Head of Product
In a technical company, a product leader who cannot earn engineering's respect will be routed around within a quarter.
Start a confidential conversationWhy this search is hard
Product leadership is the function where the gap between a strong interview and strong performance is widest. The craft is largely invisible in a résumé: the roadmaps not built, the features argued down, the discovery that killed an idea early.
In technical organisations there is a second filter. A product leader who cannot hold a substantive conversation with senior engineers loses the room quietly, and the first sign of it is usually that decisions have started happening without them.
What we assess
What we look for in this search.
Judgment under ambiguity
What they chose not to build, and why. The strongest signal in a product interview is a well-reasoned account of a killed idea.
Technical credibility
Not an engineering background necessarily, but enough fluency to engage with trade-offs on the merits rather than deferring on everything.
Discovery that is real
Evidence of talking to actual users and changing course because of it, as distinct from research theatre performed after the decision was made.
Commercial instinct
At this level, product decisions are business decisions. We look for people who can connect the roadmap to how the company actually makes money.
Every Head of Product search we run is partner-led and confidential, from the first scoping conversation through to the signed offer.