Executive Search in Ticino: direct approach for the roles advertising does not fill.
Implecio is a Geneva-based executive search boutique running mandates in Ticino: Lugano, Bellinzona, Mendrisio and Locarno. 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 Ticino
Ticino is a small market with a strong financial centre in Lugano, industrial and logistics companies around Mendrisio and Bellinzona, and a deep connection with Lombardy: a large share of the qualified people work in Ticino and live in Italy. For any specialised function there are a few dozen qualified people, almost all of them employed and approached every week. Job boards 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 on both sides of the border, contact the right people personally and present a short, argued shortlist. We recruit for banks and asset managers, industrial groups, technology companies and Swiss subsidiaries of international groups, and we bring candidates from Milan and the rest of Italy when the local pool is not deep enough.
The searches we take on in Ticino
- Leadership roles: general management, finance, operations, technology, risk and compliance, including for Swiss subsidiaries of international groups.
- Senior experts and rare specialists: network and security engineers, front-office business analysts, architects, 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.
- Cross-border and international profiles when the Ticino pool is not deep enough.
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, on which side of the border, 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 search in numbers
On a recent search for a network and security engineer for a Swiss industrial group, 338 profiles were assessed, 166 approached by name, 12 qualified in interview with us, 8 presented to the client 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.
- 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
You are based in Geneva. Do you know the Ticino market?
Yes. We run mandates in Ticino and hold interviews on site when the mandate requires it. Being in Geneva has one advantage: we bring profiles from French-speaking Switzerland, German-speaking Switzerland and abroad to Ticino that local intermediaries do not reach.
Do you recruit cross-border profiles from Italy?
Yes, and we often have to. We know what makes an engineer or a manager based in Milan, Como or Varese accept a role in Ticino, and what makes them decline. This is built into the brief from the start.
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.
What does executive search cost in Ticino?
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.
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.
A senior role to fill in Ticino?
A few lines on the situation are enough. A partner replies directly and in confidence.
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