Executive Search in Arizona and Phoenix

TL;DR

• Captains Club is a Phoenix-based retained search firm for second-in-command hires. Daniel Cheetham personally leads every search and visits each client’s business on-site.
• Captains Club focuses on owner-operated, family-owned, and founder-led businesses with $10 million to $100 million in annual revenue.
• The firm recruits Presidents, COOs, EOS Integrators, operating Chiefs of Staff, and other operating executives through its Navigating Talent framework, which assesses Head, Heart, Helm, and Horizon.
• A recent Captains Club placement put an EOS Integrator and COO in seat at a Tempe-based facilities services business generating $10 million in annual revenue, which is now on pace for its three most profitable quarters on record.
• Captains Club takes on no more than five to six searches at a time, runs confidential and parallel searches, and backs every retained search with a six-month replacement guarantee.

Who Captains Club is built for in Arizona, and who it isn’t

Captains Club fits best when three things are true:

• The business is owner-operated, family-owned, or founder-led, with $10 million to $100 million in annual revenue and an owner who stays involved.
• The hire is a true second-in-command: a President, COO, EOS Integrator, VP of Operations, General Manager, or an operating Chief of Staff with real authority who can grow into a COO-level role.
• The company runs on operations, as in manufacturing, industrial, home services, construction, field and facilities services, or work truck and upfitting.

Captains Club is a specialist, not a broad corporate recruiter. A company that needs many hires across functions, or a board-level search at a large enterprise, may be better served by a national firm. Below about $10 million in revenue, a strong director-level operations leader is often the better first hire. Rarely does a company that size need a chief of anything.

Why Arizona owner-operators need a local search partner

Captains Club is based in Phoenix and works with owners across the Phoenix metro, including Scottsdale and the East Valley, and throughout Arizona. Daniel Cheetham visits every client’s business on-site, meeting the owner, the leadership team, and the people the new executive will work with before sourcing begins. Candidates also work with a search partner familiar with the local business market and the ownership structure they would enter.

Captains Club focuses on owner-operated businesses with $10 million to $100 million in annual revenue. Many companies in this revenue range are commonly classified as part of the lower middle market. In these companies, the owner often remains the main decision maker even after operational demands exceed one person's capacity.

When an owner and other decision makers cannot agree on a senior executive’s authority or responsibilities, the company may need to define its second-in-command role before recruiting. Another job posting cannot solve the problem when the owner, board, and current executives disagree about the executive's authority, operating ownership, or relationship with the founder. The business must first define what the incoming leader will own, how that person should complement the owner, what will motivate them, and which outcomes will measure success.

An Arizona executive search partner can work through those questions in the context of the actual company and local candidate market. Captains Club then searches for the President, COO, EOS Integrator, or operating leader who can take day-to-day weight off the owner without disrupting the culture that built the business.

The second-in-command roles Arizona businesses are searching for

The second-in-command mandate matters more than the title. For an Arizona owner-operated business in the $10 million to $100 million revenue range, the right executive takes day-to-day operating weight off the founder, holds functional leaders accountable and converts the owner’s priorities into operating plans.

A President often carries broad authority across the business and may represent the owner with employees, customers, or the board. A COO usually owns operating performance and converts company priorities into repeatable execution. Companies with narrower needs may hire a Vice President of Operations or General Manager with meaningful authority over a business unit, location, or profit and loss statement. Some owners start with an operating Chief of Staff, a leader with real responsibility who can grow into a COO-level role.

Family-owned businesses often need an outside President or COO who understands active ownership: a leader who can run day-to-day operations and the P&L while the family keeps its role in strategy and culture.

An EOS Integrator search requires a more specific mandate than a generic COO search. Within EOS, the Integrator is an internal leader who coordinates major functions and helps the leadership group execute the Visionary’s direction. A Professional EOS Implementer instead works with the company as an external teacher and facilitator during EOS adoption. An owner may work with an Implementer while hiring a full-time Integrator to run the business.

A CEO search fits when the owner plans a full leadership transition or needs another executive to hold final operating authority. Captains Club handles CEO searches selectively because many founder-led companies still need a President, COO, or Integrator beneath an active owner.

Clear authority separates a true second-in-command role from a senior employee with a larger title. Before assessing candidates, the owner must define which decisions the executive can make, which outcomes the executive owns, and how the person must complement the founder.

Local boutique or national firm: how to choose

Broad recruiting firms can be useful when a company needs reach across several functions, industries, or locations. A second-in-command search for an owner-operated company also requires a detailed assessment of how each candidate would work with the owner, making specialization valuable for this use case. The right choice depends on the hire:

A second-in-command search starts with the relationship between the owner and the incoming executive. The search partner must define which decisions the executive will own, how much authority the owner will release, and where the two leaders need complementary working styles. A candidate who succeeded with a hands-off board could struggle beside a founder who remains deeply involved in customers, product, or major operating decisions.

