Executive Search Partner for High-Growth Tech
Executive Search Partner for High-Growth Tech
OUR APPROACH
RKO Partners specializes in recruiting critical leadership and specialist talent for high-growth tech companies from Series B through post-IPO.
We invest the time to understand each company's unique culture and challenges, and shape the engagement around what will best fit the business rather than a one-size-fits-all process.
HOW WE WORK
Embedded Partnership
We act as an extension of our clients' teams. Plugged into their systems and tools, immersed in culture and workflow, aligned on goals from day one.
Intentional & Focused
We take on a limited number of projects at a time so we can go deep. Every engagement is deliberate, grounded on shared values and long-term alignment.
Flexible by Design
Full-cycle embedded recruiting, retained executive search, or augmenting internal teams on tough-to-fill roles. We tailor the engagement to what you actually need.
Built on Trust
100% of our clients come from referrals. Our hires often become clients themselves. We invest in relationships that compound over time.
CASE STUDIES
Explore examples of how we've built impactful leadership teams across key functions in high-growth tech companies.
Challenge: Following a Series B raise, the company needed to rapidly build out engineering and product leadership and senior techincal talent to support an accelerated growth trajectory, while maintaining hiring bar and cultural fit at speed.
Solution: Engaged as an embedded search partner across engineering and product, running concurrent searches for VP and Director-level leaders alongside Principal and Staff-level specialists to strengthen both organizational leadership and technical depth.
Outcome: Successfully built out a leadership and specialist bench across engineering and product, accelerating roadmap execution and giving the company the technical leadership depth needed to scale through its next stage of growth.
Challenge: Preparing for rapid global expansion, the company needed to hire a strategic Chief Financial Officer to oversee financial operations, manage international budgets, and drive growth as they entered new markets.
Solution: Partnered with the Chief Executive Officer and Chief People Officer on a highly targeted search for a CFO with deep international finance experience and relevant industry expertise. Focused on candidates who could not only manage financial operations but also serve as a key strategic partner to the leadership team.
Outcome: Successfully placed a CFO who optimized financial systems for scale and ensured multi-country compliance. The hire had an immediate impact, leading to a rapid promotion within six months with the addition of Chief Operating Officer (COO) responsibilities.
Challenge: As a hyper-growth company prepared for IPO, they needed to scale their sales and marketing functions with leaders who could drive revenue growth while navigating the complexities of a larger organization.
Solution: Partnered with senior GTM leaders, including the Chief Revenue Officer and Chief Marketing Officer, to recruit key VPs and Senior Directors across sales, go-to-market strategy, data and analytics, customer success, field operations, product marketing and demand generation. Focused on candidates with both startup agility and the ability to anticipate challenges at scale.
Outcome: Successfully placed a high-performing GTM leadership team and revenue-generating sales leaders who accelerated revenue growth, optimized customer retention, and established a scalable go-to-market strategy to support the company’s expansion.
Challenge: Amid rapid growth, the company needed to build a world-class legal leadership team to support scaling, ensure compliance, and navigate a successful IPO.
Solution: Partnered with the Chief Legal Officer to lead executive searches for multiple key legal leadership roles, including Directors and Senior Directors across corporate, commercial, product, risk and employment law.
Outcome: Successfully built a cohesive legal leadership team designed for long-term scalability, resulting in 0% leadership turnover over five years. As the company grew, several of the leaders advanced to VP roles. The team played a pivotal role in compliance, risk mitigation, and strategic decision-making through the company’s IPO and beyond.
Challenge: The company was in a critical stage post-IPO, adapting to a rapidly shifting market landscape driven by the AI revolution. The Chief Product Officer sought experienced leaders to drive innovation across key areas, including core product development, pricing, and monetization strategies.
Solution: Partnered closely with the Chief Product Officer to identify and hire top-tier product executives, including VPs and Senior Directors, to lead specialized product functions. Focused on candidates with deep expertise in scaling post-IPO companies and driving revenue growth through strategic product initiatives.
Outcome: Successfully placed multiple product leaders who played a pivotal role in refining the company’s product strategy, optimizing monetization, and driving continued growth and innovation as the company scaled towards $1B in annual recurring revenue.
ABOUT THE FOUNDER
Rich Kahn
Founder & Executive Search Consultant
Rich built and led executive search at GitLab through its IPO, scaling hiring across every function from early-stage through public company. He previously served as a VP at a national search firm and has spent 15+ years placing leadership teams at high-growth tech companies.
His work spans hundreds of successful placements across engineering, product, security, go-to-market, people, finance, legal, and operations, at every level from individual contributor to C-suite.
Rich brings a rare combination of in-house and agency experience, and is known for embedding deeply with clients to operate as a true extension of the team.
LET'S CONNECT
If you’re building a leadership team or exploring your next move as a senior leader or high-impact contributor, let’s connect.