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HOW WE HELP
Retained executive search for AI, data and technology leadership.
From leadership diagnostic and role definition through market search, assessment, appointment and integration.
The search begins with understanding the organisational change required, the outcomes the executive must own and whether the proposed role is realistic in the external market.
Lucent starts with a leadership diagnostic: what the organisation is trying to achieve, what is getting in the way, what leadership is already in place and what needs to change.
Depending on the assignment, Rebecca may review strategy papers, transformation plans, organisation structures and existing role materials, and speak with the sponsor and other relevant stakeholders.
What is the business trying to achieve?
What needs to change for that to happen?
What leadership is already in place?
Where are responsibilities unclear, overlapping or missing?
What does the executive need to deliver?
What authority will they need?
How will the organisation know the appointment is working?
LEADERSHIP DIAGNOSTIC
The search should not start with the job description.
A job description records a proposed role. The diagnostic tests whether that role actually matches the leadership problem the business is trying to solve.
The proposed role is then tested against the external market. If compensation, scope, reporting line or unnecessary requirements are likely to make the search materially harder, that evidence is brought back early.
The purpose is to go to market knowing what you are actually hiring someone to do.
Outcomes
What should the executive deliver in the first 90 days and what must be materially different 12–18 months after the appointment?
Scope
What sits inside and outside the executive’s responsibility?
Authority
What decisions can they make, and where will they need alignment?
Experience
What experience is genuinely required to deliver the outcomes — and what is merely inherited from the old brief?
Conditions for success
What must the organisation provide if the executive is expected to deliver?
BEFORE THE MARKET IS SEARCHED
What should be defined before an executive search begins?
An organisation may know that something needs to change without yet knowing whether the answer is a new role, a different structure or a search.
Lucent can support that decision before recruitment begins. That includes clarifying the leadership requirement, testing how responsibilities should fit together and bringing external market evidence into the decision.
Market Intelligence
Test assumptions about talent supply, compensation, role feasibility and relevant leadership markets before committing to a full search.
Leadership Structure Review
Examine how responsibilities, reporting lines and leadership capability fit together where the issue extends beyond one appointment.
Executive Role Review
Clarify what the role needs to deliver, whether the proposed remit is workable and what should change before going to market.
Executive Role Review
Leadership Structure Review
Market Intelligence
Clarify what the role needs to deliver, whether the proposed remit is workable and what should change before going to market.
Examine how responsibilities, reporting lines and leadership capability fit together where the issue extends beyond one appointment.
Test assumptions about talent supply, compensation, role feasibility and relevant leadership markets before committing to a full search.
When the leadership requirement is not yet clear.
LEADERSHIP ADVISORY
HOW LUCENT WORKS
Lucent Smart Search®
A six-stage retained search process built around role clarity, market evidence and decision quality.
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Integrate
Carry the agreed outcomes, expectations and conditions for success into onboarding and the early months of the appointment.
05
Appoint
Support structured interviews, candidate comparison, references, offer strategy and the final appointment decision.
04
Assess
Test evidence of personal contribution, judgement and outcomes — not simply whether a candidate interviews well.
03
Search
Map competitors, adjacent organisations and transferable leadership markets, then approach the strongest relevant candidates directly.
02
Define
Set the role outcomes, scope, authority, reporting line, experience that genuinely matters and the conditions required for success.
01
Diagnose
Understand the strategy, intended outcomes, barriers to execution and the leadership already in place.
The process is designed to leave you better informed about the role, the market and the evidence behind the final decision.
06
Integrate
Carry the agreed outcomes, expectations and conditions for success into onboarding and the early months of the appointment.
05
Appoint
Support structured interviews, candidate comparison, references, offer strategy and the final appointment decision.
04
Assess
Test evidence of personal contribution, judgement and outcomes — not simply whether a candidate interviews well.
03
Search
Map competitors, adjacent organisations and transferable leadership markets, then approach the strongest relevant candidates directly.
02
Define
Understand the strategy, intended outcomes, barriers to execution and the leadership already in place.
01
Diagnose
Understand the strategy, intended outcomes, barriers to execution and the leadership already in place.
03
Market conversations
Feedback tests assumptions and shows how the role is being received.
02
Referrals
Credible conversations are used to surface less obvious people.
01
Direct approach
Strong relevant executives are contacted directly.
03
Transferable markets
Other credible sources of executives whose experience fits the outcomes, scale and complexity required.
02
Adjacent organisations
Businesses where relevant leadership experience may transfer despite a different sector or operating model.
01
Direct competitors
Organisations facing similar commercial, operational or technology challenges.
01
02
03
Direct approach
Strong relevant executives are contacted directly.
Referrals
Credible conversations are used to surface less obvious people.
Market conversations
Feedback tests assumptions and shows how the role is being received.
HOW THE MARKET IS TESTED
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03
Transferable markets
Other credible sources of executives whose experience fits the outcomes, scale and complexity required.
Adjecent organisations
Businesses where relevant leadership experience may transfer despite a different sector or operating model.
Direct competitors
Organisations facing similar commercial, operational or technology challenges.
MARKET COVERAGE
How do you know the market has genuinely been covered?
Lucent builds the search around the requirement rather than a pre-existing list of contacts. Coverage extends across direct competitors, adjacent organisations and other leadership markets where the relevant experience may transfer.
Illustrative search view
The portal shows what is happening. Regular search reviews establish what it means for the brief and the decision.
