Executive search international
Retained executive search for global consumer and industrial businesses. Exclusive, personal and in business for more than thirty years.
Ashwood was built on a small number of long relationships rather than a large number of short ones, and it still is. We cap the number of clients we work with and take only a handful in any one sector, so we are never working both sides of a conflict.
Of assignments since 2017
30
Years
35
Countries and territories
5
Languages
We do not take a brief we are not trusted to run alone. It is the only way to do the work properly, and it means we are never paid to move the people we have placed.
Clients tell us they notice it. Candidates do too. If the brief is wrong, or the market will not give you what you are asking for, we say so before the search rather than after it.
Every search starts with a map of the market: who is where, who is succeeding, and what it would take to move them. It is work you can hold, and it is often why clients come back between searches.
A search, in six stages
The role, the people it has to work with, and what has gone wrong before.
The market as it is, not as the job description imagines it.
Everyone who could do it, including the people not looking.
The few worth your time, with our view of each.
Offer, negotiation, and the parts nobody warns you about.
We stay in touch with both sides. That is where the next ten years come from.
01Where we know
A handful of clients in each, so a search is never compromised by the client next door.
Food & ingredients · Alcoholic & non-alcoholic beverages · Consumer brands · Beauty & personal care · Household & everyday consumer products
Pharmaceuticals · Consumer health & OTC · Medical & healthcare products · Life sciences · Biotechnology
Grocery · Fashion & apparel · Beauty · General merchandise · Specialist retail · E-commerce & omnichannel
Wellness · Next-generation consumer products · Alternative formats · Functional products · Regulated consumer categories · Emerging technologies
Precision components · Engineered products · Specialist manufacturing · Advanced materials · Industrial technology · Automation · High-performance manufacturing
Rigid & flexible packaging · Paper & board · Glass · Plastics · Metal packaging · Labels & print · Sustainable materials · Packaging technology
02Who we appoint
Every search we take is for the top of a business, or the layer that reports to it.
Board & executive leadership
CEOMain boardManagement boardExecutive committeeNon-executive & advisory
03Where we go deep
The disciplines we have appointed into most, and know from the inside.
A selection of the businesses we have appointed into.
"I have worked with Ashwood on key appointments to my leadership teams. They deliver. Shortlists are excellent and presented in a timely fashion. There is a choice of high-calibre applicants who have outstanding leadership skills, who demonstrate the required functional skills, and are a strong cultural fit."
Whether you are considering a senior appointment, exploring a talent market or looking for greater insight into the people and capabilities your organisation needs, we would be pleased to hear from you.
For executivesThe strongest relationships often begin before there is a specific opportunity to discuss. If you are considering your next move, or simply open to a conversation about the future, we would be pleased to hear from you.