Defense Industry Executive Recruiting

Since 1979, BOB Search’s experience in executive search for defense originates from our very beginning. With a foundation of partnering with Northrop Grumman in the 1980s on their large hiring initiative for the B-2 program, our exclusive focus in this industry has driven us to deliver the best candidates within the industry.

We have continued our pattern of excellence and have expanded to primes, C4ISR, electronic manufacturing, weapons development, training and simulation services, space labs, and component manufacturing.

Our recruiters have a developed, in-depth understanding and knowledge within the defense market to bring top talent to their clients. We maintain constant awareness of market trends and are driven to continuously elevate the level of talent we deliver. Their expertise extends to all functions within an organization including sales & marketing, engineering, operations, finance, resources, manufacturing business development, quality, and technical disciplines.

Our partnerships with defense industry clients have resulted in key hires of leaders that guide their company to succeed beyond expectations, as well as complementary cultural fits within the organization.

BOB Search’s reputation is built on our foundation of establishing working partnerships with our clients. We place a high value on capital and acknowledge our consistent results are a function of establishing strategic partnerships with our clients. Our partnerships with clients have resulted in key hires of leaders that guide their company to succeed beyond expectations, as well as complementary cultural fits within the organization.

Boyle Ogata Bregman places leaders in the following functional segments:

OEM

Prime Defense Contractors
Unmanned Vehicles / UAV
Satellite, Satellite Services, & Space Systems
Land Systems
Navy/Maritime

Subsystems

Aerostructures
Defense Electronics
Engine and Engine Systems
Specialty Defense Systems & Services
Cybersecurity, Intelligence Services, & Homeland Defense

Components

Aerostructures
Components & Subsystems
Precision Machined and Cast Parts – Mechanical and Electrical
Sensors & C4ISR
Aircraft Interiors
Composites & Materials
Connectors / Misc Electronic Components
Test Instrumentation
Navigation / GPS

MRO & Logistics

Government Services, IT Services & Software
Engineering & Project Management
Simulation & Training Systems
Test & Measurement
Distribution

We would be happy to start a conversation and see if this could be the best next step for your organization. Please provide contact information below to learn more.

Our Clients

FAQ

What is your reputation within the industry?

Our reputation is unsurpassed in the aerospace and defense sector. Most of our business arrives via referral from satisfied and repeat customers. Our clients include global multi-billion public companies, private equity-owned independent businesses, and everything in between. We work nationally across the US, internationally in Europe, and locally in Southern California.

Please CLICK HERE To See Our Clients Page To Learn More.

What is the BOB Search Process and how does your executive search firm differentiate from the rest?

We will develop a performance-based position profile that focuses on the specific results you need from the position. This helps us as a recruiting tool as it attracts the passive candidates and cleanly evaluates each individual candidate to ensure a precise fit. We then develop a pipeline of 200+ candidates who will be a precise fit for this search. We reach out in multiple ways until we have contacted 70%+ of the candidates. From there, we find 10 prospects and submit the 3-5 best candidates. This includes a detailed candidate summary of their entire work history, their compensation, and relocation issues, as well as their resume. You will have every detail needed to make a decision.

BOB Search is a name that is known among candidates in aerospace and defense. They take our calls, they return our calls, and they give us referrals (and confidential references) because we are a trusted name in the market.

Please CLICK HERE To See Our Process Page To Learn More.

What will the performance based position profile look like for my search?

While all of our profile are custom and all vary, we do have sanitized examples to illustrate the comprehensive profile you will receive. Please click links below to see examples:

POSITION PROFILE EXAMPLES

How long does the search take?

A full search process can be completed in 3 months. The first half of that time is our sourcing, recruiting and submitting a slate of candidates, and the second half is the employer processing time, including first and second interviews, referencing, background checks, extension and acceptance of offer, candidate giving notice, etc.

Can you explain the advantages and disadvantages of retained and contingency firms?

