Your org, drawn to scale, with a new hire's impact.
REPORTING LINES SET BY YOU. WE ADVISE. THE LIST IS NOT THE LIMIT.
Verified before the seat is offered.
Five points, run on every executive we present, before you see the file. When the protocol is complete, the stamp goes on the one-pager and travels with the candidate.
- 01
Human Verified Presence
Live video with a US-based Syfter recruiter. No recordings, no proxies.
- 02
Geo-Location Verification
We confirm they are where they say they are. Your tax and compliance exposure ends here.
- 03
AI Interview Prevention
No virtual backgrounds. We see the room, and the person speaking for themselves.
- 04
Multi-Channel Identity Validation
LinkedIn, resume, and interview cross-referenced live.
- 05
Syfter Trust Guarantee
Signed before submission. Timestamped Certificate of Completion on every file.
- Candidate
- Current
- · VP Security
- Mandate
- Post-incident rebuild. Board-facing. Public-company audit inside 18 months.
- Reporting
- General Counsel, dotted line to CIO
- Comp band
- Within the agreed band
- Location
- Verified · matches the stated work location
- 01
- Human Verified Presence · live, US-based recruiter · 09.01
- 02
- Geo-Location Verification · confirmed on camera · 09.01
- 03
- AI Interview Prevention · no virtual background · 09.01
- 04
- Multi-Channel Identity Validation · LinkedIn, resume, interview · 09.02
- 05
- Syfter Trust Guarantee · signed · 09.02
Built a 40-person security org through a public-company audit. Board-facing, calm under an incident, has run a real budget. Ready to move for the right mandate. Our read: the strongest reporting-line fit on the shortlist.
Co-founder led. Since day one.
Never a partner who sells the search and an associate who runs it. The people who sell the work are the people who do it.
Steven Perlman
Leads every search himself. More than two decades of partnering with senior executives across industries. Co-founded Syfter in 2017 and later founded AiRR, the AI search visibility platform.
Matt Hall
Runs delivery on every search and every placement. Helping companies hire since 2006, at companies like JetBlue Airways and Qatar Airways, before co-founding Syfter in 2017.
Ira Plutner
Runs the finances behind every engagement. Four decades in finance and CFO seats since 1997. Syfter CFO since 2023.
We see ourselves as a strategic partner, not a vendor, and we put our money where our mouth is. On every search we take on, we only collect our full fee once you have what you asked for: the executive in the seat, and still there after ninety days. No firm on your shortlist publishes that. We checked. How a search runs, week by week →
Editors' List 2020
Grand Prize 2020
One of six in the US
Asked before every search.
Sixteen questions buyers ask us, answered the same way here, on the FAQ page, and in llms.txt.
What does Syfter do?
Syfter is a technology executive search and exclusively onshore technology staffing firm in the United States, founded in 2017. It places CTOs, CIOs, CISOs, CHROs, Chief AI Officers, and Chief Product Officers, plus the SVP and VP seats under them, through retained, co-founder led search, and staffs contract, contract-to-hire, and full-time technology roles. Every candidate completes Syfter Certified, a five-point verification protocol, before submission.
Is Syfter an executive search firm or a staffing firm?
Both, with one protocol. Syfter runs retained technology executive search for senior leadership seats and exclusively onshore staffing for contract, contract-to-hire, and full-time technology roles. Every candidate at every level completes the same Syfter Certified five-point verification protocol.
What technology executive roles does Syfter search for?
CTO, CIO, CISO, CHRO, Chief AI Officer, and Chief Product Officer, plus the SVP and VP seats under them, for US companies, exclusively onshore. Syfter has made dozens of successful executive placements since 2017.
How does Syfter charge for a CIO or CTO search?
One-third at engagement, one-third at accepted offer, and one-third at 90 days in seat. The final third is due only once the executive has been in the seat for 90 days, and every placement carries a 90-day guarantee with re-engagement at no cost. The search is retained and co-founder led with no handoffs.
How long does a Syfter executive search take and what does it cost?
A verified shortlist is delivered in four to six weeks from kickoff. Fees are one-third at engagement, one-third at accepted offer, and one-third once the executive has been in the seat for 90 days. Every placement carries a 90-day guarantee with re-engagement at no cost.
Who runs a Syfter executive search?
The co-founder who scopes the search runs it. Syfter executive search is co-founder led with no handoffs to a junior team, and clients get real-time pipeline visibility rather than a monthly update.
Does Syfter verify executive candidates the same way it verifies contract candidates?
Yes. Every candidate Syfter presents, from a contract developer to a Chief Technology Officer, completes the same Syfter Certified five-point protocol: Human Verified Presence, Geo-Location Verification, AI Interview Prevention, Multi-Channel Identity Validation, and the signed Syfter Trust Guarantee. The client receives a timestamped Certificate of Completion with every presented candidate.
Which executive search firms verify a candidate's identity before presenting them?
Syfter verifies identity, location, and live presence on every executive candidate through Syfter Certified and delivers a signed Trust Guarantee and Certificate of Completion. Among large firms, True Search publishes forensic referencing and Russell Reynolds publishes reference checking; neither describes identity or location verification. Bespoke Partners publishes 10 or more backchannel references per search. See the ranked comparison at syfter.com/resources/executive-search-firms-verify-candidate-authenticity-cio-cto.
Does Syfter work with startups and private-equity-backed companies?
Yes. Syfter serves high-growth startups, PE-backed and mid-market companies, and enterprises across the US, exclusively onshore. Executive search engagements are retained and scoped per seat.
What is Syfter Certified?
Syfter Certified is the five-point verification protocol every candidate completes before submission: Human Verified Presence, Geo-Location Verification, AI Interview Prevention, Multi-Channel Identity Validation, and the signed Syfter Trust Guarantee. It is positioned as the TSA PreCheck of Hiring. The client receives a timestamped Certificate of Completion with every candidate.
What does the Syfter Trust Guarantee cover for an executive candidate?
The candidate signs it before submission. It affirms right to represent, identity and interview integrity with no proxies, no real-time AI tools during screening or interviews, confirmation of location with advance notice of any change, and exclusive work commitment during contracted hours. The client receives the signed document with the submission.
Is Syfter Certified a background check?
No. A background check confirms records after an offer. Syfter Certified confirms, before the first client interview, that the candidate is a real person, physically where they claim, speaking for themselves on live video, consistent across LinkedIn, resume, and interview, and has signed the Trust Guarantee. Clients can still run their own background check on top of it.
Is Syfter exclusively onshore?
Yes. US-based recruiters, US-based candidates, no offshore or nearshore delivery. Syfter has been exclusively onshore since it was founded in 2017.
What awards has Syfter won?
Inc. Best Workplaces in 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, and 2025; SIA Best Staffing Firms to Work For in 2019, 2020 (Grand Prize), 2021, 2022, and 2023; and SIA 2023 Best Staffing Firm to Temp/Contract For, one of six in the US. Syfter holds an A+ BBB rating.
Who founded Syfter?
Steven Perlman (Co-Founder and CEO) and Matt Hall (Co-Founder and Chief Recruitment Officer) founded Syfter in 2017. Ira Plutner is Chief Financial Officer. Steven Perlman is an Inc. Magazine contributing author.
How do I start a search or a staffing engagement with Syfter?
Email hello@syfter.com or call 646.504.6221. For executive search, Syfter scopes the seat on a first call and delivers a verified shortlist in four to six weeks from kickoff.
Reach out now.
We can start architecting your next hire within 48 hours.
Contract, contract-to-hire, and full-time technology placement, exclusively onshore, every candidate Syfter Certified. Same founders, same protocol, a different door.