Irving Knight Group delivers executive search across 20+ core industries.

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Rated 'Excellent' on Trustpilot

Redefining search

Irving Knight Group is a global executive search and talent partner trusted by organisations worldwide to deliver senior leaders in complex, competitive markets. We identify and secure high-impact talent across multiple industries, partnering closely with clients to design search strategies tailored to their exact commercial and leadership needs.

Read more About Us

Did you know?

Hiring the wrong candidate costs more than just time—it can waste salary, training resources, and opportunities. The Department of Labour estimates a bad hire can cost up to 30% of the role’s first-year earnings.

We hire right

Organisations are often reluctant to use external recruiters due the percieved cost. Think about it like this - what financial benefit could a top candidate bring to your business unit? You could make a 100x return on your investment.

  • 97% Placement Rate 1
  • 1.78:1 CVs Sent to Interviews 2
  • Avg. 32 Day Engagement to Placement 3

1. Based on all roles engaged on by a client on an exclusive basis from Jan 4 2025 - Dec 31 2025.

2. All CVs Sent from Jan 4 2025 - Dec 31 2025.

3. From Jan 4 2025 - Dec 31 2025.

Team Member Team Member Team Member Team Member Team Member Team Member Team Member Team Member

Our people are the foundation of everything we do. We foster a culture built on trust, collaboration, and high standards, empowering our teams to take ownership, perform at their best, and grow with confidence. How we work matters as much as what we deliver — and it’s this culture that drives high-performance outcomes for our clients.

Meet the Team

Why Us

Standing out takes more than just promises

Mission

Exceptional talent fuels exceptional organizations

Culture

Performance comes from creating the right environment

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Expertise

Industrial

Ingredients

Built Environment

Healthcare

Life Science

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placements made

Website Review Photo

Joerg Schlagmann

Senior Global Manager

Great expert: supportive, challenging and always empowered for his customers and his work! Not more to say: just exce...

Website Review Photo

Kay Witte

Global Director Performance Excellence

Joseph was instrumental in making my last professional opportunity happen. He was easy to work with, responsive, and ...

Website Review Photo

Georg Springl

Head TrenoLux - Austria

We had a great experience working with Grace Smith to recruit a Sales Account Manager for the French market. The enti...

Website Review Photo

Michel Cas

Sales Manager, France

Incredibly human oriented executive search, candidates handled with great care and respect, precise and concise infor...

Website Review Photo

Keith P

Director - USA

The attention to detail and follow up were amazing. The truly distinguishing part was the complete transparency &hone...

Website Review Photo

Ricardo Jesus

Commercial Manager - USA

Working with Garin was the best experience. He helped me a lot to find this position . Highly recommended

Website Review Photo

Michael Wilson

Senior Account Manager

Working with Joseph was a seamless and positive experience from our first contact along with the various steps of the...

Website Review Photo

Matt Engelbrecht

VP Industrial Ops, US

Working with Lily was a phenomenal experience. She was fully transparent, professional, and provided timely communica...

Website Review Photo

Sarah Mirjamali

Quality Manager - Germany

I had a great experience working with Josh at Irving Knight Group. From start to finish he was professional, responsi...

Website Review Photo

Kerry Maye

Regional Sales Manager

Working with Joseph was a wonderfully positive experience from our first contact, through acceptance of my job offer....

Website Review Photo

Tim Mitchell

Division Plant Manager

Stewart did an amazing job representing me for a new opportunity

Website Review Photo

Rania Metwall

Head of Sales, France

Would highly recommend working with Luca Dowdell. He helped me find the perfect job. Very professional, friendly and ...

Website Review Photo

Pierre D'Amours

VP Sales

I had a great experience working with Irving Knight, and especially with Lily Newton. From start to finish, Lily was ...

Website Review Photo

Michal Sochor

Sales Director - USA

Keva was fantastic to work with throughout the recruiting process. She was professional, responsive, and genuinely he...

Website Review Photo

Daniel Gustafsson

Sales Enginerr - Sweden

Grace has been an exceptional professional throughout the entire recruitment process, from our very first conversatio...

Website Review Photo

Christoph Snaga

Investment Manager, Germany

Christopher from Irving Knight handled the overall process well and we managed to get to a successful completion smoo...

Website Review Photo

Tonya Melton

USA

I cannot say enough good things about my experience working with Ewan Ball After being with the same company for 1...

Website Review Photo

Franz-Leo Nedo

Territory Sales Manager

Joseph is an expert in recruting people. He has in-depth practical knowledge and helpful by solving potential issues....

Website Review Photo

Tim Staniels

Territory Sales Manager, US

Joseph was very easy to work with. He was motivated and attentive during his recruitment process, very responsive to ...

Website Review Photo

Veronica Hagborg

Senior Director Global HR, Sweden

I have had the opportunity to co-operate with Joseph in a process and I found him very proactive in keeping me inform...

Website Review Photo

Joerg Schlagmann

Senior Global Manager

Great expert: supportive, challenging and always empowered for his customers and his work! Not more to say: just exce...

Website Review Photo

Kay Witte

Global Director Performance Excellence

Joseph was instrumental in making my last professional opportunity happen. He was easy to work with, responsive, and ...

Website Review Photo

Georg Springl

Head TrenoLux - Austria

We had a great experience working with Grace Smith to recruit a Sales Account Manager for the French market. The enti...

Website Review Photo

Michel Cas

Sales Manager, France

Incredibly human oriented executive search, candidates handled with great care and respect, precise and concise infor...

Website Review Photo

Keith P

Director - USA

The attention to detail and follow up were amazing. The truly distinguishing part was the complete transparency &hone...

