Executive Search in India for US Companies
The first senior person you appoint in India shapes who joins next and how far headquarters can trust the team. Talhive runs confidential, dedicated search for a first India leader, a VP Engineering or a Head of India.
- Confidential, dedicated search
- Milestone-based fees
- 90-day replacement guarantee
The quality of a search is determined early. Start with the role, the context, and what a strong hire looks like at 12 months.
Your details are held in strict confidence and are not shared with third parties.
Received.
A senior team member will review your enquiry and respond directly.
You run a US company and need a leader on the ground in India.
Engineering or product work is growing, the founders want a team in India, and nobody at headquarters can judge a senior candidate there. A strong engineer can be hired from a job post. A leader who will carry your standards into a team you cannot visit weekly cannot.
Talhive runs executive search in India. We do not recruit inside the United States, and we are dedicated search rather than staffing. For several engineers, start with the engineering page for US companies.
Where first India leader searches go wrong.
Settling the hiring route after the offer
How the person is employed is a separate decision from the search. Decide it early, with legal and employment advice. Our note on GCC, employer of record and agency models frames the choice.
Hiring the team before the leader
Engineers hired first have no local leader. Building leadership first costs patience and usually saves a rehire.
Writing the brief as an advertisement
Senior people respond to a real problem and a credible reporting line.
The India leadership roles companies appoint first.
First India leader
The first senior hire: the face of the company to candidates, and the person who recruits the next layer. Often the most consequential appointment you will make in India.
VP or Head of Engineering
Delivery against a roadmap set in another time zone. Our guide to searching for a VP Engineering or CTO in India shows how the brief changes.
Head of India
A technology-led site leader who owns people, culture and the relationship with headquarters, not only the code.
Head of Product, Design, Data or AI
Functional leaders who own decisions locally while staying aligned with an organisation elsewhere.
What a search for a US employer has to account for.
Candidates cannot see you from India.
A senior candidate weighing an unknown company has little to judge. The approach explains the mandate and reporting line honestly first.
Working-day overlap is part of the brief.
Some leaders will flex their day to meet headquarters, and some will not. Say how much the role needs, then test the shortlist.
Confidentiality crosses time zones.
When replacing a leader or exploring a team before announcing it, approaches are named and individual. Agree who at headquarters knows.
A confidential leadership search, in four stages.
- Stage one01
Define the mandate.
- What the leader must have built by year end
- Reporting line, authority and overlap needed
- The employment route, so the offer can be explained
- Stage two02
Map the market quietly.
- Target companies and the leaders inside them
- Approach written around the problem
- Confidentiality agreed with you and candidates
- Stage three03
Assess and shortlist.
- Written synopsis for every profile
- Production evidence for engineering leaders
- A view of fit with headquarters
- Stage four04
Close and protect.
- Offer strategy and counter-offer planning
- Notice-period tracking until the start date
- 90-day replacement guarantee
What US boards want settled before a search starts
Plain answers to the questions we hear most often about this search.
Put a leader on the ground in India, with your standards intact.
Share the brief and a founder will respond.
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