A country head for a first India operation
An international group needs someone who can build from nothing and report into a head office that doesn't know the market.
Executive search firms in India
An executive search firm for India, run from Mumbai and London.
Among the top executive search firms in India for CXO mandates in industrial and consumer sectors. National coverage from a Mumbai base: CXO and senior leadership mandates across Mumbai, Pune, Delhi NCR, Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad and India's manufacturing belts plus cross-border searches through our London EMEA practice.
India & EMEA
Founder-led
Confidential
7 citiesActive mandate locations
The short answer
How do you compare executive search firms in India?
The Indian executive search market splits into three groups: global firms with India offices, large domestic recruitment companies with a search division, and boutique retained practices. Global firms bring brand and international reach at the highest fee levels. Large domestic companies bring volume capability. Boutiques like ASTC Services bring senior attention, sector depth and a partner who runs the search personally. The right choice depends on whether your priority is reach, volume or attention.
We are deliberately in the third group. We take a limited number of mandates, cover thirteen sectors properly rather than claiming all of them, and put both founders on every search. For a business-critical CXO role in chemicals, consumer, manufacturing, auto, real estate or logistics, that is usually the better trade. For hiring forty engineers, it is not — and we will say so.
Is this you?
India entry
National structure
Cross-border
Three situations that usually bring companies here.
If one of these sounds like your quarter, the first conversation will be useful whether or not you appoint us.
Regional leadership across several cities
Zonal heads hired against one calibrated benchmark instead of four separate negotiations.
An Indian group appointing leadership abroad
Run jointly with our London practice, under one engagement rather than two firms and a referral fee.
Roles
What we are typically retained for.
If your role isn't on this list it is still worth a call the answer takes five minutes.
- CEO, Managing Director and business head appointments across India
- CFO, COO, CHRO, CIO and CTO mandates for Indian corporates and MNC subsidiaries
- Country Manager and India-entry leadership for international groups
- Plant heads and manufacturing leadership across Gujarat, Maharashtra and MP
- Regional and zonal sales leadership for national distribution businesses
- Cross-border mandates for Indian groups expanding into EMEA
How it works
Four weeks to a shortlist you can argue about.
The full method runs to eight stages. This is the shape of it from your side of the table.
- 01
Brief & challenge
We interrogate the role, the reporting line and the compensation before any search begins.
- 02
Map the market
You approve the target companies. We map roughly 100 relevant leaders.
- 03
Approach & assess
46 approached in confidence, 14 assessed in depth against the agreed competencies.
- 04
Shortlist & close
Four candidates with written appraisals, then interviews, references and offer management.
What's different here
One firm, both directions across the India–EMEA corridor.
European and Middle Eastern groups hiring leadership in India, and Indian groups appointing their first leaders abroad, run through the same engagement with one point of contact rather than two firms and a referral fee.
- Mumbai head office plus a London EMEA practice under one engagement
- Local market intelligence on compensation, notice periods and counter-offer behaviour
- Assessment calibrated to Indian promoter-led and MNC structures alike
- Thirteen sectors covered in depth, nationwide
- Confidential handling as standard on senior mandates
What you actually receive
Market map
Every relevant leader in the agreed target market, named and levelled.
Shortlist of four
Each with a written case for, case against and compensation position.
Reference reports
Structured references with people who actually managed them.
Offer & onboarding
Counter-offer management and check-ins through the first months.
Proof
Clients who span sectors, and stay.
Our client list includes specialty chemicals groups, consumer businesses, logistics networks and real estate developers companies that came for one role and stayed for a decade. The work below is published with client permission.
ASTC helped set up the Pidilite category team between 2015 and 2020 five category heads. They have delivered every time I have put them to the test.
Choosing
Not sure this is the right practice?
The three practices share a method and differ in who the hire reports to and how the search runs. If you're between two, call us we'll tell you which one your role belongs in.
| Practice | Typical roles | Reports to | How it runs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Executive Search | Functional heads, business unit heads, P&L owners, plant heads | CEO or CXO | Retained, one mandate at a time |
| Leadership Hiring | Senior management layer, category and regional leaders, succession bench | Function head or BU head | Retained, often a multi-role programme |
| C-Level Recruitment | CEO, CFO, COO, CHRO, CIO, board and promoter office roles | Board, promoter or investor | Retained, confidential, often off-market |
Case studies
Mandates we can talk about.
Chemicals × Consumer · 12 years
A twelve-year talent partnership at the intersection of chemistry and consumer goods
What keeps a client relationship alive through three CEOs and two market cycles.
Read the case study →
Logistics · Leadership transformation
Orchestrating a leadership transformation for DTDC
Solving the serviceability puzzle at one of India's largest logistics networks.
Read the case study →
Specialty chemicals · Greenfield
Baerlocher's strategic expansion and growth in Indore
Building a plant leadership team in Dewas, Madhya Pradesh, from the ground up.
Read the case study →FAQ
Questions about executive search in india
Which are the best executive search firms in India?
There is no single answer, because the criteria differ by mandate. Global firms suit board-level appointments needing international reach and brand comfort. Large domestic firms suit volume hiring. Boutique retained firms suit business-critical single mandates where senior attention matters most. Judge any firm on who will actually run the search, how many mandates that person carries, and whether they know your sector's leadership bench first-hand.
Does ASTC Services work across all of India?
Yes. Our head office is in Mumbai and mandates regularly run across Pune, Delhi NCR, Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad and the Gujarat, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh industrial belts.
Do you recruit for multinational companies entering India?
Yes — Country Manager and first leadership-team appointments for international groups setting up in India are a regular mandate type, often run jointly with our London practice.
What does executive search cost in India?
Retained search is usually priced as a percentage of first-year total compensation, staged across the mandate. Global firms sit at the top of the range, boutiques below them. ASTC agrees a fixed fee structure per mandate in writing before work begins.
How long does a CXO search take in India?
Typically eight to fourteen weeks from briefing to accepted offer, with a first shortlist at around four weeks. CEO and CFO searches often run twelve to twenty weeks because of board alignment and longer notice periods.
Can you run searches in more than one city at once?
Yes. Multi-location mandates for example a national sales structure with four zonal heads — are run as a single programme with one market map and calibrated compensation bands.
Start here
Tell us the role. We'll tell you honestly whether we're the right firm for it.
A first conversation takes about 30 minutes and costs nothing. You'll leave with a view of the market for that role the talent pools, a realistic compensation band, and how long the search should take whether or not you appoint us.
- 01
You send the role
The title, the reporting line and why the seat is open. Two paragraphs is enough to start.
- 02
We come back within a day
With a first read on the market: who exists, what they cost, how long it should take.
- 03
You decide
No proposal deck, no pursuit calls. If we're not the right firm for this one, we'll say so.