Executive Search in Switzerland: for the roles advertising does not fill.
Implecio is a Geneva-based executive search boutique working across Switzerland: Geneva and the Lake Geneva region, Zurich, Basel and Ticino. We recruit executives, senior managers and rare specialists by direct approach, on a retained basis, with one partner in charge from the brief to the first day in the job.
Why search works differently in Switzerland
Switzerland is three small markets in three languages, not one large one. For any specialised function there are a few dozen qualified people per region, almost all of them employed, well paid and approached every week. Job boards and generic recruiters reach the ones who are looking. Executive search reaches the ones who are not.
Implecio only works by direct approach. We map the market by name, contact the right people personally and present a short, argued shortlist. We recruit for private banks and asset managers, industrial groups, technology companies and luxury houses, and we bring candidates from abroad when the Swiss pool is not deep enough.
The searches we take on
- Leadership roles: general management, finance, operations, technology, risk and compliance, in Switzerland and for Swiss subsidiaries of international groups.
- Senior experts and rare specialists: network and security engineers, front-office business analysts, architects, quants, compliance officers.
- Positions open for months despite advertising, job boards and one or two contingency recruiters.
- Confidential replacements that cannot be advertised without exposing the organisation or the incumbent.
- Several positions to fill at once, on a timeline that leaves no room for trial and error.
How a mandate runs
- A written brief, validated with you: the real scope of the role, the non-negotiables, what you offer and what would make a candidate decline.
- A named market map in one week: who holds this function, where, in which language region, and what might make each of them move.
- A direct, personal and confidential approach. No name circulates without consent; nothing is advertised.
- Interviews, assessment and references before any presentation. A short shortlist with a written report after each interview.
- Negotiation, resignation and onboarding, followed beyond the probation period. A closing letter leaves you the full record of the search.
A search in numbers
On a recent search for a network engineer for a Swiss industrial group, 338 profiles were assessed, 166 approached by name, 12 qualified in interview with us, 8 taken into in-depth interviews and one person hired, after the scope was widened to Italy in agreement with the client halfway through. You receive these figures at every stage. They are what separates a firm that searches from a firm that waits.
- Private banking · GenevaHead of Database Administration, confidential mandate. Unadvertised role; mapping of the banking and technology pool, name-by-name direct approach, short shortlist presented.
- Cybersecurity · SwitzerlandHard-to-find specialist, a few dozen comparable profiles in the country. Market mapping, direct approach without advertising, references before any presentation.
- Financial Services · GenevaFront Office Business Analyst. Brief built with business and IT teams, compensation tested against the market, search run by a partner through to the start date.
- Industry · German-speaking SwitzerlandSeven positions opened at once by a single manufacturer, seven distinct technical scopes (cybersecurity, infrastructure, SAP, among others). Searches run in parallel on a tight timeline, several appointments made.
- Watchmaking · GenevaIT business continuity project manager and disaster recovery (DRP) expert for a watch manufacture. Strictly local profiles required, in an already narrow market: direct and confidential approach within the Geneva basin, references before presentation.
Frequently asked questions
What does executive search cost in Switzerland?
Retained search fees are usually a proportion of the annual compensation of the role, with a part invoiced when the mandate is signed. Implecio sends a written proposal after the brief, with no surprises along the way. A first 15-minute call tells you whether the mandate is one we should take on.
How long does an executive search take?
One week from brief to shortlist, two weeks at most when a second sourcing round is needed. The timeline is set and shared from the start, with regular progress updates.
Do you cover Zurich and German-speaking Switzerland from Geneva?
Yes. We run mandates in German-speaking Switzerland and in Ticino, and we hold interviews on site when the mandate requires it. We work in French, English and German.
What is the difference between retained and contingency recruitment?
A contingency recruiter advertises and forwards available candidates, paid only if a hire is made, often alongside several competitors. A retained search firm is engaged exclusively, maps the market by name and approaches people who are not looking. The depth, the confidentiality and the outcome are not comparable.
Can you bring candidates from outside Switzerland?
Yes, and we often have to. We know what makes an engineer or a manager based in Paris, Milan, Munich or London accept a role in Switzerland, and what makes them decline. This is built into the brief from the start.
A senior role to fill in Switzerland?
A few lines on the situation are enough. A partner replies directly and in confidence.
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