Our Philosophy and Approach

Pearson Partners International helps organizations find, develop and retain top talent through retained executive recruitment, assessment and leadership development for Fortune 1000, private equity and emerging businesses.

History

Founded in 2002 by executive search industry veterans Robert Pearson and Keith Pearson, Pearson Partners International is based in Dallas, Texas with offices in Fort Worth, Texas and Fort Lauderdale, Florida. We are a proud member of IIC Partners, one of the world’s top 10 global executive search organizations. With over 450 search consultants in 40 offices worldwide, we give our clients access to the highest caliber executive talent around the globe. As a member of the highly selective AESC (Association of Executive Search and Leadership Consultants), we actively shape our industry and its trends.

Pearson Partners has a long history of successful performance in retained executive search and leadership consulting. We serve clients globally across all industries and disciplines, from senior management to the boardroom. Our clients are broad and diverse, from leading corporations, municipal and government institutions, private equity and sponsored businesses, nonprofit agencies, healthcare, academia, research institutes, foundations and industry associations. We complement our executive search capabilities with a professional leadership development and executive coaching practice to ensure executives reach their highest possible performance.

Pearson Partners’ unwavering commitment to professionalism, client service and the highest ethical standards have earned our firm and our professionals prestigious industry accolades. Forbes has repeatedly named Pearson Partners one of America’s Best Executive Recruiting Firms. Hunt Scanlon has twice ranked our firm among the Top 40 Executive Search Firms in the Americas and recently named IIC Partners to the Global 40 list of top recruitment providers in the world.

At Pearson Partners, we have a passion for what we do and how we do it—and it shows in our industry-leading search completion rates and deep client and candidate relationships. Our highly experienced, partner-led team personally conducts every engagement from start to finish and interfaces directly with every candidate, rather than handing off client work to junior associates. These key differentiators position Pearson Partners International at the forefront of the executive search industry, ensuring successful and long-lasting client partnerships.

Approach

Free from the “off-limits” restrictions imposed on large firms, our seasoned team of search experts offers unparalleled access to leading players across all industries and disciplines. We provide comprehensive, customized assessment and coaching services to help measure and develop existing talent and build high-performance management.

We limit our number of engagements to provide the focused, personal service of a boutique with the experience and reach of a global firm. Our successful results have built our business and grown our loyal following of clients who continue to rely on us for their most critical leadership needs. In fact, more than 70 percent of our business comes from previous clients, candidates and contacts.

We pride ourselves on helping our clients solve business problems, so we actively track industry trends and the state of global talent to provide the most innovative, value-added service to our clients. Our principals frequently author articles on talent acquisition, management and development, and our Spotlight Series^TM Breakfast and Pearson Partners HR Roundtable events provide a forum for experts to enlighten our clients on the ever-changing human capital challenges that face organizations.

Philosophy

At the heart of our practice is knowledge. The level of expertise and experience it takes to successfully fill critical positions and develop executive talent requires seasoned experts. That is why we don’t believe in leveraging work to junior associates—every search and consulting engagement is personally conducted by a partner with one goal in mind: giving you the talent you need to grow and succeed in a competitive marketplace.

Guarantee

We stand behind our searches and are committed to seeing them through to completion—so unlike many retained search firms, our fees are results-driven, not calendar-driven. Most of our clients pay three installments based on our attainment of specific, performance-based milestones.

Client Testimonials

“The process was very, very thorough. Although I was eager to jump right into the role, I appreciated that the Pearson team was being very thorough, sourcing all of the candidates that would be a potential fit and not just walking in with one and saying, ‘Hey, we found your golden boy.’ I felt their sense of responsibility to their client in being certain they brought the best candidates to the table and that was evident in the process.”

Mark Taylor, Chief Executive OfficerSociety for Information Management (SIM)

“The team at Pearson Partners made a commitment to understand our firm’s strategy and culture, long before any specific assignment presented itself,” the CEO says. “We were impressed by their commitment to forging and investing in a long-term relationship, in contrast with the more typical transaction orientation of many search firms.”

CEO, Private Equity FirmPrivate Equity Portfolio Company

"I realized I should probably start thinking about a potential career change. I had been friends with some of the Pearson Partners team for many years, and an occasional source on their search projects. I met with them to talk things through, and they told me about Pearson Partners' executive coaching services and introduced me to Lisa Thompson, Pearson's managing director of professional services. Lisa gave me some invaluable advice: It would be good to prepare and lay some groundwork, so if and when the time came, I'd be ready."

Mark Layton, COOVideoPlus

"The best part of the partnership, for me as a business leader, is that Pearson Partners takes the time to understand our business goals, not just what we are trying to accomplish relative to recruitment needs."

Marvin Riley, PresidentFairbanks Morse Engine

“I have been able to bring an outsider’s view and experience into an organization, and ultimately an industry, that is ready for a digital awakening. This role draws upon virtually every experience I have ever had, yet is radically different. This provides me with both the challenges I need to grow, as well as the opportunities to have a broad and deep impact. My experience with Pearson stands out because each interaction was not only professional, but human. While in hindsight I learned that the initial candidate pool was large, I never felt like ‘just another candidate.’”

Johnny Dranchak, VP Innovation & Digitaloneworld Global Alliance

“We expected a diverse group of candidates, and that they be totally and thoroughly screened, and they were,” Hawkins says. “It was very clear that Pearson Partners spent a lot of time and effort with each candidate, because the detailed write-ups that we received on each one prior to the interview were right on target."

Diane Hawkins, Sr Director People & PerformanceMeeting Professionals International

Featured Searches

View our featured searches, from chief officers and boards of directors to executive leaders in finance, technology and operations.

Principals
Savvy, insightful and experienced, our principals possess both the industry expertise and the instincts to find the ideal fit for our clients.

Global Offices
Our global partners allow our clients to seamlessly tap proven retained executive search consultants regardless of geography.

Board of Directors
We are guided by a board of directors and a board of advisors staffed with renowned external industry leaders.

Board of Advisors
We are grateful to our advisory board of leading thinkers for their business insight and assistance in making introductions and forging business relationships.