YOUR EXECUTIVE SEARCH PARTNER.
Specialist Executive Search for Australia's Industrial Sectors
PARTNER Executive is a specialist executive search and recruitment firm for the industries that power Australia - mining and metals, critical minerals, engineering, energy and renewables, aviation and airport operations, power and utilities, engineering, construction and infrastructure.
Operating from Perth and Sydney, we work nationally on the appointments that matter most, from board, CEO and executive roles through to senior management and the niche specialist positions these industries depend on. Our clients range from ASX-listed companies to private and family businesses.
No two briefs are the same, and neither are our searches. What sets us apart isn't a marketing claim, it's how we work: director-led, discreet, and built around your organisation.
SEARCH, NOT ADVERTISING
We map the market and approach the people who aren't looking. The best candidates rarely answer job ads, we go and find them.
We Know Your Industryists
We work exclusively in the industrial market - mining, energy, aviation, construction, infrastructure and engineering. We already know the market you're hiring in
EXECUTIVE TO SPECIALIST
From CEO appointments to the niche technical roles the market says can't be filled, we bring retained search rigour to every level that matters.
DISCRETION AS STANDARD
From confidential successions to statutory appointments, we run searches that never surface in the market until you want them to.
Your Search, Your Way
No two clients are the same, so no two searches should be. We shape the process, the timeline and the engagement around your organisation
Our Executive Search Track Record
PARTNER Executive is a retained professional and executive search firm delivering measurable results for clients across mining, energy, infrastructure, construction, aviation and engineering operating from Perth and Sydney throughout Western Australia and Australia wide.. We track what matters to the organisations that engage us: search completion, speed to shortlist, and the rate at which clients return.
98%
of retained executive searches completed
4
weeks average from brief to shortlist
92%
of clients return for their next senior appointment
250+
executive and senior management appointments
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Executive Search Across Mining, Energy, Infrastructure and Industry
PARTNER Executive conducts retained executive search and specialist recruitment across mining and metals, critical minerals and battery materials, oil, gas and LNG, energy transition and renewables, power and utilities, engineering, construction and infrastructure, aviation and airport operations, defence, transport and logistics throughout Western Australia and Australia wide. Deep sector knowledge is what separates a specialist firm from a generalist one. We understand the commercial, technical and cultural dynamics that shape what good leadership looks like in each of these markets. Appointing a Mine Manager for a growing operation? Placing a Project Director on a major infrastructure build? Building an executive team for an energy business? We bring both the insight and the network to get it right.
MINING
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Engineering, Construction & Infrastructure
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Critical Minerals & Battery Materials
Project directors, operations leaders, and C-suite appointments.
Trusted by Australia's Leading Industrial and Resources Organisations
Australia's leading mining companies, energy producers, engineering firms, contractors and private businesses engage PARTNER Executive for retained executive search, senior management recruitment and confidential appointments. From ASX listed corporates to family owned enterprises, our clients span Western Australia and the country, and they return because every appointment is treated as the strategic decision it is. Some of our work is public. Much of it is confidential. All of it is handled with the discretion these roles demand.
EXECUTIVE SEARCH AND RECRUITMENT SERVICES
From executive appointments to the specialist roles the market says can't be filled, every engagement is retained and built around your brief.
EXECUTIVE
SEARCH
Retained search for CEO, CFO, COO, Managing Director and General Manager appointments. Full market mapping, discreet direct approaches and rigorous assessment for the appointments that shape an organisation's direction.
SENIOR MANAGEMENT & SPECIALIST RECRUITMENT
Search rigour applied below the executive line: senior managers, technical leaders and the niche specialist roles Australian industry depends on, where candidate pools are narrow and the cost of a wrong appointment is high.
CONFIDENTIAL SEARCH AND SUCCESSION
Sensitive replacements, succession planning and appointments that can't be advertised or attributed. Staged disclosure protects all parties, and much of our completed work has never been announced.
MARKET INTELLIGENCE AND TALENT MAPPING
Who leads your competitors, what the market pays and where your next appointment is coming from. Standalone mapping and remuneration insight for organisations planning ahead of a vacancy.
Whether you're actively looking or quietly exploring, PARTNER Executive offers a different kind of relationship. We take the time to understand your experience, your ambitions and what you actually want from the next chapter, and we match on capability and fit, not just a position description checklist.
Working with us costs you nothing, and what you can expect is straightforward: confidential career conversations, honest advice on remuneration and your position in the market, and access to retained executive searches that are never advertised. Every conversation is handled with complete discretion, every process comes with real feedback including when the answer is no, and every approach is returned. Our sector networks are built over years, not assembled per search, which is why many of the leaders we place first came to us long before the right role did
For Senior Leaders Considering Their Next Move.
