Executive Search

Research-led, confidential executive search for senior technology leadership roles across Australia and APAC. We place the leaders who set strategy, build organisations, and drive outcomes.

Why executive search with Sonitec

Senior leadership hires are high-stakes, low-volume, and confidential. A failed CTO or CISO hire costs six to twelve months of lost momentum and seven figures in direct and indirect costs. Generic contingent recruitment — keyword searches, mass outreach, spray-and-pray shortlists — does not work at this level.

Sonitec runs research-led executive searches. Every assignment starts with a deep understanding of your organisation, your strategy, and the specific leadership profile you need — not a job spec and a LinkedIn search. Our founder’s background at Accenture and A.T. Kearney means we speak the language of capability models, operating models, and board-level stakeholder management — not just technical screening.

We operate on a retained basis for all executive search assignments. This gives you founder-led search and a structured process from scoping through to placement.

Infrastructure Talent

Infrastructure and project leadership

For data centre operators, builders and major project delivery teams, we run Executive Search for project directors, heads of construction, construction managers, and commercial and engineering managers. Senior delivery leaders rarely apply to adverts; we map the market, approach them confidentially and assess them against the programme they will run.

Who We Place

Senior leadership roles we recruit

We recruit across the full C-suite and VP-level technology leadership spectrum. Every search is tailored to your organisation — there is no template shortlist.

Chief Technology Officer (CTO)

Sets the technology vision and owns the engineering organisation. We assess for both strategic thinking and hands-on technical credibility — CTOs who can present to a board and debug a production incident.

Chief Information Officer (CIO)

Owns enterprise IT strategy, digital transformation, and technology operations. We screen for the ability to balance legacy modernisation with innovation, particularly in AI-augmented enterprise environments.

Chief Data Officer (CDO)

Leads the data strategy — governance, architecture, analytics, and the data platform that underpins AI. We look for leaders who can bridge the gap between data engineering rigour and business value.

Chief Information Security Officer (CISO)

Owns cyber security, risk, and compliance across the organisation. We recruit CISOs who understand both the boardroom and the SOC — leaders who can articulate risk to non-technical stakeholders while running a technical security programme.

VP / Head of Engineering

Leads engineering delivery at scale — team structure, hiring velocity, engineering culture, and technical standards. We assess for the ability to scale teams from 20 to 200 without losing quality.

VP / Head of AI

Sets the AI strategy and builds the function from research through to production. We screen for the rare combination of ML depth, engineering leadership, and the commercial acuity to tie AI investment to business outcomes.

VP / Head of Data

Leads data engineering, analytics, and data science teams. We look for leaders who have built data platforms at scale and can articulate the path from raw data to decision-quality insight.

Engineering Director

Owns a major engineering function or product area. We assess for delivery track record, team-building capability, and the technical judgment to make architecture decisions that compound over years.

Our Process

How a retained executive search works

Stakeholder alignment & success profile

We meet your hiring committee — CEO, board, CHRO — to define what success looks like in the first 12 months. Not just the job spec, but the business outcomes, leadership style, and cultural fit that determine whether this hire compounds or costs.

Market mapping & target list

We build a comprehensive long-list through primary research — identifying the companies, roles, and sectors where the right leaders sit. This includes passive candidates who are not on the market. Primary research, not a database search.

Confidential approach

We approach candidates directly and under NDA. Every conversation is discreet. Succession planning, performance replacements, and board-level searches require this — we represent your opportunity compellingly without compromising sensitive information.

In-depth assessment

Structured interviews against the success profile — leadership capability, technical depth, strategic thinking, and cultural alignment. We don't send CVs; we send assessed candidates with a written evaluation of strengths, risks, and fit.

Shortlist presentation & calibration

A calibrated shortlist with detailed assessment reports on every candidate. If the market is telling us something different from the brief, we refine the profile together rather than pushing on regardless.

Reference verification

Confidential reference checks across a candidate's professional history. We verify credentials, leadership track record, and the things that don't show up on a CV. We manage confidentiality on both sides.

Offer negotiation & transition

We act as the honest broker between you and the candidate — managing expectations, navigating compensation discussions, and closing the gap when it matters.

Why Sonitec

What sets us apart at the executive level

Consulting-grade rigour

Our founder spent years at Accenture and A.T. Kearney before building Sonitec. We understand capability models, operating models, and how technology leadership fits into broader business strategy — not just technical skills matching.

Deep technology fluency

We recruit across the full technology stack — AI, data, engineering, cyber security, cloud. When we assess a CTO candidate, we can evaluate their technical depth as well as their leadership capability. Generalist executive search firms cannot do this.

Confidential by default

Every executive search runs under NDA. No candidate name leaves your brief without your approval. We handle board-level confidentiality, succession planning, and sensitive replacement scenarios with the discretion they require.

FAQ

Executive Search: common questions

Which leadership roles does Sonitec recruit through Executive Search?

Technology leadership (CTO, CIO, CDO, CISO, VP or Head of Engineering, VP or Head of AI, VP or Head of Data, Engineering Director) and infrastructure and project leadership, including project directors and heads of construction, across Australia and APAC.

Is Executive Search retained?

Yes. Sonitec runs every executive search assignment on a retained basis, with founder-led search and a structured process from scoping through to placement.

How does a Sonitec executive search run?

Seven steps: stakeholder alignment and a success profile, market mapping and a target list built through primary research, a confidential approach to candidates, in-depth assessment against the success profile, a calibrated shortlist with written assessments, confidential reference verification, and offer negotiation and transition.

How is Executive Search different from Retained Search?

Executive Search is for leadership hires. Retained Search is a committed search for senior specialists and delivery roles that are not leadership seats. They are separate assignment types at Sonitec, and we will recommend which fits your role.