About KiTalent
An international management and executive search firm for senior management, specialist leadership and selected executive mandates. Four hubs, Turin, Nicosia, Almaty and New York.
The work we are built to do
KiTalent is an international management and executive search firm for roles that require more than candidate flow. We are brought in when the brief is technical, culture-critical, cross-border or time-sensitive.
The role may be a country manager, a head of function, a senior technical leader, an actuarial or risk specialist, a financial controller, an investment leader, a transformation manager or a selected C-suite mandate for a client we know well.
What these searches have in common is not only seniority. It is difficulty. The right candidate must understand the sector, operate inside the client culture, lead in the right way and often move across markets, languages or reporting structures. That is where our search discipline is strongest.
Founded in London and Turin, built internationally
KiTalent was founded in 2016 by Alessio Montaruli, who had spent the prior four years in London building his executive-search practice in one of the most demanding international markets in the world. The firm was established with founding operations in London and Turin, drawing on the cross-border experience the founder had developed in the UK. As the firm grew, the European headquarters consolidated in Turin and the international footprint expanded through hubs in Nicosia, Almaty, and New York.
The model was built around a simple frustration with the recruitment market. Too many firms were asking clients to trust the fee before seeing the work. Too many shortlists were shaped by active applicants, database matches and generic role titles. Too few searches were calibrated around the real reasons senior hires succeed or fail: technical accuracy, leadership context, cultural fit, motivation, compensation reality and market reach.
KiTalent was created to reverse that sequence. We map markets continuously. We approach passive talent through direct headhunting. We do not send blind CVs. We present interview-ready candidates with context, motivation, compensation information and assessment notes. And for suitable mandates, our Proof-First model lets clients validate the shortlist before the first material commercial commitment.
Proof-First is one commercial model. The operating core is deeper: we have systematized market mapping and early candidate engagement so they run in parallel rather than sequentially. This lets us cover candidate markets at a scale and depth that network-led search rarely reaches inside the same timeline. Speed is the consequence of more relevant coverage, not less.
The best available candidate is rarely the best candidate in the market. Search creates value by closing that gap.
Where KiTalent fits
Different hiring models solve different problems. We sit in the practical gap where direct search discipline, market coverage and speed all matter.
Internal teams still need outside support when a search requires confidential access, cross-border mapping, specialist candidate engagement or bandwidth in a market the team does not own.
Many are too narrow for assignments that involve relocation, language requirements, multi-country competitor sets or corporate stakeholder complexity.
Strongest when a board-level or C-suite mandate requires a long advisory cadence and a very senior relationship network. Recurring senior management and specialist mandates are different.
We support corporate talent and leadership teams with executive-search discipline applied to business-critical management roles, through Proof-First Search, retained search, talent mapping or advisory, depending on the role and how your organization buys search.
What we believe
The search standard is not decorative. It decides how the brief is framed, how the market is covered and how candidates are assessed before interviews begin.
If a firm only starts mapping the market after the client signs, the first weeks are spent catching up. We maintain talent intelligence continuously across priority sectors and markets.
See the methodologyThe right person today may be unreachable in two months. That is why we map and approach in parallel rather than sequentially.
Read the editorial noteCulture fit means leadership style, decision rights, pace, stakeholder complexity, reporting context, company maturity and the operating conditions the candidate will inherit.
Culture-fit assessmentFor suitable mandates, the first material commercial commitment happens only after the client has validated the shortlist. Retained search is also available where the mandate requires it.
Review Proof-FirstOperating belief · 2 min
The pool of technically-aligned, reachable, ready-to-move candidates is time-bound. The right person today may be unreachable in two months: a promotion lands, another offer arrives, family circumstances shift.
Technical understanding identifies who fits the brief. What changes shortlist quality is the ability to engage every aligned candidate who is reachable now, before the window closes.
Executive search network
Four hubs, twenty-eight markets. Click any market below to read the local coverage note.
The team
Every mandate is led by a senior director with clear accountability for the outcome, supported by sector-specialist consultants and regional partners. The person running the search is visible to the client. The shortlist is not delegated into anonymity.
Founder & Group CEO
13 years leading executive search teams. Spent 2012-2016 in London before founding KiTalent (formerly Talent Acquisition Partners) in Turin in 2016, around continuous market mapping, direct approach, and proof before major commercial commitment. Academic background in Philosophy.
LinkedInAssociate Director, Central & Eastern Europe
Nine years at KiTalent, co-leading the Turin HQ. Background in finance and management. Supports CEE expansion and cross-border management searches across regulated and specialist markets.
LinkedInAssociate Director, Southern Europe
Eight years driving KiTalent's growth. Strategy and management background. Co-leads the HQ and supports Southern European search mandates where technical requirements and culture fit both matter.
LinkedInDirector, Middle East & Asia
Lived and worked across China, Switzerland and Italy. Oriental Studies background. Leads cross-country executive and management recruiting from the Almaty hub, with particular strength in multilingual and relocation-led searches.
LinkedInSenior Manager, Legal · KiLawyers
Leads KiLawyers, KiTalent's specialist division for lateral partner moves and senior legal talent. Sector-native expertise in law-firm and legal-services search.
LinkedInOffice Manager, New York
Anchors the New York office and supports executive-search delivery across major US metropolitan demand centers, with a focus on managerial and specialist roles in international companies.
LinkedInSenior Client Manager, Energy & Strategic Accounts
Coordinates multinational energy-sector relationships across E&P, power and renewables. Owns Cyprus market coverage from the Nicosia hub.
LinkedInKey Account Manager, Private Equity & Venture Capital
Coordinates private equity and venture capital relationships, connecting funds with leadership talent for deal origination, portfolio-company growth and specialist management mandates.
LinkedInBusiness Development Manager, Americas
Supports North American growth markets across the United States, Canada and Mexico, with a focus on managerial and specialist roles in regulated sectors.
LinkedInWhat we do not try to be
We are the right partner when the role is important enough to require direct search, and practical enough to demand speed, accountability and market evidence.
Frequently asked
The center of our practice is senior management and specialist leadership search: country managers, heads of function, department directors, senior technical leaders, risk and investment leaders. We also handle selected C-suite and board mandates, especially for established clients where we already understand the culture, sector and leadership context.
They use us when a role requires external reach, direct headhunting, cross-border mapping, specialist assessment or confidential access to passive talent. Many mandates sit below classic board-level search but above standard recruitment.
Yes. Every mandate has senior accountability. Consultants and directors are visible to clients, and the search is run through weekly pipeline visibility rather than anonymous CV flow.
Proof-First Search is one of our engagement models. For suitable mandates, the client validates an interview-ready shortlist before the first material commercial commitment. Retained search is also available for confidential, C-suite, succession and mission-critical assignments. Full details on the Proof-First page.
Discuss the role, the sector and the constraint that makes the search difficult. We will tell you whether the right next step is a Proof-First mandate, a retained search, a talent map or a more focused feasibility review.
Share your CV and a sentence on the mandate types you'd consider. We respond within five working days.