Consumer & Retail Executive Search Specialists
In a world where executive decisions shape brand futures, we partner with organisations across the global consumer & retail industry to secure the leaders who don’t just fit the brief but define it.
Leaders in Executive Search
Our executive search service is powered by deep functional expertise and sector immersion. Unlike generalist firms, our consultants are embedded in their markets, working shoulder-to-shoulder with boards, founders, and investors to navigate complex hiring challenges with clarity and confidence.
We operate without borders but with absolute focus, combining data-driven insights, cultural understanding, and access to a global network of senior, brand-critical talent. Whether you’re driving transformation, scaling rapidly, or planning for succession, we deliver more than candidates. We deliver long-term leadership impact.
With a wide range of specialist tools available, we provide a full-service solution, advising on the advertising process, confidentiality measures, NDA requirements, geographical locations, candidate assessment tools, target industries, candidate motivators, DE&I, remuneration package, organisational structure, and competitor analysis.
Privately-Owned businesses can be diverse in their culture, goals, and attitude toward risk-taking/investment. Often measured, owner-led, and with progressive, carefully curated growth plans, companies operating under this structure emphasise ROI, long-term commitment, and a reasonable level of conformity to the current business structure.
Often our most flexible service, owners are involved in all decision-making at c-suite level, with a varying degree of personal experience, requiring a highly personalised approach throughout the process.
Private Equity and Venture Capital backed businesses require short recruitment processes that deliver immediate results. Key to a successful recruitment campaign within this particular ownership structure is our comprehensive network of high-performing talent, readily available and pre-screened.
On behalf of PE backed businesses, we conduct recruitment campaigns in each of the major business functions, supplying executives with hands-on experience, excellent financial governance, a track record of short-term ROI initiatives, and preparing businesses to be refinanced or sold.
Public Limited companies prioritise stability and the creation of shareholder value in their executive leaders, with this filtering down through all levels of the business.
As a result, Plc’s seek executives with a strong track record of good financial governance, relying heavily on quantitative assessments, and data-based decision making. A strategic view of both short and long-term is required in order to communicate and deliver a stable growth plan that instils shareholder confidence and EoY profits.
Startup & Challenger brands are ambitious, fast-paced, and hands-on. Throughout the business, runs a culture of ‘all hands on deck’, with resilience and the ability to self-motivate key factors to a successful executive.
Often with limited resources, minimal employer brand marketing, and a narrow advertising reach, we regularly support startup and challenger brands in building the essential tools to reach, educate, and attract successful executives, guiding them through the complexities of what is an incredibly critical hire.
B-Corp Certified businesses operate with an elevated emphasis on culture, responsibility, and stakeholder-centred decision making, often sourced from fellow B-Corps or organisations with a similar approach to their operations.
On behalf of B-Corp businesses, we utilise candidate assessment programmes designed to analyse personality, decision-making, and key behavioural traits that align with our client, in addition to a comprehensive understanding of the commercial nature of their particular positions, and how the two successfully exist in tandem.
Our Executive Services
Our specialist executive search partners support a diverse network of clients from across the consumer & retail industry.
With a network of talent built over two decades of dedicated support and industry-leading advertising & headhunting capabilities, we design and build high-performing global talent campaigns.
As a client of MacGregor Black Executive, you gain access to:
Our
Executive
Process
Often the most crucial hire in any business, identifying, approaching, and securing high-performing executive talent requires a significant commitment of resources, time, and trust.
Over the last 25 years, our consultants have delivered an unparalleled executive recruitment services designed to secure leading global talent on behalf of your organisation.
Planning
Defining the exact role requirement with key stakeholders.
Building & advising on a target profile, including experience, employers, leadership style, ownership type, location, business scale.
Developing the required strategy, mutual agreement of timeframes and feedback points.
Design & build of the candidate pack.
Design & build of the psychometric analysis framework (if required).
Completing of an NDA (if required).
Candidate Search
Headhunting of a pre-defined number of target candidates.
Searching our pre-screened executive database for suitable candidates.
Advertising, localised, national, and international – if appropriate.
Professional networking – our network is your network.
Analysis
Engaging with key target candidates.
Signing of NDA (if required)
MB competency and skills based filter interview.
Psychometric analysis (if required).
Presentation of a shortlist of suitable candidates, including detailed profile and interview notes.
Selection
Liaising with all key stakeholders and arranging convenient interview scheduling.
Distribution of the candidate pack and preparation of candidates for the interview process.
Comprehensive feedback report with both client and candidates.
Completion
Advising on the structure of the offer.
Managing the candidate acceptance and resignation process.
Feedback to unsuccessful candidates maintaining employer brand.
Post placement feedback with the candidate and client.
International relocation support (if required)
Our Dedicated Practices
Food &
Drink
Consumer
Goods
Sports, Outdoor,
Fashion, Luxury
Each practice houses an industry-renowned team of executive talent partners, specialising in the job functions below:
Corporate
Social
Responsibility
Culture
Our team is carefully built to ensure that we are true to, and uphold, our company values.
Each day, we pursue excellence throughout our business, continuously improving, sharing insights and advice, nurturing and developing talent, and acting with responsibility & transparency.
Diversity & Inclusion
We support our clients and candidates in delivering industry-leading talent solutions, developing an operating model free from bias and discrimination.
We are united by our shared values and actively encourage diversity in all of its forms.
Our leadership team is gender-balanced, which we are extremely proud of, and this is echoed in the wider business.
We recognise research that concludes the most successful leaderships teams are diverse and so partner with a number of our clients to design recruitment programmes tailored to meet their immediate and long-term D&I goals.
Our clients are provided with a full breakdown of all of our conduct, processes, and recommendations, in order to provide total transparency and a fair process.
Thought Leadership
Our team continually works to keep up-to-date with the latest market trends and requirements, focusing on diversion and inclusion, within our HR practice.
Each year we research and publish various pieces of thought leadership which consider mental health, diversity and disability to help further the discourse in this area and ensure we provide equal work opportunities for all.
Annual Global Executive Recruitment Spend
Average
C-Suite
Tenure
Our Services
Retained Search
Our retained service grants you access to leading c-suite talent from around the globe, in a confidential, cost-effective, and time saving manner.
Our team of experts have built extensive international networks of talent over decades of specialist consultancy work, enabling them to deliver an industry-leading service.
This service includes getting to know your organisation, its culture, future plans, and ownership structure, preparation of job descriptions & NDA’s (if required), interview processes, & candidate information packs, pre-screening, shortlist & market map presentation, process management, compensation & benefits, resignation management, and onboarding.
Psychometric Analysis
In partnership with a team of chartered psychologists, we deliver bespoke candidate analysis packages, tailored to assess the executive characteristics critical to your business, for example:
– Openness to Experience
– Conscientiousness
– Extroversion
– Agreeableness
– Neuroticism
– Leadership Style
Market Mapping
Our bespoke talent mapping service provides the ultimate analysis of a target market and the professionals residing within it.
We conduct thorough research, evaluating agreed upon demographics, locations, competitors and other target organisations, to provide comprehensive assessments of the factors that matter most to you.
An essential tool for influencing internal HR operations and informing critical executive decision making.
Case
Studies
With executive talent partners operating across 32 countries and 5 continents worldwide, we connect industry-leading talent with ambitious global businesses.
See a selection of our case studies from within the consumer & retail industry, detailing:
- The Role
- The Client Brief
- Our Process
- The Candidate
- The Result