Recruiting the CEO


Recruiting the right CEO is crucial for your future. We help you find the leader who will make a real difference – whatever your business type or growth phase.

We have helped hundreds of companies of varying sizes with recruitment and business development

Recruiting the right CEO is crucial – but each company has its own unique challenges.

Whether you’re looking for a strategic partner for growth, a stable force in the public sector or someone to take over an owner-managed business, we’ll help you find the right leader. Here are some common types of CEO roles we recruit for.

CEO in growth company

A growth company needs a CEO who can combine operational drive with strategic height. The role is often broad, and the right person needs to be able to build structure without slowing down innovation or pace. The wrong person can quickly become a bottleneck for development.

We identify and attract candidates with experience from growth journeys, who know how to scale companies without losing momentum, culture or business focus.

  • Experience in fast-growing environments
  • Ability to build teams and structure simultaneously
  • Proven track record in change
  • Understanding of financing and investor dialogue
  • The right leadership for the next phase of growth

CEO of publicly owned company

Being the CEO of a public company brings a particular complexity – from political anchoring to transparency requirements and social responsibility. It requires a leader with integrity, diplomacy and strong management skills.

We have extensive experience in recruiting for publicly owned companies and understand the balance between business and social mission.

  • Understanding of the public sector and stakeholder dialogue
  • Governance and regulatory expertise
  • Experience of working with different stakeholder groups
  • Ability to communicate in political environments
  • Values-driven leadership with integrity

CEO in owner-managed company

Owner-managed companies need a CEO who can work closely with owners, often entrepreneurs, without getting bogged down in operational details. It’s about gaining trust, while leading with independence and clear direction.

We match you with candidates who know how to lead with both respect for history and drive for the future.

  • Safe in the dialog with active owners
  • Strong communicator with diplomatic flair
  • Operational excellence combined with strategic vision
  • Experience in similar corporate environments
  • Focus on growth while preserving company culture

We find the leadership to take you further


Finding the right CEO requires more than just reading a CV. It’s about understanding your strategy, company culture and the challenges ahead. With extensive experience in executive recruitment and a strong network, we help you find leaders who not only match the requirements profile – but also make a real difference.

We would be happy to tell you more about how we work and what we can do for your organization. Fill in your details and we will contact you – easily and without obligation.

Book a meeting with us

<0,7%

guaranteed recruitments

kNPS 56

from 450+ candidate assessments

350+

missions per year

3-8 weeks

average time for a recruitment process

Our recruitment process

  • 1 Advice and quotes
  • 2 Requirements profile
  • 3 Advertising & Search
  • 4 Executive Search
  • 5 Selection process
  • 6 Interview at customer's premises
  • 7 Background checks and reference checks
  • 8 Decisions and advice
  • 9 Onboarding

Advice and quotes

We know what we are good at, we know a lot but not everything. We promise to tell you if we are not the right partner for this specific need. That’s why we always start with a free consultation to understand your needs.

Requirements profile

A requirements profile compiles the skills and characteristics needed in the role. Here, the art is to start with the reasonable requirements in terms of education, experience and knowledge so that we can later focus with confidence on the personal suitability of each candidate. Here we challenge you to clarify the real need. Our clients know that it pays off. The requirements profile is always in writing and confirmed by you as a customer.

Advertising & Search

To create strong attraction value when recruiting, it is important that we get to the bottom of what the role entails and what expectations and opportunities it provides. Being given the opportunity to contribute and develop in an environment that we have clearly defined attracts the right people. “There are people for everything”, as the saying goes, and it’s certainly true. In the description, we should therefore paint a real and “for the right person” attractive picture of both activities, expectations and conditions. Painting a pretty picture usually only leads to problems later.

In all our assignments, we search for actively seeking candidates in our own databases and networks.

Executive Search

Executive Search is primarily aimed at candidates who are not actively looking for a job and is based on personal contact and selling the role and the business. We stand out from the crowd by really understanding the role, which attracts the right candidates.
Furthermore, the personal contact provides a quality experience for the candidates who come into contact with your brand through us.

When specific skills are sought by many or when the conditions are challenging, it is good to use Executive Search. Either as a complement to the recruitment or if the process is to be “silent”. When used as an option, the degree of “transparency” can be regulated.

Selection process

We strive to make a balanced overall assessment. We first make a selection on the basis of the requirements that a relevant candidate must bring to the role in terms of education, experience and knowledge. Candidates who match this are invited to take aptitude and personality tests while we deepen our knowledge of their background. The candidates who best match what we are looking for are invited to competency-based in-depth interviews and test reflection after coordination with the customer so that we can be sure that we have the right idea about each candidate. From this, you as a client will gain information and knowledge about each candidate so that you can experience that you “know them” already. This is especially noticeable later in the process when our descriptions match very well on each candidate, something many of our customers and candidates testify to through the customer and candidate surveys we conduct.

Interview at customer's premises

After the presentation of final candidates, we decide together which candidates will be invited to interview with you. The focus of your interviews is to give the candidate a deeper sense of the role and your business, while at the same time reconciling the important “gut feeling” between you. Yes, you heard right! Gut feeling at this stage – when we know the person has the potential and the knowledge required for the role – is a very important part of the process. Of course, we act as advisors to make sure you feel confident in your decision.

Background checks and reference checks

A structured and competence-based reference check is carried out on the final candidate(s). This is reported in writing and deepened if necessary.

Background checks are an important step that should not be forgotten. Therefore, this is always included on the final candidate to avoid unpleasant surprises later. The background check can be complemented with an in-depth review if needed.

Decisions and advice

After a process with us at Unik, it is often easy to make a decision but the difficult thing that can arise is that you have several good candidates to choose from. Here we help you choose the right one and not prematurely opt out.

Onboarding

Our methodology gives us a deep understanding of the expectations and requirements of the role and a very good knowledge of the relative strengths and weaknesses of the person related to this. Thanks to this, we can be clear about what you should pay attention to when you start your collaboration. We also have tools such as Be the best version of you™ and Dynamics of collaboration that can speed up the “getting to know you process” and avoid you going wrong in your collaboration.

Book a first call with us


Do you need a new CEO and want to ensure an accurate recruitment process? We have extensive experience in finding the right leaders for different types of companies – from growth companies and owner-managed businesses to publicly owned organizations. Book an informal meeting with us and we will tell you more about how we can help you all the way – from needs analysis to successful appointment.

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Frequently asked questions and answers

The Knowledge Bank

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