The Client

A leading early-stage consumer venture capital fund with a strong track record of backing category-defining consumer brands across Europe.

As the fund continued to deploy capital and expand its founder network, the partners sought to appoint an Investment Principal who could strengthen sourcing capability and support portfolio growth.

The Brief

The fund engaged Cornell Search to identify an individual capable of:

• Sourcing high-quality consumer investment opportunities

• Building trusted relationships with founders, operators, and co-investors

• Leading deal evaluation and investment execution

• Developing into a long-term leadership figure within the fund

The search focused on individuals combining investment rigour with deep consumer sector insight.

Our Approach

Cornell conducted a targeted search across the European venture ecosystem, engaging with candidates across:

• Venture capital

• Growth equity

• High-growth consumer startups

• Investment banking with consumer sector exposure

The process included detailed market mapping, structured candidate evaluation, and close collaboration with the client throughout the interview process.

Outcome

The search resulted in the successful appointment of a high-calibre Investment Principal, strengthening the fund’s investment team and expanding its reach within the European consumer founder ecosystem.

The hire enhances the fund’s ability to:

• Source emerging consumer opportunities

• Support founders through early-stage growth

• Build a long-term leadership pipeline within the investment team

The Client

An emerging venture capital fund investing across Europe and the US, led by experienced investors with backgrounds at leading global institutions.

Following the close of its debut institutional fund, the firm was entering a key phase of growth and sought to strengthen its platform across investment, investor relations, and operations as it began scaling the team.

The Brief

The fund engaged Cornell Search to support the appointment of three strategic hires as part of its early team build:

-Chief of Staff to support the firm’s leadership team across operational, regulatory, and fund administration responsibilities.

-Investor Relations professional to help manage LP engagement and communications as the platform developed.

-Investment Associate to support deal sourcing, investment analysis, and portfolio company engagement.

Each role required individuals capable of operating in a lean venture environment, combining strong analytical capability with the flexibility to contribute across multiple areas of the fund.

Our Approach

Cornell conducted targeted searches across venture capital, private equity, consulting, and high-growth technology environments, focusing on individuals with strong academic foundations and the intellectual curiosity required to succeed in an emerging fund.

The process included detailed market mapping, structured candidate evaluation, and close collaboration with the client throughout the interview process.

Outcome

The searches resulted in the successful appointment of a Chief of Staff, Investor Relations professional, and Investment Associate, helping establish the core team supporting the fund’s growth.

These hires strengthen the platform across operations, investor engagement, and investment execution, enabling the firm to deploy capital effectively while building long-term relationships with founders and institutional investors.

For a number of years, Cornell has worked alongside a boutique management consultancy that helps organisations solve the most important business problems. They pride themselves on the relationships they have with their clients and work across a range of sectors, from global multi-nationals to start-ups and public institutions.

Following a long standing relationship with the leadership team, Cornell were asked to support them in finding a senior consultant to join their team. Being a boutique firm, whilst leading in what they offer, they weren’t, at the time, as well known in the market and therefore they were keen to receive support in not only finding the best individual, but also in expanding their market presence.

Having worked with a number of operational focused consultancies we were fortunate to have a network of individuals who we could engage with in the first instance and in the end, one of those individuals secured the role within the company. However, in order to reach that goal, we also needed to engage with the wider market to ensure we found the best talent for the company. We conducted initial screening calls and in person interviews with those who were most relevant before presenting the best calibre individuals in a shortlist to the client to review and interview themselves. We continued to facilitate organisation of interviews as well as offer management when the successful candidate was identified.

As a result of our support, they have had greater interest from candidates across all levels of the organisation and we have continued to support with more senior mandates where the specifics of the individual experience is of greater importance.

Cornell were mandated by a leading energy consultancy who have grown to become the largest dedicated power analytics provider in Europe. We were initially mandated by the German office of the organisation to find a German speaking individual who could help with the growth in this part of the business. Given the success we had with the German team, we were subsequently engaged by the UK office to find a Head of Strategy. 

Being such a pivotal hire for the company, the process initially consisted of a market mapping exercise whereby we could understand how large the market was when it came to the seniority of the position as well as the need to have experience within the Energy sector. Upon completion of this, the Cornell team conducted initial conversations with those candidates that both the client and Cornell determined to be the most relevant and then discussed these further upon completion of the initial screening. The Cornell team continued to support with organisaion of interviews and offer negotiation and as a result, a successful Head of Strategy for the UK office was placed. 

Since the initial engagement with the UK office, we have continued to work alongside the team, highlighting high calibre candidates to them on an ongoing basis, particularly with the challenges that come with a more regional office within the UK

This client is a global leader in consulting, technology services and digital transformation who offer an array of integrated services combining technology with deep sector expertise. With operations in over 50 companies they have partnered with 85% of the 200 largest public companies on the Forbes Global 2000 list. 

Cornell was initially mandated by the London office to support finding a director to sit within their consumer team. This individual would be based in the London office but would be required to travel as/when required and needed experience leading teams of various levels and sizes. The initial ideas we provided as a discussion point came from our well-established network and having discussed those individuals and determined who the leadership team were interested in, we were then able to expand the search, engage further individuals and have further discussions. 

To guarantee that we were continuously aligned with the client on who was relevant for the role, there was a constant line of communication, with fortnightly meetings where we discussed profiles, realigned where necessary and also scheduled initial meetings with those candidates who were of interest. This resulted in the successful placement of a Director within the team. 

Cornell have since supported on a number of mandates from analyst to director level within the business, as well as supporting with the growth of acquisitions/other areas of the business as well as within the businesses that they’ve acquired since first engagement.

The Cornell team were mandated by a mid-sized professional services firm that works with public, private and third-sector organisations. They provide management consulting, IT consulting and technology 7 innovation services. With headquarters in London and other offices in Europe, the Nordics, the US, the Gulf and the Asia Pacific, they work with a multitude of global organisations. 

The Cornell team was engaged by one of the firm’s Partners to support in the search for a Director within the business. They were already utilising their own network and the resources of their internal HR team, but were looking to understand different avenues that they could explore in order to find the most suitable candidate for the role. 

Upon taking the brief, we leveraged our existing network, to source initial ideas that met the requisite requirements for the role. We then expanded our search to active headhunting using a variety of sources and ultimately filtered through a number of individuals with a relevant skill set. We then coordinated meetings between those candidates who were exceptional and PA’s leadership team. 

At the conclusion of the process, we successfully placed an individual into the Director position within the business and continued to support ongoing searches across the business.