The hires that change the trajectory of an engineering business.
Verso Executive Search appoints the senior leaders and specialist technical talent that engineering and R&D-led businesses depend on, across electronics and its adjacent sectors in the UK, US and Europe. Built on genuine depth in these disciplines, our search reaches beyond the active market and delivers shortlists that hold to technical and board-level scrutiny.
Selected mandates
Managing Director / CTO
RoboticsAppointed
Chief Operations Officer
PhotonicsAppointed
Director of Operations
Blue-chip engineering groupAppointed
Technical Sales Director
Electronics & instrumentationAppointed
IC Design (principal level)
SemiconductorTwo appointments
brief to accepted offer
Director of Operations, $5bn global engineering business
Not every senior hire needs this.
Most roles are better served by our permanent team. Retained search earns its fee in four situations.
The incumbent doesn't know yet.
A confidential replacement can't be advertised, briefed to multiple agencies, or run through a job board.
The role has already failed.
It's been open for months, contingent agencies have been through it, and the market now reads it as a problem role. A fresh approach has to come from a different direction.
It's a first for the business.
A first CTO, a first Operations Director, a first US hire. There's no internal benchmark for what good looks like, so the search has to include the calibration.
The board is watching.
Investor-backed hires, post-acquisition integration, succession. The process needs to be evidenced, not just delivered.
How it runs
The process
Scope
Two hours with the hiring group. Role, context, what has already been tried, and an honest read on whether the brief is winnable at the money on the table.
Map
A written map of the market: the companies holding this capability, the people in scope, and where the realistic pool actually sits. Delivered before approach.
Approach
Direct, discreet, and named. Every conversation is had by one of the directors, not passed to a resourcer.
Assess
Structured technical and leadership assessment against the scope. You get written rationale on every candidate presented, including the ones we rejected.
Close
Offer strategy, counter-offer management, and contact through notice period to start date.
Coverage
Where we search
Engineering & Technical Leadership
- CTO
- VP Engineering
- Engineering Director
- Head of Hardware
- Head of Firmware
- Chief Engineer
- Head of RF
- Technical Director
Operations & Manufacturing Leadership
- Operations Director
- Manufacturing Director
- Supply Chain Director
- Quality Director
- Head of Test
- Site Director
Commercial Leadership
- Sales Director
- VP Sales
- Commercial Director
- General Manager
- Managing Director
- Head of Business Development
Defence · Aerospace · Space & Satellite · Semiconductors · Photonics · Test & Measurement · Industrial Automation
Proof
Searches we've run
“I work with David and Daniel. They're outstanding - professional, committed, and always deliver the right technical and team fit.”
VP Talent Acquisition · Qualitrol
“Your commitment, communication and depth of knowledge throughout this process were excellent. The outcome speaks for itself - two top-tier hires we're thrilled with.”
Head of HR · Cambridge Mechatronics
“Both David and Daniel are highly knowledgeable in manufacturing. I'd wholeheartedly recommend them for a recruitment company that goes the extra mile.”
Chief Operations Officer · Covesion
Placed: COO
How we work
A genuine partnership
We take a third at the outset and the balance only when the appointment is made. Our interests are aligned with yours from the first day to the last.
We stand behind the appointment
Every search is backed for six months. If the fit isn't right in that time, we return and complete the work, because a search isn't finished until the right person is in the role and staying.
Your people are your people
For as long as we work together, and for a year beyond, we never approach anyone within your organisation. The businesses we partner with are never a source of candidates.
One search, run properly
A single named consultant leads your search personally, working the entire market rather than the fraction of it that happens to be looking. You'll know where it stands at every stage.
Discretion is part of the mandate.
Confidential searches are the norm at this level, not the exception. We work under NDA where required, approach candidates without naming you until there is mutual interest, and keep the search off job boards, off LinkedIn, and out of our own marketing. If a search is confidential, it stays confidential after it closes too.
Get in touch
Start a conversation
Daniel Saddi
Director
Leadership, search, US expansion & contract