
→At exit: a technology-positioned platform with €30M+ ARR, 75–80% gross margins, 10+ acquisitions consolidated, and a proprietary data moat commands a fundamentally different multiple than any traditional search acquisition.
The next chapter of executive search
is being written right now.

Force was built to lead it. The question is who builds it with us.

brendan@useforce.ai →