Executive Search in Phoenix, Arizona
Advius Group is a Phoenix-based retained executive search firm. We place CEOs, CFOs, and C-suite leaders for PE-backed, founder-led, and family-owned companies across the Valley, and we stay accountable through the first 120 days after the hire starts.
One client, one search, one outcome. Never contingency.
Clarity, Precision, Momentum on every engagement.
Structured integration support after the offer is signed.
Executive search built for Phoenix's growth stage
Phoenix has become one of the fastest-growing executive markets in the country. As companies move from founder-led to institutionally backed, the demand for proven C-suite leaders who can scale a business without breaking it has outpaced the local talent pool. Advius Group is a retained executive search firm headquartered in Phoenix. We place leaders who are already succeeding somewhere else and are ready to build the next chapter with a Valley-based company that matches their ambition.
Every search we run is retained, methodology-driven, and committed to a single referenced shortlist. We do not send resumes. We deliver a decision.
Why Phoenix companies choose Advius Group
Phoenix has plenty of firms willing to send resumes. It has far fewer willing to commit to one search, one client, and one outcome. Advius operates exclusively on a retained basis because that is the only model that funds the research depth, discretion, and accountability a company needs when the hire will define its next three to five years.
Our clients are typically PE-backed, family-owned, or founder-led businesses in the $50M to $2B revenue range, where a single leadership hire changes the trajectory of the enterprise. We keep our search load deliberately small so the founder of the firm is in every search, not just the pitch.
Our retained executive search process
Every Advius search follows the same three-phase methodology. Clarity starts with a diagnostic, not a job description: what does success look like 24 months after the hire, where is the current team strong, and what will derail the wrong candidate? The output is a written search specification the hiring authority signs off on before any outreach begins.
Precision builds a target universe of the qualified market, not a database pull, and approaches candidates through named research and referenced outreach. Evaluation goes beyond credentials to system fit: leadership style, operating context, and the specific conditions the role will face. You receive a short, referenced shortlist with a written brief on each candidate.
Momentum covers offer structuring, close, and the 120-Day Flight Plan, with checkpoints at 30, 60, 90, and 120 days. The full sequence is documented on our executive search methodology page.
C-suite roles we place in Phoenix
Advius runs searches across the full executive team. The three mandates we see most often in the Valley:
- Chief Executive Officer. Founder transitions, PE-backed CEO succession, and next-generation leadership in family businesses.
- Chief Financial Officer. Growth-stage CFOs preparing a company for institutional capital, exit readiness, or a step up in reporting discipline.
- Operating and functional C-suite. COO, CTO, CIO, CRO, CHRO, and CMO, plus VP-level leaders when the role carries real enterprise scope.
Practice pages by role: CEO, CFO, COO, CTO, CIO, CMO, and CHRO and HR.
Industries we serve across the Valley
Phoenix is not one economy. The executive profile that wins in a defense supplier in Deer Valley is not the profile that wins in a healthcare platform in Scottsdale or a software company in Tempe. Our sector work in the Valley concentrates in three areas:
- Aerospace, defense, and advanced manufacturing. The region's legacy strength, from established primes to next-generation defense technology founders.
- Healthcare and life sciences. Health systems, physician-led platforms, and the growing biotech corridor across Scottsdale and Tempe.
- Technology, SaaS, and semiconductor supply chain. The East Valley technology footprint, including the ecosystem forming around new fabrication capacity.
We also place in private equity portfolio companies, construction, real estate, energy, and financial services. Statewide coverage is on our Arizona executive search page.
The Phoenix executive market: what we are seeing
The Phoenix executive market changed materially between 2023 and 2026. Leaders relocating from California to Scottsdale, Chandler, and Paradise Valley have deepened the top of the local candidate pool. The middle tier, VP-to-CxO-ready operators with $100M-plus P&L experience, remains thin. Companies that rely on local recruiters keep seeing the same names circulate.
