Our Process
From mandate to shortlist in approximately two weeks.
A structured intake and two-sided onboarding process that ensures every introduction is made with eligibility clarity — and nothing goes to both sides until both sides are ready.
How it works
Four steps, no blind spots.
Intake, onboarding, eligibility clarity, and shortlist delivery — run as a structured cadence that eliminates the gaps most searches stall in.
Mandate intake
A structured working session to surface scope, governance context, success criteria, and the specific gaps the role must fill. Not a briefing document — a working session.
Two-sided onboarding
Candidates clarify their availability, range, and mandate preferences. Companies refine their criteria. Both sides reach the introduction with enough context to move quickly.
Eligibility clarity
Before any introduction is made: fit is confirmed, availability is verified, and the company can evaluate the candidate against their success criteria. No discovery calls.
Shortlist delivery
Typically begins within approximately two weeks of intake confirmation. Introductions are orchestrated with clear expectations on scheduling, confidentiality, and next steps.
Mandate intake
What happens at the intake session.
The first step is a structured intake conversation — not a briefing document exercise. It is a working session designed to surface the information most companies have but have not articulated in a useful form.
We gather: the scope of the role, the governance context, the criteria that matter most, and the success criteria at six months. We also gather what companies tend to omit from traditional job descriptions: the specific gaps the incoming person is expected to fill, the board dynamics they are stepping into, and the realistic time commitment.
These details shape the search in ways that "senior executive with board experience" never could.
Two-sided onboarding
Both sides onboard before introductions happen.
Our model requires onboarding on both sides of the introduction. Companies clarify their mandate. Candidates clarify their availability, range, and what kinds of mandates they are actively considering.
For candidates and advisors, the onboarding conversation is a first-contact introduction meeting — not a screening call. It is structured to confirm fit and availability, surface any constraints, and give the candidate a genuine sense of the mandates Fusio is working on in their sector.
We share relevant context about market activity in their sector without disclosing company names — giving candidates enough information to assess fit before any specific company is mentioned.
Introductions should only happen when both sides have enough information to say yes or no quickly. Everything before that is alignment work.
Fusio Research Team
Eligibility clarity
Nothing moves until both sides are ready.
Eligibility clarity means that by the time an introduction is made, three things are confirmed: the candidate fits the scope of the mandate, they are available and interested in this type of engagement, and the company understands enough about the candidate to evaluate them against their success criteria.
Without this, introductions become discovery calls — and discovery calls extend timelines by weeks because both sides are still figuring out whether they should be talking at all.
With eligibility clarity established through onboarding, the first meeting between a company and a candidate can be substantive. The fit questions are largely answered.
Shortlist cadence
Shortlisting moves quickly once intake is complete.
Intake alignment
Mandate scope, committee needs, and success criteria confirmed.
Candidate onboarding
Introduction meetings to confirm fit, range, and availability.
Shortlist delivery
Typically begins within approximately two weeks of intake confirmation.
Orchestrated introductions
Clear expectations on scheduling, confidentiality, and next steps for both sides.
Two weeks is not guaranteed — mandate complexity, geography, and the depth of specific sector criteria all affect timing. But it is achievable when the intake is structured and both sides have completed their onboarding steps.
What this means for your search
One structured conversation upfront.
The intake step may feel more intensive than you are used to. That is deliberate. The depth of information gathered at intake is what allows the rest of the process to move quickly.
Confidential by design
Market context is shared with candidates without disclosing company names until both sides have confirmed fit. Mandates stay confidential throughout.
Speed through structure
The intake is more intensive than a traditional search kick-off. That structure is what enables shortlist delivery within approximately two weeks of confirmation.
No discovery calls
The first meeting between a company and a candidate is substantive — not a screening session. Fit questions are largely answered before the introduction happens.
Our process in brief
Structured intake → two-sided onboarding → eligibility clarity → shortlist within approximately two weeks → orchestrated introductions with clear expectations on both sides.
