Behind the Search for a Foundation CEO

Typical length: 6 months

Who runs it: Headhunters report to a hiring committee made up of a handful of board members.

How firms find people: Primarily by asking for recommendations from people at nonprofits. They may call as many as 300 people per search.

Who gets considered: A pool of 60 or so candidates gets narrowed to 10 or 15, then to six or eight, and then to one or two, who are brought for in-person interviews before the full board.

How firms get paid: With most firms, the foundation pays the headhunter an amount equal to a third of the first-year cash compensation of the winning candidate. A few firms operate differently and are paid a fee agreed upon at the beginning of the search.

Rules of the search: Standard practice dictates that headhunters can’t recruit a CEO away from a job in which they have placed him or her. For about a year after the search, a headhunter can’t directly recruit people who work immediately under that leader, either.