Field notes.
Perspectives on leadership, talent, and the markets we serve. A new note every two days.
ESG hiring quietly became real — here is what changed.
Five years of ESG as a marketing function are over. SEBI's BRSR rules, EU CBAM and capital-allocation pressure have rewired the role into a board-level seat in India and the GCC.
Read note →
Founder CEO or professional CEO: the choice that defines the next decade.
Most Indian boards get this transition wrong. The patterns from 50+ founder-to-professional CEO transitions we have run, and what actually predicts whether the move works.
Read note →
Bengaluru vs Mumbai: where India's top tech leaders actually want to live.
The rivalry shows up in every senior tech search. Decoding what the data, the relocations and the offer-stage conversations actually reveal about India's two leadership capitals.
Read note →
Inside the Saudi Vision 2030 CXO gold rush.
Riyadh has quietly become the highest-paying CXO market in the world for a narrow band of mandates. The numbers, the catch, and what it takes to land a seat at the table.
Read note →
Remote work is quietly dead for CXOs — and nobody wants to say it.
Every senior brief we have run in the last twelve months has carried an in-office expectation. The data, the patterns, and what it means for the executives still negotiating hybrid.
Read note →
The 2026 layoff wave and what it means for CXO hiring in India and the GCC.
Big Tech, banking and consulting have shed over 400,000 roles in 18 months. What that flood of senior talent actually means for boards hiring CXOs in Mumbai, Bengaluru, Dubai and Riyadh.
Read note →
Women in the corner office: the quiet decade that rewired Indian leadership.
From 3% to a credible double-digit share of CXO roles across listed India — the named pipelines, the policies that worked, the resistance that remains, and what the next five years require.
Read note →
Dubai 2030: how the city became the world's leadership talent magnet.
The shift from regional hub to global leadership capital was not an accident. A close look at the policies, the capital flows and the cultural signals that pulled global CXOs to the UAE — and what comes next.
Read note →
Hiring CXOs in the AI era: what India and the GCC are really looking for.
Generative AI has reset the executive brief. Boards in Mumbai, Dubai and Riyadh are quietly rewriting the CXO scorecard — here is what changed, and what we are seeing on live mandates.
Read note →
Family-business succession: hiring the first outside CEO.
What it really takes for a founder-family to professionalise — and why the search itself is only half the work.
Read note →
PE-led portfolio hiring: what works, what doesn't.
The patterns we see across operating-partner-led hiring programmes — and the three mistakes funds make most often.
Read note →
Independent director search — a 101 for Indian boards.
What good board search looks like, what regulators now expect, and why diversity is the easiest part of the brief.
Read note →The interim CXO has gone quietly mainstream.
Interim CFOs, CHROs and COOs are now a standard tool for boards navigating transition, transformation or a sudden exit.
Read note →GCC vs India compensation for senior leaders.
The honest gap between Dubai, Riyadh and Mumbai compensation — base, bonus, taxation and the lifestyle premium.
Read note →How long a CXO hire actually takes.
The honest timeline from kick-off to signed offer for CEO, CFO, CRO and Country Head mandates in India and the GCC.
Read note →What executive search actually costs in India.
Retainer structures, success fees, replacement guarantees — and why the cheapest search is almost always the most expensive.
Read note →Tech leadership after the correction.
The bar for tech CXOs has reset. Growth-at-all-costs is out; durable economics and disciplined hiring are in.
Read note →Building durable talent pipelines in pharma.
Pharma leadership hiring rewards firms that map the universe two years before the vacancy opens.
Read note →Why Gulf mandates now begin with culture.
The hardest variable in a Gulf hire is rarely compensation. It is whether the leader can read the room.
Read note →The CFO archetype redefining listed mid-caps.
The modern Indian mid-cap CFO is part operator, part storyteller, part capital allocator. Here is what we are seeing.
Read note →What boards are quietly asking for in 2026.
Beyond the obvious metrics, boards are screening for resilience, narrative, and the ability to lead through ambiguity.
Read note →Why UAE and Saudi firms are turning to India for recruitment.
Cost, talent depth, speed and flexibility — the structural advantages reshaping how the Gulf hires senior talent.
Read note →Unlocking agility in executive search.
An agile search firm leveraging market research, technology and tailored strategies — without losing the human craft at the centre.
Read note →Empowering leadership growth with Dimensions HRD.
How tailored executive search empowers businesses globally — and why sector specialism still wins the toughest mandates.
Read note →