Confidential career conversations with zero obligation and complete discretion
Honest advice on remuneration and your standing in the market
Access to retained executive searches across Australia that are never advertised
Preparation and support at every stage, from first approach to accepted offer
Straight feedback throughout, whatever the outcome
Our Approach to Diversity & Inclusion
Leadership teams built from diverse perspectives consistently outperform those that aren't, and in the sectors we serve, mining, energy, engineering, construction and aviation, the organisations widening their leadership pipelines are the ones winning the talent contest. At PARTNER Executive we treat diversity and inclusion as fundamental to good search, not a compliance obligation.
In practice that means how we build every shortlist. We map the whole market rather than the familiar circuit, we challenge briefs that unnecessarily narrow the field, and we present candidates on capability and potential, including people a conventional process would never surface. Our commitment to our clients is a shortlist that reflects the genuine breadth of available talent, and our commitment to candidates is a process where everyone is assessed fairly, on merit, with the same rigour and respect.
As an RCSA Preferred Partner and APSCo member, we hold ourselves to the professional standards our industry sets, and we're direct with clients when we believe a search can reach further than the brief assumes.
PERTH AND SYDNEY, SEARCHING NATIONALLY AND INTERNATIONALLY
PARTNER Executive operates from offices in Perth and Sydney, with genuine on the ground presence in two of Australia's most active executive talent markets. Our searches run wherever the talent is: across Western Australia, nationally, and internationally where Australian organisations need leaders from global markets or international businesses are hiring into Australia.
Perth CBD
Our headquarters. From Subiaco we run retained executive search across Western Australia and nationally, with deep networks across the state's operating regions, from Perth to the Pilbara and the Goldfields.
15B, 531 Hay Street, Subiaco , 6008
Sydney CBD
Our east coast base in Sydney, supporting retained searches across New South Wales and the eastern states, and giving national clients genuine presence on both sides of the country.
Level 35, Tower One International Towers, 10 Barangaroo Avenue, Sydney NSW 2000
Start a Confidential Executive Search
If you're planning a critical appointment, a confidential replacement or a search the market says can't be filled, we'd welcome the conversation. PARTNER Executive delivers retained executive search and senior management recruitment across Western Australia and Australia wide, from offices in Perth and Sydney.
No obligation. Complete discretion.
Frequently Asked QUestions
What is executive search?
Executive search is a targeted method of recruiting senior leaders. Rather than advertising a role and waiting for applications, a search firm maps the relevant market, identifies the people best suited to the role and approaches them directly and confidentially. It is used for board, executive and specialist appointments where the strongest candidates are usually already employed and not actively looking.
How does executive search work?
A retained search runs as a structured process: understanding the role and organisation, mapping the market of potential candidates, approaching and assessing the strongest of them, presenting a shortlist, and supporting the client through interviews, offer and appointment. PARTNER Executive leads every stage directly, from first brief to accepted offer.
What is the difference between retained and contingent recruitment?
Contingent recruitment is paid only if a candidate is placed, so agencies work quickly and often submit many applicants across multiple clients. Retained search is commissioned exclusively and paid across the engagement, which funds a thorough, mapped search of the whole market and a considered shortlist. Retained search suits senior and hard to fill roles where quality and discretion matter more than speed.
What is the difference between executive search and recruitment?
Recruitment generally means advertising a role and screening the people who apply. Executive search is proactive and confidential: the firm goes out and approaches the best people in the market, including those not looking to move. PARTNER Executive uses search because the leaders worth appointing rarely respond to advertisements.
When should a company use an executive search firm?
An executive search firm is worth engaging when an appointment is senior, business critical, hard to fill or sensitive, when the best candidates are unlikely to answer an advertisement, or when a role needs to be filled confidentially. It is also valuable when an organisation wants an independent read of the market and the calibre of talent available.
How much does executive search cost in Australia?
Retained executive search in Australia typically costs 22 to 33 percent of the appointed candidate's first year total remuneration, usually structured in three stages: an engagement fee, a shortlist fee and a completion fee. Fees vary with the seniority of the role, the scarcity of the talent pool and the complexity of the search. At PARTNER Executive we agree fixed, transparent terms before any search begins, so there are no surprises at completion. For a confidential discussion about fees for a specific role, contact us directly.
How long does an executive search take?
A well run executive search typically takes eight to twelve weeks from briefing to accepted offer, with a shortlist usually presented within four to six weeks. Timing depends on the scarcity of the talent pool, notice periods and the client's own interview availability. At PARTNER Executive we agree a timeline with defined milestones at engagement, and we report progress against it throughout, so you always know exactly where the search stands.
