Construction · CEO
Construction CEO search
We recruit chief executives for general contractors, specialty subs and industrial builders, including the leader who follows a founder.
The role
The CEO sets the ceiling for the whole company
Every seat matters, but the CEO decides which work the company chases, how fast it grows and whether the culture holds as it gets bigger.
In construction the job asks for two kinds of credibility at once. Your CEO walks a project with a superintendent on Tuesday and sits across from the surety on Wednesday. Plenty of leaders can do one. Far fewer can do both.
Why it's hard
Why a construction CEO search is harder than most
- The field decides fast. Superintendents and PMs know within minutes whether a new leader understands their world.
- The finance is its own language. Job costing, WIP schedules and bonding capacity land on the CEO's desk too, and the CEO has to read them well enough to make the call.
- The relationships are personal. Your biggest clients, your surety and your bank often trust the CEO as much as the company.
- Many of these searches are successions. The team has followed one founder for twenty years, and the next leader has to earn that loyalty over time.
What we look for
What a strong construction CEO looks like
We check each of these with people who've worked for and alongside the candidate.
- They came up through the work, as an engineer, estimator or project manager, and still think like a builder.
- They build a leadership team that can run the company without them in every meeting.
- They know which projects to pass on, and they'll say no when the numbers don't work.
- They're the same person on a bad day as on a good one. Crews and clients trust consistency.
Founder succession
When the next CEO follows the founder
A lot of construction CEO searches start because a founder is ready to step back. The clients know one leader, the team is loyal to that person, and the culture carries their convictions.
We look for successors with the humility to learn the culture before they change it, and the conviction to lead in their own voice once they've earned the right.
How it works
How the search runs
The Bullseye Meeting
We bring the owners, the board and the departing founder into one room and agree on the strategy, the profile, the pay, and who holds the final decision.
Mapped search
We approach executives who are leading construction companies well right now. These are confidential conversations with people who aren't on job boards.
Mutual-fit assessment
We assess strategy, operational credibility, financial judgment and cultural fit, and we reference well beyond the list a candidate hands us.
Onboard & follow through
We advise on the offer and the transition, then stay close through the first 90 days, when cultural fit is confirmed or tested.
Questions
Construction CEO search: common questions
Yes. We run confidential searches, which is common when a leadership change hasn't been announced to the team or the market yet.
Typically one to three weeks to calibrate, candidate recommendations from around week four to week eight, and an offer to your top candidate between weeks eight and twelve for a leadership role or twelve and sixteen for an executive role. Searches finish faster when you're ready to move as soon as the right person surfaces.
You pay a deposit to launch the search, nothing more until you hire, a payment at hire, and a final payment thirty days after your new leader starts. Fees depend on the role, and we quote them plainly in the first conversation.
Every FireSeeds search carries a guarantee. If the placement doesn't work out within the agreed period, we re-run the search. The specifics are set out in the engagement letter before we start.
Looking for your next CEO?
Tell us about the seat you need to fill. We'll tell you honestly whether we're the right team to fill it.