Case Study - Turning a Single Mandate into a Portfolio-Wide Partnership
- Kellie Dodds
- Nov 12
- 3 min read
Company: A UK-headquartered search firm providing staffing solutions in the AI space.
Industry: Insurtech
Series C — Building a Full Leadership Team for Growth |
When a UK-based software company providing AI-driven workflow and data management tools closed its Series C funding, the founders knew it was time to strengthen the leadership team.
The business had grown rapidly over the previous three years, with more than 250 employees across Europe and North America and a client base that included several global enterprise customers. To support its next phase — entering the US market and preparing for future investment, it needed experienced executives who could bring structure, governance, and commercial scale.
The company’s investors introduced a trusted executive search firm to run a CFO search, but it quickly became clear the business also needed a COO, CMO, and CHRO to build the systems, culture, and market reach required for continued growth.
The Challenge |
The search firm had the relationships and credibility to take on the work, but its consultants were already managing a full portfolio of assignments. Running four senior searches at once, each with international reach and board level oversight risked stretching their internal research and coordination capacity.
They needed to move quickly, maintain consistency across all four projects, and give both the founders and investors confidence that progress was being tracked and communicated clearly.
The Solution |
The firm partnered with Complement for flexible, on-demand research and delivery support.
Within days, I:
Built detailed talent maps for CFO, COO, CMO, and CHRO roles across the UK, Europe, and North America
Researched and qualified over 300 senior candidates with experience in SaaS, data platforms, and scaling venture backed companies
Produced clear shortlists, weekly progress updates, and status dashboards to keep all parties aligned
Supported candidate communication, initial screening and first round interviews, scheduling, and market insight summaries for investor and board briefings.
Because the solution required no retainers or minimum commitments, the firm could flex support as each search progressed.
The Outcome |
Within ten weeks, the search firm had placed the CFO, COO, and CMO, and progressed the CHRO search to final interviews.
The outcome strengthened their reputation with both the client and its VC backers, leading to:
A board-level appointment for another company within the same investment portfolio
Referrals from the investor to two additional portfolio businesses entering international expansion
A long term working relationship built on trust, responsiveness, and delivery
What began as a single CFO brief evolved into a full leadership build and an ongoing partnership across the investor’s portfolio.
Key Statistics |
£160,000 in search fees delivered | 3% support cost | 2 new portfolio company referrals |
The firm completed three C-suite placements and advanced a fourth to final interviews, generating approximately £160,000 in combined fees. | The entire on-demand research, screening, and scheduling support costing just 3% of total fees — enabled the firm to scale quickly without increasing internal headcount or fixed overheads. | The quality and speed of delivery led to two additional portfolio mandates referred directly by the investor. |
This single project became one of their highest value assignments of the year and established a repeatable model for handling multi role briefs efficiently. | It proved that strategic outsourcing can protect margins while expanding delivery capacity. | What began as one assignment evolved into a long-term partnership and steady pipeline of repeat business. |
Key Takeaway |
By the time companies reach Series C, leadership hiring becomes about depth and structure rather than experimentation.
For search firms, having access to on-demand research and operational support allows them to take on multiple senior searches at once while keeping quality and communication high.
It’s a model that helps firms act at the speed of their clients and strengthens relationships that continue well beyond the initial mandate.
Partnering with Complement |
The examples in this report show how executive search firms can scale quickly and win complex mandates by adding flexible, on-demand support when it matters most.
That’s what Complement provides — practical, high-quality help that fits seamlessly into your delivery process.
Research & Market Mapping — identifying active and passive candidates, building talent maps, and generating insight to strengthen client credibility.
Project Delivery Support — handling screening, first interviews, scheduling, and progress tracking so consultants can focus on clients and placements.
Flexible Engagement — no retainers, pre-payments, or minimum commitments; support is billed per minute and scaled up or down as needed.
Search firms use Complement to extend their capacity without adding headcount — protecting margins, improving speed to market, and building the resilience needed to handle multiple high-value projects at once.
If you’d like to explore how this could work for your firm, let’s have a conversation.
Kellie Dodds
Founder, Complement,
providing flexible on-demand research and project support for executive search firms.
