Finding the right executive leader is one of the most consequential decisions a growing company can make. Chicago C Suite Executive Recruiters at Onboard Recruiting Partners work directly with founders, CEOs, and hiring teams to identify leadership talent that fits both the role and the organization. Headquartered in Rochester Hills, Michigan, and serving a national client base across the United States, Onboard Recruiting Partners approaches every search as a structured, intentional engagement, not a quick transaction.
A Retained Search Approach Built for Leadership Hiring
Most executive searches fail not because of weak candidates, but because of misaligned expectations and insufficient vetting. Onboard Recruiting Partners operates on a retained model, which means mutual commitment from the start. The firm’s success is tied to finding the right long-term hire, rather than simply filling a role as fast as possible. That distinction matters, especially for companies in the growth phase where a single leadership decision can shape the next several years of the business.
Founder and operator Chris Masson brings more than 25 years of hands-on management experience from corporate environments and his own entrepreneurial venture. That background gives Onboard Recruiting Partners a practical operator’s perspective that shapes how every search is framed, evaluated, and concluded. When you work with these Chicago C Suite Executive Recruiters, you work directly with Chris, not a junior associate or account team.
To learn more about the firm’s background and philosophy, visit the Onboard Recruiting Partners About page.
Markets We Serve
Onboard Recruiting Partners works with a focused set of organizations where leadership hiring carries real weight:
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Mid-Sized Companies: Organizations that have outgrown generalist hiring and need specialized executive search support
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Growth-Focused Organizations: Companies actively expanding their leadership layer to support scale
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Private Companies: Founder-led and privately held businesses building intentional teams
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Corporate Teams: Established divisions seeking experienced functional leaders
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Entrepreneurial Businesses: Ventures that need senior talent to professionalize operations
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Leadership-Driven Environments: Companies where cultural fit and leadership style are as important as credentials
As Chicago C Suite Executive Recruiters, Onboard Recruiting Partners is well positioned to support growth-stage companies in the 50 to 500 employee range that are building or strengthening their leadership teams.
Positions We Help Clients Hire with Confidence
Onboard Recruiting Partners focuses exclusively on leadership and key functional roles. The firm does not engage in high-volume or entry-level staffing. Every search is a dedicated engagement designed to identify talent that will have a lasting impact on the client’s organization.
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C-Suite
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Director of Human Resources
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Human Resources Manager
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Talent Acquisition Leader
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Marketing Director
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Brand Marketing Manager
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Engineering Manager
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Operations Manager
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Divisional Merchant Manager
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Category Manager / Buyer
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Regional Manager
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District Manager
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Store Manager
For a full overview of the firm’s functional expertise, explore the industries and expertise overview.
What Sets These Chicago C Suite Executive Recruiters Apart
Many firms claim to specialize in executive search. Onboard Recruiting Partners actually does. The retained model, the operator background, and the boutique structure combine to create a search process that prioritizes fit over speed. Before a candidate is ever presented, the firm evaluates leadership style, team dynamics, and long-term cultural alignment. That depth of vetting goes well beyond resume matching and helps companies avoid the expensive, disruptive cost of a wrong hire.
For growing companies, the stakes are high. A misaligned C-suite hire does not just affect one department; it affects the entire organization. Chicago C Suite Executive Recruiters at Onboard Recruiting Partners treat each engagement as the meaningful business decision it truly is.
Follow the firm on LinkedIn for insights on leadership hiring, team development, and the retained search process.
Ready to Start a More Intentional Search
If your company is preparing to hire at the executive or senior leadership level, the team at Onboard Recruiting Partners for employers is a strong starting point. The process begins with an honest conversation about your team, your business direction, and what the right hire actually looks like for your organization.
Chicago C Suite Executive Recruiters at Onboard Recruiting Partners are ready to help you approach your next leadership hire with the clarity and structure it deserves. Reach out through the form below to start that conversation.
What our experience says about leadership hiring
In our experience, a disciplined retained process with operator-led evaluation yields hires who stay longer and perform better. One pattern we see is teams that align on cultural values and leadership style experience faster incumbency and smoother post-hire integration. Practitioners in this field often note that leadership hires reverberate across product cycles, talent pipelines, and customer outcomes.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does a retained executive search firm do differently than a contingency recruiter?
A retained firm like Onboard Recruiting Partners is engaged exclusively on each search from the beginning. This creates a mutual commitment between the firm and the client, and it aligns the recruiter’s success with finding the right long-term hire rather than filling the role as quickly as possible. Contingency firms, by contrast, often work multiple searches simultaneously and prioritize speed over depth of evaluation.
The retained model allows for a more structured process: thorough discovery, comprehensive candidate assessment, and honest evaluation of cultural and team fit before anyone is presented to the client.
Which types of companies do Chicago C Suite Executive Recruiters at Onboard Recruiting Partners typically work with?
Onboard Recruiting Partners primarily partners with growth-stage companies in the 50 to 500 employee range. These include privately held businesses, founder-led organizations, entrepreneurial ventures, and established corporate teams that are building out or strengthening their leadership layers. The firm serves clients across the United States, with a focus on companies that treat hiring as a strategic business decision.
What functional areas does Onboard Recruiting Partners cover?
The firm focuses on leadership and key functional roles across Human Resources, marketing, engineering, operations, and merchant functions. Specific roles include C-Suite positions, HR Directors and Managers, Talent Acquisition Leaders, Marketing Directors, Brand Marketing Managers, Engineering Managers, Operations Managers, Divisional Merchant Managers, Category Managers, Regional Managers, District Managers, and Store Managers.
Onboard Recruiting Partners does not engage in entry-level or high-volume staffing. Every search is a dedicated engagement at the leadership or senior functional level.
How does Onboard Recruiting Partners evaluate candidates beyond the resume?
The firm assesses leadership style, team dynamics, and long-term cultural fit as core parts of every search. Before a candidate is presented to a client, Onboard Recruiting Partners conducts in-depth conversations designed to understand how a person leads, communicates, and makes decisions, not just what positions they have held. This approach helps ensure that hires contribute positively to the team structure already in place and to the direction Onboard Recruiting Partners is heading.
Why does founder experience matter in an executive search firm?
Founder Chris Masson spent more than 25 years as an operator in corporate environments at companies including Sherwin-Williams and AkzoNobel, and also built his own entrepreneurial venture. That background shapes how Onboard Recruiting Partners frames every search. An operator understands the real-world pressures that executives face and can evaluate candidates through a practical lens, not just a recruiting one. That perspective helps clients find leaders who can perform in the actual conditions of their business.
How do I get started with Chicago C Suite Executive Recruiters at Onboard Recruiting Partners?
The process starts with a direct conversation. Use the form on this page to describe your current hiring need, your team structure, and your company’s direction. From there, Onboard Recruiting Partners will outline a structured search engagement tailored to the role and the organization. There is no obligation in an initial conversation, and the firm is straightforward about whether a retained search is the right fit for your situation.