Retained search provides greater value than contingency in many ways. Here is a comparison:

BENEFITS TO EMPLOYER	CONTINGENCY	RETAINED
BEST CANDIDATE	Deliver the first three candidates they can find. May or may not be a fit.	Deliver the best three (or more) candidates after a thorough search, giving you a better choice and better fit.
CREDIBILITY WITH CANDIDATES	High-level candidates hang up on contingency recruiters. All you see are active job seekers – not always the best candidates.	A good retained search firm, known in their domain, will get through to many more candidates, giving you a higher yield of passive candidates (non-active job seekers)
TIME COMMITMENT	Must work 3 times as many assignments, since not all will result in payment. Gives you one third the effort.	Fills every assignment they get, so can accept fewer assignments, and devote 3 times the effort.
SOURCE OF CANDIDATES	From their own files – usually active job seekers.	Custom sourcing to your precise needs – increased accuracy of fit.
SIZE OF CANDIDATE POOL	Usually look at 20-30 resumes.	Cast a wide net. Reach out to 250+ candidates.
QUALITY OF EVALUATION	Superficial review.	In-depth review of motivation, compensation, relocation, job history, and specific capability to do the job.
WHAT YOU RECEIVE	Resume only.	Complete package with summary of findings, and candidate write-up on capabilities to deliver results you need.
FEE	About the same as retained.	About the same as contingency.
VALUE	1/3 of value of retained.	3 times the value of contingency.

Which industries do you specialize?

We do searches in several leadership positions in Aerospace, Defense, Technology, and Industrial Manufacturing every year. They vary depending on the client needs, but the sourcing process we complete to precisely identify who you need in this role is the same on every project. We will find candidates that can do your exact role and ensure that the candidates we submit are of the highest caliber.

We are a boutique executive search firm that exclusively serves the Aerospace, Defense and Industrial Manufacturing industries. We complete between 40 and 60 searches per year across all business functions including engineering, sales and marketing, resources and operational leadership roles, for C-level and executive leadership positions.

What is your success rate?

When an employer client is committed to making the hire, our success rate is 90%+. Occasionally our clients discontinue a search due to their own internal business decisions.

When can we expect to see candidates?

Although our contract states we deliver candidates within 6-8 weeks, we aim to deliver closer to 4-6 weeks. Naturally, when targeting passive candidates and building a pipeline of 200+ people, it takes a little longer for them to respond than a typical applicant pool.

You will find that the standard time for a retained search is about 3 months. Half of this time is your time. We are presenting a candidate slate to you, and the remainder of the time is spent with interviews, extending an offer, and waiting for a candidate to give notice to their current employer.

What is your process for becoming familiar with our company culture?

We will do an in-depth analysis of your company, including a site visit when possible, conversations with your key executives and stakeholders, and completion of our unique 18-point questionnaire. Our candidates tell us that we know our clients and the search parameters better than any search firm they’ve experienced previously. This ensures a great fit in your company.

Learn About Our Defense Industry Executive Recruiting Process

For further discussion on how BOB Search can assist you with your executive hiring needs, please visit our contact us page for additional contact information.

Being a Vice President of Resources for over 30 years and being with three fortune 100 companies, it was evident to the successful key executives that I worked with during these years, that selecting high-performance team members to the company was one of the most important tasks we as executives “must do” to effectively manage and profitably grow our business. In all my years of using recruiters (headhunters), retained and contingency, only one firm continually provided “A-team” executives on an ongoing basis; the retained firm of Boyle, Ogata Bregman. This firm found these talented individuals through a highly effective search, interviewing and screening process that measured past performance, followed by a thorough background and reference check. Thank you, Boyle Ogata Bregman for being our out sourced business partner that gives us a tremendous return on our investment.

-VP of Resources & Organizational Development- Aerostructure Mfg./MRO/Spares

During my tenure as the Sr. VP Sales & Marketing, I hired Mark for a total of 10 searches for positions at the Vice President, Director and Senior Manager level from 2003 to 2006. Mark was already familiar with the industry, and rapidly gained a solid understanding of us including the organization, strategy, and key goals and objectives. This gave Mark an excellent feel for the type of individual we were looking for, enabling a very efficient search process. Mark was able to consistently connect with the top companies in the industry, and all searches culminated in the hiring of high caliber talent. I highly recommend Mark Bregman.

-SVP Sales & Marketing- Aircraft Ducting/Vent Mfg.

I have used executive search firms for C-level retained searches for over twenty years. Without a doubt, Boyle Ogata Bregman stands in a league of its own. I have never before received the level of responsiveness, intelligence, practical advice, and rigor they deliver in their process. Where many other firms go through the motions, seek “low-hanging fruit,” and hope something sticks that will generate a fee, Boyle Ogata Bregman digs in and does the hard work necessary to find the optimal candidate for the position. And they deliver phenomenal results. I cannot recommend them highly enough. Simply put, they are the best.

-Owner- Investment Banking/Corporate advisory firm

Defense Recruiting