SEARCH REVIEWS INTERPRET THE EVIDENCE
Emerging trade-offs
Where the strongest available market differs from the original brief
Brief assumptions
Compensation, scope, reporting line and role attractiveness
Market response
Interest levels, recurring objections and candidate feedback
Candidate status
Mapped · Approached · Engaged · Assessing · Shortlist
SHORTLIST
4
PROGRESSING
12
APPROACHED
43
IDENTIFIED
86
ACTIVE SEARCH VIEW
86
IDENTIFIED
Executives identified as relevant to the brief
43
APPROACHED
Executives approached directly
12
PROGRESSING
Executives in active conversation
4
SHORTLIST
Candidates recommended for final consideration
ACTIVE SEARCH VIEW
Candidate Profile
Mapped / assessing / shortlist status
Market response
Interest levels, recurring objections and candidate feedback
Brief assumptions
Compensation, scope, reporting line and role attractiveness
Emerging trade-offs
Where the strongest available market differs from the original brief
SEARCH REVIEW
The portal shows the full search trail and evidence behind every decision.
SEARCH VISIBILITY
What should you expect to see behind the shortlist?
More than the candidates who made it through.
Through the search portal, Lucent clients can see who has been identified, who has been approached, how candidates are progressing and what the market is saying about the role.
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Regular search reviews make it possible to see where the market is responding, where assumptions are being challenged and what trade-offs are emerging.
By shortlist, you should understand how extensively the market has been searched, what the search has revealed and why the recommended candidates have earned their place.
Outcomes
Look for evidence of commercial, operational, organisational or technology outcomes attributable to their leadership.
05
Resistance
Understand how they handled opposition, ambiguity, governance, setbacks and competing interests.
04
Judgement
Test the trade-offs, priorities and reasoning behind the outcome rather than accepting the result at face value.
03
Personal contribution
Separate the candidate’s decisions and actions from what their team, predecessor or wider organisation delivered.
02
Context
Establish the starting point, constraints, organisational maturity and scale of the problem.
01
EVIDENCE-LED ASSESSMENT
How do you know whether a technology leader has actually delivered what they claim?
Titles and company names provide context, but they do not establish what the executive personally delivered.
Rebecca assesses candidates against evidence of what they personally delivered: the context they were operating in, what they were responsible for, the decisions they made, how they dealt with resistance and what changed as a result.
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The assessment separates what the organisation achieved from what the candidate personally contributed. Evidence is distinguished from reasonable inference and from claims that remain unproven.
SHORTLIST EVIDENCE
What you receive for shortlisted candidates
Enough evidence to support a serious decision.
Each shortlisted candidate is presented with a structured assessment bringing together the evidence that matters.
The shortlist is intentionally selective. Each candidate should represent a credible choice, with enough evidence to understand the differences and trade-offs between them.
INTERVIEW & DECISION SUPPORT
How do you assess a CIO, CTO, CDO or AI leader when the board is not deeply technical?
You should not have to become a technology expert to make a strong technology leadership decision.
Rebecca can sit alongside the client interview panel to probe the evidence behind candidates’ technical and leadership claims, test what they personally contributed and identify where further questioning is required.
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The board needs enough evidence to judge whether the person can deliver what the role requires without becoming the technical assessor itself.
The board still makes the decision. Lucent helps make sure it is based on evidence rather than confidence alone.
04
Integrate
Carry the agreed outcomes, stakeholder expectations and conditions for success into onboarding and the executive’s early months in role.
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03
Before Day 1
Stay close through the notice period so motivation, resignation, practical arrangements and Day 1 readiness remain on track.
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02
Offer
Support offer positioning, candidate communication and negotiation, while managing counter-offer and competing-process risk.
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01
References
Test the evidence already gathered, confirm key claims and identify any material concerns before the appointment is finalised.
04
Integrate
Carry the agreed outcomes, stakeholder expectations and conditions for success into onboarding and the executive’s early months in role.
03
Before Day 1
Stay close through the notice period so motivation, resignation, practical arrangements and Day 1 readiness remain on track.
02
Offer
Support offer positioning, candidate communication and negotiation, while managing counter-offer and competing-process risk.
01
References
Test the evidence already gathered, confirm key claims and identify any material concerns before the appointment is finalised.
APPOINTMENT & INTEGRATION
The search is not finished when the offer is accepted.
The appointment still has to be secured, started well and given the right conditions to succeed.
Lucent remains involved through references, offer management and the period between acceptance and the executive joining.
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The outcomes and conditions for success agreed at the beginning of the search are carried into onboarding so the appointment starts with the same clarity that shaped the search.
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Early integration support can be used to test whether expectations, relationships and priorities are developing as intended.
Also including digital, transformation and other enterprise technology leadership appointments where the mandate sits at executive or near-executive level.
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Chief AI Officer
AI strategy, operating model, governance, adoption and accountability.
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Chief Data Officer / CDAO
Data strategy, governance, analytics, AI enablement and enterprise value.
03
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Chief Technology Officer
Technology strategy, platforms, engineering capability and technology-enabled growth.
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Chief Information Officer
Enterprise technology, operating model, transformation and business performance.
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LEADERSHIP ROLES
Senior AI, data and technology leadership
Lucent works on executive and near-executive AI, data and technology appointments where the role is central to business performance or significant organisational change.
“
Rebecca has an incredible amount of knowledge in supporting businesses to define the role that is required. She provided invaluable insight into the market, the role, and relevant industry information. Her service is extremely efficient because she’s clear in what and how she will provide it. And then she acts on it — quickly. I also like that her ideas are fresh and different from others
Jessica Igoe | HR Director, Piramal Pharma Solutions
“
Rebecca is more than just a recruiter. She has a comprehensive and systematic approach, yielding superior results. The candidates she presents consistently surpass the quality I typically see, making her my preferred choice.
Matt Little | Chair and NED | Tech, Cyber and AI
WHAT CLIENTS SAY
Trusted for clarity, judgement and search quality.
START A CONVERSATION
Working through a difficult leadership appointment?
Tell Rebecca what is happening. She will tell you candidly whether Lucent can help.