Website Review Photo

Ricardo Jesus

Commercial Manager - USA

Working with Garin was the best experience. He helped me a lot to find this position . Highly recommended

Website Review Photo

Michael Wilson

Senior Account Manager

Working with Joseph was a seamless and positive experience from our first contact along with the various steps of the...

Website Review Photo

Matt Engelbrecht

VP Industrial Ops, US

Working with Lily was a phenomenal experience. She was fully transparent, professional, and provided timely communica...

Website Review Photo

Sarah Mirjamali

Quality Manager - Germany

I had a great experience working with Josh at Irving Knight Group. From start to finish he was professional, responsi...

Website Review Photo

Kerry Maye

Regional Sales Manager

Working with Joseph was a wonderfully positive experience from our first contact, through acceptance of my job offer....

Website Review Photo

Tim Mitchell

Division Plant Manager

Stewart did an amazing job representing me for a new opportunity

Website Review Photo

Rania Metwall

Head of Sales, France

Would highly recommend working with Luca Dowdell. He helped me find the perfect job. Very professional, friendly and ...

Website Review Photo

Pierre D'Amours

VP Sales

I had a great experience working with Irving Knight, and especially with Lily Newton. From start to finish, Lily was ...

Website Review Photo

Michal Sochor

Sales Director - USA

Keva was fantastic to work with throughout the recruiting process. She was professional, responsive, and genuinely he...

Website Review Photo

Daniel Gustafsson

Sales Enginerr - Sweden

Grace has been an exceptional professional throughout the entire recruitment process, from our very first conversatio...

Website Review Photo

Christoph Snaga

Investment Manager, Germany

Christopher from Irving Knight handled the overall process well and we managed to get to a successful completion smoo...

Website Review Photo

Tonya Melton

USA

I cannot say enough good things about my experience working with Ewan Ball After being with the same company for 1...

Website Review Photo

Franz-Leo Nedo

Territory Sales Manager

Joseph is an expert in recruting people. He has in-depth practical knowledge and helpful by solving potential issues....

Website Review Photo

Tim Staniels

Territory Sales Manager, US

Joseph was very easy to work with. He was motivated and attentive during his recruitment process, very responsive to ...

Website Review Photo

Veronica Hagborg

Senior Director Global HR, Sweden

I have had the opportunity to co-operate with Joseph in a process and I found him very proactive in keeping me inform...

One size doesn't fit all

Our search solutions are built around partnership, precision, and results—tailored to how you hire and what you need.

Talent solutions

When you retain Irving Knight, you enter a true partnership. We act as an extension of your brand and reputation—your eyes and ears in the market. As the first point of contact for exceptional talent, we protect your name, maintain strict confidentiality, and work relentlessly to deliver the right placement, first time.

A contingent search with Irving Knight opens access to a wide and diverse talent pool. Our specialist focus attracts candidates who value our deep market expertise and trust us to represent meaningful opportunities within their field. As a result, our candidate network is rich with high-calibre talent, giving you both quality and choice in a contingent search.

Our preferred vendor approach is designed to respond seamlessly to the needs of our long-term partners. It enables us to develop a deep understanding of your hiring team, business values, and company culture—creating a relationship that is both efficient and highly effective.
Services at Irving Knight Group
Trustpilot

FAQs

We’re here to make Executive Search easy to understand. Find answers to the most common questions below.

Our priority is fit, not speed. We take time to understand your background, goals, and motivations, then provide clear insight into each opportunity so you’re only considered for roles that truly align with your experience and ambitions.

We specialise in senior, specialist, and leadership appointments across the markets we serve. Our focus is on roles where experience, judgement, and cultural alignment are critical — typically mid- to senior-level management through to executive and board appointments.

You’ll gain honest market insight, access to high-quality opportunities, and clear guidance throughout the process. Our aim is simple: to help you make the right move, at the right time, with confidence.

No. Our services are completely free for candidates. We are retained by our client partners to manage their hiring processes, meaning there is never a cost to you at any stage.

Our role is to represent your interests professionally, provide guidance throughout the process, and help you assess opportunities objectively — without any financial obligation.

No — if anything, it gives you an advantage. We provide context, insight, and advocacy that ensure your experience and motivations are clearly understood from the outset. Our role is to strengthen your candidacy and guide you through a transparent, well-managed process.

We operate as a retained, partnership-led search firm rather than a transactional recruiter. That means fewer searches, deeper engagement, and a far higher level of commitment to outcomes. By combining sector specialism, market intelligence, and a disciplined search methodology, we deliver hires that are aligned not only to role requirements, but to culture, strategy, and long-term growth plans.

We don’t rely on databases or job advertising alone. Our searches are driven by proactive market mapping, targeted outreach, and insight gained from long-standing sector networks. Candidates are assessed on capability, leadership style, cultural alignment, and long-term potential — not just CV fit — ensuring a robust and well-informed shortlist.

Confidentiality is fundamental to how we operate. Every search is handled with discretion, clear communication, and controlled market engagement. As your representative in the market, we protect your brand, manage messaging carefully, and ensure sensitive information is only shared when appropriate — safeguarding both your business and your candidates throughout the process.

Our retained model is designed to deliver outcomes, not volume. Because we invest the time to fully understand the role, the business, and the wider context, we achieve a consistently high completion rate across our searches. More importantly, our focus is on long-term retention and impact, not short-term placement metrics.

While our process is designed to minimise risk, we recognise that circumstances can change. In the rare event a placement doesn’t succeed, we work closely with our client to address the situation and agree the most appropriate next steps. Our commitment is to the partnership and the outcome — not just the initial hire

Let's talk

Contact Irving Knight Group for Executive Search Enquiries