CEO, President & Board
Enterprise strategy, succession, governance, transformation, growth, capital, culture and top-level organizational direction.
Atlanta Retained Executive Search
Atlanta retained executive search
The executive you need may never enter your applicant pool.
Scion Retained Search identifies and recruits proven corporate leaders for Atlanta organizations navigating succession, scale, transformation, investor expectations, market expansion and other business-critical leadership moments. Principal-led. Confidential. Built around the mandate.
Confidential market outreach
CEO / PresidentEnterprise leadership
CFO / COOPerformance + scale
CTO / CIO / AITransformation
CHRO / CRO / CMOGrowth + organization
98%+
Long-term executive placement retention reported by Scion
1,000+
Senior executive searches and placements completed
16M+
Executive and professional network reach
Since 2006
Principal-led executive recruiting experience
Search begins with the business moment
Retained search for the decisions that change enterprise trajectory.
The executive title tells us where the role sits. The leadership mandate tells us where to search, what evidence matters and which executives are capable of delivering the outcome.
Leadership succession with continuity and future capability in view.
Recruit the next CEO, President or C-suite executive around the strategy ahead—not simply the profile of the leader being replaced.
Board and stakeholder alignment
Future-state leadership scorecard
Internal vs. external market context
Confidential candidate engagement
Executives who can build the operating system for the next stage.
Search for leaders with evidence of scaling revenue, teams, systems, capital, operations, customer growth and organizational complexity.
Enterprise operating models
Revenue + go-to-market leadership
Talent and organizational scale
Systems and performance rigor
Transformation leadership for businesses that cannot stand still.
Identify executives who have led digital transformation, restructuring, integrations, AI adoption, operating-model change and strategic repositioning.
Technology + AI transformation
Operational restructuring
Culture + organization change
M&A integration leadership
Operating leadership aligned to the investment thesis.
Recruit portfolio-company executives around value-creation priorities, pace, board expectations, sponsor relationships and the path to the next liquidity event.
CEO + CFO leadership
Commercial acceleration
Operational value creation
Sponsor-ready leadership style
Stage-right executives for venture-backed and high-growth companies.
Find leadership with the judgment to build before infrastructure is mature, hire the next layer, professionalize the business and create repeatable growth.
Founder partnership
Zero-to-one or scale experience
Capital + board fluency
Team and function building
Discreet search when the market cannot know the seat is changing.
Retained research and confidential outreach can protect sensitive replacement, succession, restructuring and newly created leadership searches.
Controlled employer disclosure
Private executive conversations
Selective stakeholder involvement
Reputation and brand stewardship
Atlanta executive market context
A headquarters market with national-scale leadership complexity.
Metro Atlanta combines Fortune-scale headquarters, high-growth companies, private equity activity, technology, logistics, healthcare, financial services and advanced industry. That breadth creates a deep leadership market—and intense competition for executives with proven enterprise outcomes.
17Fortune 500 headquarters in Metro Atlanta
37Fortune 1000 companies headquartered in Metro Atlanta
2.5M+Highly skilled workforce cited by Georgia's economic-development agency
7.5%Atlanta employment share in management occupations
Management talent signal
BLS OEWS • May 2025 • released July 2026
Management share of employmentAtlanta vs. U.S.
Mean hourly wage: managementexecutive-market context
Sources: Georgia Department of Economic Development — Metro Atlanta and U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics — Atlanta Occupational Employment and Wages.
Executive search portfolio
Leadership across the functions that determine enterprise performance.
Scion recruits CEOs, C-suite executives, board leaders, Vice Presidents and senior functional leaders across enterprise, performance, growth, people and specialized leadership.
CFO & Chief Accounting
Financial strategy, capital, transactions, accounting, risk, forecasting, investor readiness and enterprise stewardship.
COO & Operations
Operating models, performance, execution, supply chain, transformation, systems, integration and organizational scale.
CHRO & People Leadership
People strategy, culture, talent, organizational design, succession, rewards and leadership development.
CRO, Sales & Commercial
Revenue architecture, go-to-market strategy, sales, partnerships, customer growth, pricing and commercial performance.
CMO, Product & Growth
Brand, product, growth, communications, digital strategy, customer experience and market expansion.
CIO, CTO & AI Leadership
Technology, AI, engineering, data, cybersecurity, product infrastructure, modernization and digital transformation.
Legal, Science & Sector Leadership
Chief Legal Officer, General Counsel, science, medical, sustainability, compliance and specialized enterprise executives.
Vice President & Senior Functional Leaders
Senior executives positioned below the C-suite who own critical business functions, divisions, geographies and transformation mandates.
Atlanta + national industry reach
Executive recruiting calibrated to the economics of the industry.
The right leadership profile changes with business model, capital structure, regulatory exposure, growth stage, customer dynamics and operating complexity. We build executive markets accordingly.
Enterprise & Fortune-ScaleComplex organizations, multi-business leadership, transformation, enterprise operations and public-company environments.
Private EquityPortfolio leadership, value creation, sponsor alignment, operating performance, integration and exit readiness.
Technology & AISaaS, software, data, AI, cybersecurity, infrastructure, platforms, product and digital transformation.
Startups & Venture-BackedFounder partnership, executive-team buildout, fundraising, scale, commercialization and operating maturity.
Financial Services & FinTechBanking, payments, insurance, fintech, risk, compliance, finance, data and commercial leadership.
Healthcare & Life SciencesHealthcare services, biotechnology, medtech, life sciences, scientific, operational and commercial executives.
Manufacturing & IndustrialAdvanced manufacturing, supply chain, plant networks, operations, engineering, commercial and transformation leadership.
Energy & SustainabilityEnergy transition, utilities, clean technology, infrastructure, ESG and sustainability leadership.
