Roster was founded in London in 2009 on a simple idea: the shortlist is the whole job. Everything we do is in service of four to six names a client would be glad to hire.
Three people, one print shop, one rule.
We started as three people in a room above a print shop in Clerkenwell, placing finance directors for private equity portfolio companies. The work was contingent and fast, and we learned quickly that speed without judgement produces placements that do not last.
So we changed how we worked. Every search got a partner who stayed on it from brief to integration. Every market got mapped in full before anyone was approached. And every candidate got honest feedback, whatever the outcome. Seventeen years and 1,240 placements later, that is still the whole method.
Placements since 2009
Still in post after 12 months
Median brief to shortlist
Of our shortlists led by women
Four principles we would rather lose a search than break.
One partner, start to finish
The person who wins a search runs it. Clients and candidates always know who to call.
Map the whole market
We name every plausible person before approaching anyone, so the shortlist is a choice, not an accident.
Say the uncomfortable thing early
If a brief, a package or a candidate will not work, we say so in the first week, not the fifth.
Measure what lasts
We track every placement for two years. Retention, not fees, is the number partners are paid on.
2009
Founded in London, placing finance directors for private equity portfolios.
2011
First retained executive search. The board practice follows a year later.
2014
Financial services practice opens, led by a former bank CFO.
2016
New York office opens on Hudson Street.
2019
Healthcare and life sciences practice launches in London.
2022
Energy and infrastructure practice opens in New York.
2026
1,240 placements, 94% still in post after twelve months.
Recent clients include
The people you will actually speak to
No hand-offs to juniors. The partner who wins your search runs it.
Talk to the partner who would run your search
Hiring a senior leader, or thinking about your next move? Either way, you speak to a partner on the first call.
Or book a consultation with a partner.