Résumé matching has limited value until the owner and other decision makers agree on the role’s authority and expected outcomes. When leaders disagree about whether they need a COO, President, EOS Integrator, or operating VP, a recruiter can fill the stated title while missing the actual mandate. Proper scoping defines ownership, behavioral fit, motivation, and measurable outcomes before sourcing begins.

A useful local presence involves direct knowledge of Arizona’s owner-operated companies and candidate market, not merely an address in Phoenix. An Arizona search partner should understand the owner-operated businesses across Phoenix and Scottsdale, work directly with the people affected by the hire, and assess candidates against the company’s real operating culture. Captains Club concentrates on that founder-fit problem rather than spreading its model across every department and role type.

The Navigating Talent framework: Head, Heart, Helm, Horizon

Navigating Talent defines the second-in-command seat before Captains Club evaluates any candidate. During scoping, Captains Club uses its Head, Heart, Helm, and Horizon criteria to translate an Arizona owner’s expectations into requirements for behavior, motivation, authority, operating capability, and outside relationships.

Head defines how the executive must think, work, and communicate. A founder who generates ideas quickly may need an operator who sets priorities, challenges assumptions constructively, and brings decisions to completion. The required profile must complement the owner and work with the existing leadership group.

Heart defines the values and motivation that make the role sustainable. In an owner-operated Phoenix or Scottsdale business, an executive may work closely with the founder and inherit a culture shaped over many years. Captains Club identifies what will make that responsibility compelling and what personal motivations support a lasting fit.

Helm defines what the executive must own and what prior evidence demonstrates readiness. If a COO must lead cross-functional execution, the search criteria specify the expected authority, measurable outcomes, and comparable operating experience. Captains Club can then distinguish direct operating proof from a résumé that merely contains the right titles.

Horizon defines the relationships, affiliations, and resources a leader brings to the seat, such as banking and lender relationships, investor and acquisition experience, and trusted advisors, professional-services partners, and coaches. It matters most when the company plans to raise capital, make acquisitions, or rely on outside advisors.

Captains Club uses the same four lenses to assess candidates after the search begins. Navigating Talent documents the role’s authority, expectations, and evaluation criteria before sourcing begins. Captains Club can then assess every candidate against the same standard.

Scope & Strategy: defining the seat before the search

Scope & Strategy helps Arizona owners define a second-in-command role before committing to retained search. The engagement addresses authority, ownership, behavioral fit, motivation, and measurable outcomes when stakeholders remain unsure what the new executive should carry.

The Bearings Report prepares participants for the Owner Alignment Session by comparing three evidence streams. Stated captures input from the owner and other decision makers, Measured uses behavioral data, and Observed examines market and historical evidence. The report then identifies stakeholder splits and differences between stated expectations, measured behavior, observed evidence, and the company’s history.

During the Owner Alignment Session, Captains Club and the client use those findings to define the executive’s authority, responsibilities, and success measures. Captains Club then produces an Ideal Candidate Profile and Job Scorecard that define the required person, operating mandate, and evidence of success. Those documents give owners and boards a shared basis for deciding whether to launch the search and evaluating candidates if they proceed.

Arizona owners can use Scope & Strategy to define the role before deciding whether to begin a retained search.

The retained search process and proof points

After Scope & Strategy defines the seat, Captains Club builds a target list and confidentially approaches 50 to 100 passive leaders. Weekly updates and a real-time candidate portal show Arizona clients who has been contacted, how the market is responding, and where the search stands. Daniel Cheetham personally leads every search, and Captains Club takes on no more than five to six searches at a time. Captains Club also runs confidential and parallel searches, including searches to replace a COO or President who is still in the seat.

Captains Club evaluates interested candidates through the Head, Heart, Helm, and Horizon criteria established during scoping. Captains Club narrows the field by reviewing behavioral profiles, references, evidence of operating results, and potential conflicts with the client’s working culture. Clients receive detailed finalist packets rather than a stack of résumés, along with support through interviews, compensation discussions, and the signed offer. An optional 90-day integration plan then helps the new executive establish priorities and working agreements with the owner.

Captains Club backs every retained search with a six-month replacement guarantee. If the placed executive does not work out within the first six months, Captains Club finds a replacement.