Consumer & CPGConsumer brands, retail, distribution, e-commerce, product, brand, revenue and operational leadership.
Professional ServicesConsulting, advisory, services, legal, accounting, client strategy, practice growth and enterprise leadership.
Media, Sports & EntertainmentContent, live experiences, media, sports, brand, digital, commercial and operational executives.
Growth & TransformationCross-industry leadership for M&A, restructuring, modernization, new markets and business-model change.
Principal-led from mandate to appointment
The search is engineered around the executive market—not a resume inbox.
Scion's retained process combines market mapping, direct executive identification, confidential engagement, leadership assessment and senior search involvement through finalist selection and placement.
One mandate. One accountable search partner.
Search leadership stays close to the work from calibration through appointment. The objective is not candidate volume. It is a carefully researched, highly relevant finalist field.
Define leadership outcomes
Strategy, stakeholders, business priorities, complexity, culture, compensation, location and success measures.
Build the executive market
Target companies, sectors, geographies, analogous environments and leadership profiles are researched before outreach.
Reach leaders directly
Confidential conversations engage active and passive executives beyond the visible applicant market.
Evaluate in business context
Leadership evidence is tested against outcomes, operating complexity, culture, stakeholder environment and future demands.
Curate the decision field
Decision makers focus on a relevant finalist slate rather than sorting through unqualified candidate volume.
Support appointment
References, offer strategy, candidate communication, stakeholder alignment and placement support through a successful close.
Corporate search built for sensitive moments
Control the message while expanding access to the executive market.
Retained search allows organizations to identify and engage proven executives without broadcasting strategic plans, succession decisions or organizational changes. Search structure can be calibrated around who knows, when they know and how the opportunity is positioned.
Confidential outreachDirect executive engagement without a public applicant funnel.
Brand stewardshipCareful positioning of the company, mandate and opportunity.
Controlled disclosureInformation can be staged according to candidate and process requirements.
Senior accountabilityPrincipal-led partnership through strategy, assessment and appointment.
Start the executive search
Tell us the leadership outcome. We have the executive reach to build the market.
Share as much—or as little—as is appropriate at this stage. Scion can begin with the business need, leadership level, location, compensation, transition context and outcomes the next executive must own.
✓CEO, President, Board, C-suite, VP and senior functional leadership
✓Confidential succession, replacement and newly created executive roles
✓Atlanta-based searches with nationwide executive market mapping
✓Principal-led retained search built around strategy, culture and measurable leadership outcomes
Start a Confidential Atlanta Executive Search
Share the leadership challenge and the context available today.
Atlanta retained search FAQ
Questions executive teams and boards ask before engaging a retained firm.
Direct answers for CEOs, boards, investors, CHROs, founders and senior leaders planning a consequential executive appointment.
What types of retained executive searches does Scion lead in Atlanta?
Scion conducts retained searches for CEOs, Presidents, board leaders, C-suite executives, Vice Presidents and senior functional leaders across Atlanta corporations, enterprises, private equity-backed businesses, startups and growth-stage organizations.
How is retained executive search different from contingency recruiting?
Retained search is a dedicated executive-market engagement built around a specific leadership mandate. The process includes structured market mapping, direct and confidential executive outreach, leadership assessment and senior search involvement through finalist selection and placement rather than relying primarily on active applicants.
Can Scion conduct a confidential executive replacement search?
Yes. Retained executive search can support confidential succession, sensitive replacements, restructuring, investor-led leadership changes and newly created positions where discretion, controlled outreach and brand stewardship are important.
Does Scion already have access to executive candidates?
Yes. Scion reports executive and professional network reach exceeding 16 million connections and combines that existing access with retained research, referrals, direct identification and passive-executive outreach built specifically around the search mandate.
Which C-suite roles can Scion recruit?
Searches include CEO, President, CFO, COO, Chief Accounting Officer, Chief Commercial Officer, CHRO, CMO, CRO, Chief Sales Officer, CIO, CTO, Chief AI Officer, Chief Legal Officer, Chief Product Officer, science leadership and other senior executive specialties.
Does Scion recruit executives for private equity and portfolio companies?
Yes. Scion conducts private equity executive search for portfolio-company CEOs, CFOs, operating leaders, commercial executives and other leadership tied to value creation, sponsor priorities, transformation, integration and exit readiness.
Can Scion recruit nationally for an Atlanta-based executive role?
Yes. Scion conducts nationwide executive searches and can build the candidate market around Atlanta relocation expectations, hybrid or remote structure, industry background, analogous operating environments and the exact leadership outcomes required.
What does principal-led executive search mean?
Principal-led search means senior search leadership remains closely involved from mandate definition and market calibration through candidate evaluation, finalist selection and appointment, providing the organization with a clear point of accountability throughout the engagement.
What does Scion evaluate beyond an executive's resume?
Executive assessment is shaped around the mandate and can include strategic outcomes, operating complexity, financial impact, leadership style, culture, board and investor relationships, transformation evidence, team building, commercial results, functional expertise and the demands the organization will face next.
How do we start an Atlanta retained executive search?
Use the Start a Search form to share the organization, approximate leadership level, location, compensation, position title and any available job description or RFP. The role does not need to be fully defined before the first confidential discovery conversation.
Executive search expertise
Go deeper into Scion's retained-search capabilities.
Leadership changes what happens next.
Build the Atlanta executive market around the leader your business actually needs.
The strongest candidate may not be looking. Retained search is built to identify that executive, engage them directly and give decision makers a curated field aligned to the mandate.
Scion Retained Search — Atlanta
Principal-led retained executive search for corporate leadership, C-suite, board, private equity, startup and transformational senior appointments.
(888) 369-8952