Asset Class · Public Company

The seat that changes the next decade.

 Whether navigating a CEO succession between analyst calls or a CFO change before earnings guidance, our partners have led high-governance executive searches since 2006. 

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From a Fortune 500 
"They provided a high-quality search with deep industry expertise, maintaining transparency and senior partner involvement that made our specific needs feel like their top priority."
CHRO, Fortune 500 Technology company
98%
Placement Rate
Candidates who last
500+
Public Companies Served
Distinct listed entities
4.9 /5
Satisfaction Rating
From Clients
85%
Repeat Board Rate
Across nominating committees
Public-Company Work

Public companies whose leadership we've helped build.

 

ON Partners has run public-company searches across semiconductors, healthcare, software, consumer, and industrials since 2006. Partner-led and board-experienced, built for the boutique seat in a category the large global firms dominate.

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bloomin brands
Adobe
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diebold nixdorf
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2026 Outlook

The board's tolerance for a missed hire has narrowed.

Public company board searches require tighter, zero-fault execution as market scrutiny intensifies, shifting the mandate toward specialized sector expertise and direct board-level partner engagement. 

Three Market Forces
01

Higher external stakes 

Even non-activist boards now run succession with one eye on how an activist would react. Public-company CEO and CFO searches in 2026 routinely apply a "would an activist respect this hire" filter.

02

Expertise over brand 

Leading with brand credibility loses ground when a board has a specific sector need. A semiconductor board would rather have a partner who knows the industry deeply than a recognized name who does not.

03

Independent director benches are getting deeper.

Nominating committees are looking earlier for independent directors with operating credibility and committee-specific experience. The candidate pool is no longer just former CEOs.

A Sample of Where We Work in Public Markets

Sector depth that earns the seat.

 A sample of our public company work. Since 2006 we've run listed-company searches across 500+ companies. 

Semiconductors & Infrastructure

Technical credibility and analyst fluency, in one candidate.

Foundries, fabless semis, semicap equipment, advanced packaging, and energy infrastructure. This is our deepest public-company sector. A semiconductor board needs a candidate who clears three filters at once: technical credibility, analyst-facing communication, and operating scale. Our slate clears all three before it reaches the nominating committee.

Most-Searched Roles
Healthcare & Life Sciences

Clinical credibility and analyst-day discipline together.

Pharma, biotech, MedTech, diagnostics, and healthcare services. The CFO who can stand up clinical-stage reporting and field sell-side analysts the same day is rare. The CMO with regulatory fluency is rarer. We run these searches for listed healthcare companies heading into major leadership transitions.

We've run searches across Thermo Fisher, Gilead, McKesson, IGM Biosciences, Lantheus, Sangamo, and other listed healthcare companies preparing for major leadership transitions.

Most-Searched Roles
Software & SaaS

The CFO who can defend the multiple and run the close.

Listed software, infrastructure software, SaaS platforms, and fintech. A public-software CFO has to manage analyst expectations, defend the gross-margin profile, and run a real GAAP close. The CRO has to grow ARR predictably enough that next quarter's guidance holds.

We've placed leaders into Adobe, ServiceNow, Fiserv, Akamai, and other listed software companies at moments of leadership transition.

Most-Searched Roles
Consumer & Retail

Brand equity at scale is a discipline.

Branded consumer, specialty retail, restaurant, e-commerce, and consumer products. A public consumer CMO runs brand, performance marketing, and analyst communication at once. The CEO balances same-store-sales pressure against brand investment.

We've placed leaders into Estée Lauder, Papa John's, Advance Auto Parts, Logitech, and other listed consumer brands.

Most-Searched Roles
Industrials & Manufacturing

Operational scale and capital discipline, in one CEO.

Industrial conglomerates, manufacturing, building products, specialty chemicals, and energy. Public industrial CEOs run global P&Ls, manage tariff and supply-chain volatility, and answer to both buy-side and sell-side analysts on cyclical performance.

We've placed leaders into Watts Water, AECOM, Lucid, Caesars, and other listed industrial and infrastructure companies.

Most-Searched Roles
How a Public-Company Search Runs at ON

Executive-anchored. Partner-led. Discretion as default.

Start

Board and committee calibration.

The partner running your search sits with the nominating committee chair, the lead director, and (where applicable) the sitting CEO. We pressure-test the spec against governance considerations, sector context, and the company's analyst-day cadence.

First slate

Initial slate review with the committee.

Candidates with public-company operating experience, mapped to the spec. We flag analyst-perception considerations, prior litigation or governance flags, and any candidate who could trigger a Section 16 disclosure issue.

Slate refine

Slate narrowed; deep diligence in motion.

Three to four finalists. Diligence runs at public-company depth, including prior 10-K and proxy review, sell-side analyst sentiment on the candidate's prior performance, and (for CEO and CFO searches) confidential reference work with former independent directors.

Final

Finalist interviews with the full board.

The partner runs the candidate experience, prepares the candidate for board exposure, and manages the comp conversation, including consideration of perquisites, retention RSUs, and clawback provisions.

Offer

Offer accepted. Announcement preparation.

We support the company's IR and legal teams on the 8-K filing, the proxy update, and the public announcement narrative. The partner stays involved through the first earnings call after the start date.

Year one +

Continuing the relationship.

 We view our role as a long-term partner, not just transactional. Our commitment to you extends well past the placement.

Why boards choose a boutique over a SHREK

The partner you meet runs the search.

At a global firm, the partner who sells the engagement is typically not the partner who runs it. The work transfers to a search team, often led by an associate or principal. For commodity searches that's a fine model.

For a public-company CEO or CFO search where the board chair, the lead director, and the sitting management team all need to be aligned on a single candidate, the model trades off against the things you're paying for. That's why boards we work with come back.

85%   Repeat board rate across public-company nominating committees
Frequently Asked

Questions boards and committees ask before a public-company search.

Why would a public-company board choose a boutique firm over a global search firm?

The structural reason is partner ownership. At a global firm, the partner who wins the engagement typically hands the day-to-day search work to an associate or principal. For commodity searches that's a fine model. For a CEO or CFO succession where the board chair, the lead director, and the sitting management team all need to be aligned on one candidate, the handoff is where the search loses fidelity.

At ON, the partner you meet runs the search. That includes the board interviews, the diligence calls, the comp negotiations, and the announcement narrative.

Can ON Partners help with independent director searches?

Yes. Boards engage ON to fill audit committee vacancies, add governance-experienced directors, and build longer-term board succession plans. We've placed independent directors with operating credibility, sector depth, and committee-specific experience across listed companies in semiconductors, healthcare, consumer, and industrials.

How does ON Partners handle the announcement and IR transition for a CEO or CFO placement?

The partner running the search stays involved through the announcement, the 8-K filing support, and the first earnings call after the new leader's start date. We work with the company's IR team and outside counsel on the announcement narrative if needed, anticipated analyst questions, and post-call follow-up.

What happens if the executive doesn't work out in the first year?

Our standard public-company engagement includes a replacement guarantee. If a placed executive departs within the first 12 months for performance reasons, we run a replacement search at no additional fee.

What public-company sectors does ON Partners cover most deeply?

Our deepest public-company sectors are semiconductors and infrastructure, healthcare and life sciences, software and SaaS, consumer and retail, and industrials and manufacturing.