FAQ's 

Yes! 33% of the candidates we have placed are people of color. 72% of them are women and 28% are men. No matter who we place, our standards for excellence are unwavering. 

Two reasons. First, we have found networking within an industry sector to be just one part of what makes a search successful. Meeting candidates from adjacent or aspirational sectors can greatly expand the board's diversity of thought around strategy, risk, technology, and more. Second, the value Trewstar adds goes well beyond sourcing candidates. Running a proper search takes an investment of time, energy, and skill that board members and management teams often do not have.

We deliver a premium service. We vet candidates just as you would because we have been in your seat. We understand the nuances and sensitivities around board composition and refreshment. We provide superior customer service because board work is all we do. We do not view board search as a loss leader or the path to a more lucrative executive search.

We have never found this to be a critical factor and have executed successful searches in a wide range of industries: manufacturing, energy, financial services, tech, healthcare, media, consumer goods, real estate, and more. We have had successful first searches in each sector and have never disappointed our clients.

We can introduce you to clients who have overcome similar concerns. In our experience, thorough vetting and preparation by Trewstar, interviews with board and executive team members, and professional reference checks are all crucial steps to secure the best candidates. Once completed, board members know the finalist candidates well and are excited to serve with them.

Yes! While our initial focus was on women, we successfully expanded to include men of color, and quip that we have now "diversified into white men". In reality, our world has always been full of white men, including most of our clients and many executives and directors in our professional networks. And once again, our standards for excellence are unwavering.

They may know you, but they don’t necessarily know the right candidates or the right way to interact with your board members. Because we were business people before we became search professionals we never fail to learn everything we need to know so we can properly represent our clients. We research every client company in detail and get to know all the directors and many of the C-suite executives before we start the search. The good news for your executive search firm is that we will not compete with them for executive search work. Despite protests to the contrary, they will probably be delighted to not have to do the board search assignment. 

The first brave souls to hire Trewstar 12 years ago took a risk. (Spoiler alert: It paid off for them!) Now that we have more than 300 successful placements under our belt, it might be worth considering whether failing to engage us is the greater risk. We have many clients who have engaged us following disappointing experiences with the big, multi-line search firms.