Captains Club reports a recent EOS Integrator and COO placement at a Tempe-based facilities services business generating $10 million in annual revenue, now tracking toward its three most profitable quarters on record. Captains Club also reports a 94% twelve-month stick rate and a 9.6 client NPS. The stick rate measures whether placed executives remain after the first year, while NPS records whether clients would recommend the firm. These self-reported measures track first-year retention and clients’ willingness to recommend Captains Club after a placement.

“He spends time getting to know the individuals in direct leadership and in crucial relationship roles to the position so he can identify the best match.”
Maureen H. · Client · HR leader

“Daniel sets himself apart among recruiters by representing your company with genuine care and respect - for your business, for your culture, and for the candidates.”
Daryl Q. · Placed as President

Industries and roles Captains Club serves across Phoenix and Arizona

Captains Club serves owner-operated and founder-led businesses across Phoenix, Scottsdale, and broader Arizona. Many of the companies Captains Club serves, from $10 million to $100 million in annual revenue, sit in what is commonly called the lower middle market.

The firm bases fit on the leadership mandate rather than an industry label. Captains Club works best when an owner needs an executive to carry cross-functional operating responsibility, manage day-to-day execution, and lead the company without displacing the owner’s vision or culture. Captains Club therefore evaluates prospective engagements by the operating mandate rather than limiting its work to one Arizona industry. It works most often with manufacturing, industrial, home services, construction, field and facilities services, and work truck and upfitting companies.

Relevant searches include President, COO, and EOS Integrator roles. Captains Club also recruits operating Vice Presidents, General Managers, operating Chiefs of Staff, and other leaders with meaningful accountability. Select CEO searches fit when the business needs a full leadership transition. In every case, the search starts by defining the authority, outcomes, motivation, and behavioral fit required of the seat.

Start a conversation about your next hire

Scope & Strategy may be a useful first step when your Arizona business still needs to define the second-in-command role. The engagement clarifies authority, ownership, behavioral fit, motivation, and measurable outcomes before you assess candidates.

Retained Executive Search is the next step when your board and current executives have defined the role and are ready to recruit a President, COO, EOS Integrator, or other operating executive. Talk with Captains Club about the role, the owner dynamic, and the business conditions the new leader must handle.

Captains Club combines knowledge of the owner, the business, and the Arizona market with a focused search for qualified second-in-command candidates.

Frequently asked questions

What makes an executive search retained?

A retained search reserves a search firm to fill a defined leadership seat. The client commits to the search at the start, which supports confidential sourcing and sustained evaluation rather than résumé forwarding. Captains Club backs every retained search with a six-month replacement guarantee. If the placed executive does not work out within the first six months, Captains Club finds a replacement.

How does Captains Club differ from national recruiting firms?

National and multi-industry firms recruit across broader functions and markets. Captains Club focuses on second-in-command hires for Arizona owner-operated businesses and evaluates candidates through Head, Heart, Helm, and Horizon. Owners receive candidates assessed for behavioral fit, motivation, relevant operating experience, and the relationships they bring. Daniel Cheetham personally leads every search, and Captains Club takes on no more than five to six searches at a time.

What businesses and roles does Captains Club serve?

Captains Club serves owner-operated, family-owned, and founder-led businesses with $10 million to $100 million in annual revenue. Searches cover Presidents, COOs, EOS Integrators, operating Vice Presidents or General Managers, and operating Chiefs of Staff, with selective CEO work. The focused mandate helps owners hire someone who can assume meaningful operating responsibility.

How long does an executive search take?

An executive-search timeline reflects how clearly the role is defined, the availability of suitable candidates, and the client’s speed in providing feedback. Captains Club reports progress weekly, so the client can see how the market is responding. Defining the role early and responding promptly helps the client maintain momentum without shortening the evaluation process.

How does Scope & Strategy relate to a full search?

Scope & Strategy defines the leadership seat before candidate sourcing begins. Captains Club uses the Owner Alignment Session, role architecture, Ideal Candidate Profile, and Job Scorecard to establish the mandate. Owners can then decide whether to launch a Retained Executive Search.

Does Captains Club visit our business before starting a search?

Yes. Daniel Cheetham visits every client’s business on-site to meet the owner, the leadership team, and the people the new executive will work with. Captains Club assesses the culture and the owner’s working style before any candidate is approached.

Can Captains Club run a confidential COO or President replacement search?

Yes. Captains Club regularly runs confidential and parallel searches, including searches to replace an executive who is still in the seat.

Does Captains Club work outside Phoenix?

Yes. Captains Club is based in Phoenix and travels to clients across Arizona, including Scottsdale, the East Valley, and Tucson.

Is my company too small for a retained executive search?

Captains Club works with companies from $10 million to $100 million in revenue. Below about $10 million in revenue, a strong director-level operations leader is often the better first hire. Rarely does a company that size need a chief of anything.