In today’s competitive business landscape, securing the right leadership talent is crucial to a company’s success. For firms across industries, the process of hiring C-suite executives can be both rigorous and daunting, yet it remains a defining factor in shaping long-term growth and strategy. Our curated list features the top headhunters and executive search professionals who play a vital role in connecting organisations with exceptional leaders who can drive change and innovation.
The advisers in the Spear’s executive search and headhunters index dig deep into the talent pool, sourcing individuals who meet the precise needs of their clients. The best recruiters go beyond simply fulfilling immediate hiring requirements – they also focus on the future, ensuring that the candidates they place will be strong, lasting investments.
‘Our clients are sought after and people really want to work for them. Our role is to be protective over those clients and make sure that it’s only the best people who get to work there,’ says Billy Stephenson, whose boutique executive search firm recruits for some of the world’s most exclusive private banks, family offices and wealth management firms.
With a clientele that includes private banks, family offices and legal firms, these advisers work on exclusive retainers, often dedicating months to securing the right candidate for a single role. Their responsibilities extend far beyond mere recruitment; they advise both talent and companies through the challenging process of interviews, assessments and testing, ensuring that every placement aligns with long-term goals.
Related
A key aspect of an executive search adviser’s role is comprehensive referencing. Rather than simply reviewing resumes, they often reach out to a candidate’s broader network – colleagues, mentors and peers – to build a fuller, more nuanced picture. ‘It’s one thing finding the names of potential candidates who’ve got the right experience,’ says Simon Worthington of Worthington Executive Search. ‘But the real value is going beyond that and speaking to previous colleagues to build up a full picture of the potential candidate.’
Trends in 2025
Advisers are also witnessing key trends shaping the recruitment landscape. ‘Right now, candidates are curious as to whether the firm that they might move to has a strong coverage in alternative investments for their clients,’ Tom Upson of Carpenter Farraday notes, highlighting how private markets have become a central talking point in executive search conversations.
Another growing challenge is balancing regional demand with a limited pool of candidates, particularly in emerging hubs such as the North of England, Dublin, and Milan. As institutions expand into these areas, the talent pool remains relatively small. ‘Recently, we’ve been doing a lot of work supporting the relocation of candidates from the UK to Dubai and working with candidates based there locally,’ says Adam Scarr of Bayford Hale, reflecting on the increased need for flexibility in geographic talent sourcing.
As the demand for exceptional leadership continues to grow, executive search professionals and headhunters are more crucial than ever in identifying the talent that will drive success within an organisation.
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- Methodology
- The best executive search professionals and headhunters: some names to know
- The best executive search professionals and headhunters: the complete list
- Contact us
Methodology
Each year, the Spear’s Research Unit reassesses and refreshes its rankings of the leading providers in each sector by gathering data from and about the advisers and firms themselves, assessing submission forms, collating nominations, carrying out peer reviews, reviewing data from third-party sources, gathering references and recommendations, canvassing experts and conducting hundreds of interviews.
Advisers are evaluated using a proprietary scoring system that assigns different weightings to certain attributes. These scores feed directly into each new set of rankings in the Spear’s Indices. Each of these indices are published first online (according to the research calendar) and then in print. Print publication takes the form of the annual Spear’s 500 directory, which includes the top advisers in every index.
[See also: A guide to The Spear’s 500: Everything you need to know]
Each featured adviser is profiled on spears500.com. The site allows users to search the Spear’s database of more than 4,000 entities to find one (or more) to meet their specific requirements by filtering for specific attributes such as an adviser’s location, their specialist expertise and information about their client base.
The best executive search professionals and headhunters: some names to know
Billy Stephenson
- Focus: C-suite and senior appointments
- Position: Founder and managing director
- Firm: Stephenson Executive Search
Stephenson Executive Search focuses on appointments in the family office, wealth management and asset management sectors, founder Billy Stephenson tells Spear’s. ‘We partner with clients and help them across the whole of their business, appointing CEOs, CFOs and heads of divisions.’
As family offices become more popular internationally, the firm has followed suit, operating in the Middle East, Asia and across Europe. However, Stephenson, a former Credit Suisse banker, notes that the core qualities companies look for in candidates remain the same: ‘Discretion, emotional intelligence and career longevity will always be key,’ he says.
‘Supporting the continued drive for diversity is critical,’ he adds. The firm is a signatory of the Black Talent Charter and has ‘committed to help promote black talent in the UK’.
Read Billy Stephenson’s full profile at Spears500.com
Gina Le Prevost
- Focus: International recruitment
- Position: Founder and CEO
- Firm: AP Executive
Gina Le Prevost is the founder and CEO of AP Executive, a global recruitment agency established in 1990 that specialises in wealth management, private family offices, trusts, funds and fiduciary firms.
Part of AP Group, which Le Prevost also heads up, AP Executive prides itself on finding ‘the best candidates for our valued clients across the globe’. Le Prevost has clients and candidates in more than 58 locations, including the UK, Switzerland, Europe, the Middle East, Asia and the Americas/Caribbean.
‘They are all driven to provide the best services to their clients and so need the best staff, which is where AP Executive steps in,’ Le Prevost tells Spear’s. ‘I especially enjoy assisting entrepreneurs in establishing a new family office. And nothing surprises me where job seekers are involved.’
Read Gina Le Prevost’s full profile at Spears500.com
Chris Oxley
- Focus: High-touch, humanistic recruitment
- Position: Founder
- Firm: Oxley & Partners
‘Executive search is a people business. HR departments don’t focus on people as much as they should do, and that’s where I can add value,’ says Chris Oxley, founder of Oxley & Partners. ‘I have such an in-depth relationship with my clients that they’ll come to me after two weeks or three weeks or even several months after a placement to ask for my advice. I think what I’m doing is quite unique in that regard.’
Oxley came highly recommended to Spear’s by an industry peer. Primarily working with family offices, investment management firms and private equity businesses, he routinely places candidates at the director level. But what differentiates his service is his work in occupational psychology, which he believes provides him with a useful advantage when communicating with firms and prospective candidates.
Read Chris Oxley’s full profile at Spears500.com
Alex Diffey
- Focus: Private banking executive search
- Position: Partner
- Firm: Valentine Thomas
When Alex Diffey first stepped into the world of executive recruitment, he encountered ‘a very old-school, hot-house mentality’. Developing a specialisation in private banking placements, he moved on to boutique firms that were dedicated to catering to private banks and wealth management firms. This involved a brief relocation to Singapore, where he worked alongside top-tier firms with a presence in the East Asia region.
Now a partner at Valentine Thomas & Partners in London, Diffey has noticed a greater emphasis in the UK labour market on retaining and pursuing Gen Z talent; he tells Spear’s that it’s a trend that is embraced at Valentine Thomas. ‘We look after next-gen clients, and that’s our way of staying close to them,’ he says. ‘The most talented person we have here who is essential to the running of our business is a Gen Z hire who started out as an intern for us.’
Read Alex Diffey’s full profile at Spears500.com
The best executive search professionals and headhunters: the complete list
Click on the individual names to be directed to more detailed profiles of each adviser on The Spear’s 500 website. The table is ordered by ranking and then alphabetically by surname.
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