Our value is reaching the leaders who are not looking: sitting executives at institutional companies who have to be sourced, referenced, and courted through a retained relationship rather than an inbound posting. That is also why a Phoenix search often closes with a candidate relocating into the Valley, and why we treat relocation as a variable to manage rather than a filter to apply.
Why the wrong executive hire costs more than a search fee
Research consistently puts the failure rate of externally hired executives between 40 and 60 percent inside the first 18 months. The cost of a failed executive hire runs to roughly three times annual compensation once severance, missed strategy execution, team disengagement, and the second search are counted, and the organization typically loses 18 to 24 months of momentum getting back to where it was.
Retained executive search exists because the alternative is not cheaper. It is more expensive, paid in a different currency. Our cost of a failed executive hire analysis and executive search cost guide lay out the numbers.
About Craig Devereaux, founder of Advius Group
Craig Devereaux started his career in recruiting. More than ten years of watching what happens after the offer letter convinced him the industry kept the wrong scoreboard: a search closes, a leader arrives, and the organization is not ready. He founded Advius Group to fix that, with a ready team, the right fit, and tailor-made integration as the standard on every search.
Craig is based in Phoenix and leads every Advius engagement personally. Read more about Craig and the firm.
Start a retained search in Phoenix
If you are weighing whether now is the right time to open a retained search, we would rather have that conversation early than late. A scoped intake call takes 30 minutes, costs nothing, and ends with a clear view of the role, the market, and whether Advius is the right firm for it. Contact Advius Group to schedule one.
C-suite practices we run
Advius operates as a retained-only firm. Every practice below is delivered against the Clarity, Precision, Momentum methodology.
CEO search
Board-led CEO recruitment with structured stakeholder alignment.
02CFO search
Finance leadership for PE-backed and growth-stage operators.
03COO search
Operating leaders for scale, integration, and value creation.
04CTO search
Technology leadership across product, platform, and engineering.
05CMO search
Revenue-accountable marketing leaders for the next growth chapter.
06HR search
CHRO and people-strategy leadership in periods of rapid organizational change.
Frequently asked questions
What does an executive search in Phoenix cost?
Advius works on a retained basis. The investment is structured as a percentage of first-year total compensation, paid in installments at engagement, shortlist, and placement, and it includes the 120-Day Flight Plan after the hire starts. Specific terms are scoped in the intake call. Our executive search cost guide walks through how retained fees are built and what they cover.
How long does a retained executive search take?
Timelines depend on the role and the depth of the market, and we set the timeline in the Clarity phase rather than promising a number up front. The search moves through three phases: Clarity (diagnosis and search specification), Precision (research, outreach, evaluation, and a referenced shortlist), and Momentum (offer, close, and the first 120 days). Our executive search process and timeline page shows what happens in each phase.
Do you only recruit executives who already live in Phoenix?
No. Phoenix is where Advius is based and where most of our client work happens, but the candidate pool for a C-suite search is national. Many of the strongest leaders we place are relocating into the Valley from California, Texas, Chicago, or the Northeast. We map the whole market for the role and then weigh relocation as one factor among many.
What is the difference between a retained executive search firm and a contingency recruiter?
A contingency recruiter is paid only when a candidate is hired, so the incentive is speed and volume. A retained firm is paid in installments to run one search to completion for one client, which funds proper diagnosis, confidential outreach to leaders who are not looking, structured evaluation, and post-hire integration. Advius operates exclusively on a retained basis. Our retained vs contingency comparison explains the trade-offs in detail.
Which roles does Advius place in Phoenix?
CEO, COO, CFO, CTO, CIO, CRO, CHRO, and CMO, plus board-level and VP-level leaders when the role carries real P&L or enterprise scope. We do not work on roles below the VP level and we do not run high-volume or contract staffing.
Start a confidential conversation
Send a short note about the Phoenix role, the company, and the timeline. Craig reads every inquiry. All conversations are confidential.
