TWO PRINCIPALS.ONE EA.A BRIEF MOST FIRMS WOULD NOT TAKE.

9 WEEKS

Brief to accepted offer

2

Principals supported by one EA

3

Candidates shortlisted

3 YEARS

EA still in post

THE SITUATION

Two co-founders at a PE-backed business in London needed EA support. They had considered hiring two separate EAs but the operational cost and coordination overhead made a single EA who could support both the more practical solution. The challenge was that no general recruiter they had spoken to had placed a dual-principal EA before. Most had offered to run two separate searches instead.

The dynamic between the two principals mattered as much as the capability of the candidate. One founder was operationally focused and fast-moving. The other was externally facing and more deliberate. The EA would need to operate inside the relationship between them, managing competing priorities without creating friction in either direction.

TalentSmiths was referred by the company's lead investor, who had used TalentSmiths for a portfolio placement in the preceding year.

WHAT WE DID

The brief for a dual principal mandate at TalentSmiths always begins with the relationship between the principals, not the job description. James spent the first thirty minutes of the call understanding how the two founders communicated, where their priorities tended to conflict, and what the previous arrangement had failed to provide.

The profile that emerged was precise. The candidate needed to have done this before. Not simply supported two principals, but navigated the political dimension of a co-founder dynamic specifically. That candidate exists in The Circle. It is a small group, but it exists.

Three candidates were identified and presented at week four. All three had dual-principal experience. Two had co-founder specific experience. The principals interviewed all three over two days. A second-round conversation was held with two candidates. An offer was made at week eight. Accepted within 48 hours.

The EA is still in post three years later. The business has since completed a secondary transaction. The EA supported both principals through it.