ABOUT PARTNER EXECUTIVE
We Place the Leaders Who Shape Australian Industry
Independent Executive Search | perth & Sydney
PARTNER Executive is a specialist executive search and recruitment firm serving the industries that power Australia. We appoint leaders for organisations in mining and metals, critical minerals and battery materials, energy and renewables, power and utilities, engineering, construction and infrastructure, and aviation and airport operations. Operating from Perth and Sydney and searching nationally, we handle the appointments that shape an organisation's direction, from board, CEO and executive roles to the senior management and specialist positions these industries depend on.
Independent and privately owned, so our advice answers only to you
Two offices, Perth and Sydney, searching nationally and internationally
Executive, senior leadership and specialist appointments across Australian industry
RCSA accredited and AHRI member, with a Director leading every search
We approach the leaders who are not looking, not the ones answering ads
A global candidate network built on deep Australian industry knowledge
A SPECIALIST FIRM, BUILT FOR INDUSTRY
PARTNER Executive exists because the industries that drive the Australian economy are not served well by generalist recruitment. Appointing a chief executive, an operational leader or a hard to find technical specialist is not the same as filling a role from a database, and it should never be treated that way.
We are a boutique firm by design. Every search is led by a Director from the first briefing to the accepted offer, without the handovers and account layers that dilute a search inside a larger agency. Behind us sits Technical Resources, our sister company, with more than 35 years placing technical and professional talent across Australian industry. That heritage gives PARTNER Executive something a new entrant cannot claim: networks in mining, energy, engineering and construction built over decades, not assembled for a single brief.
HOW WE THINK ABOUT SEARCH
The best candidates are rarely looking. The leaders worth appointing are usually performing in a role right now, not answering advertisements, which is why we map the market and approach them directly.
Specialism is not a slogan. We work only in the industrial and resources markets, so we already understand the commercial, technical and cultural dynamics that decide what good leadership looks like in each one.
Discretion is the default, not an upgrade. Many of the appointments we complete are never announced, and every search surfaces only when and where our client wants it to.
Fit matters as much as capability. A shortlist that ticks a position description but misreads the culture is a failed search, so we assess for both.
OUR SEARCH PROCESS
Every engagement is retained and follows a structured process, shaped around your organisation rather than forced through a template.
01
Discovery. We start by understanding the role, the team it sits in and the outcome you need, not just the position description. This is where we will challenge a brief if we believe the search can reach further than it assumes.
02
Market mapping. We map the relevant market in full: who leads your competitors, where the capability sits, what the market pays and who is genuinely appointable. This intelligence is valuable in its own right, and we offer it as a standalone service.
03
Direct approach. We approach targeted candidates discreetly and personally, including the people a conventional process would never surface.
04
Assessment. We assess on capability, track record and cultural fit, with the same rigour applied at every level, from CEO to niche technical roles.
05
Shortlist and selection. You receive a considered shortlist with honest commentary, not a stack of resumes. We stay close through interviews and reference checks.
06
Offer and beyond. We manage the offer stage, help navigate counter offers and resignations, and stay in contact after the appointment to make sure it lands.
What We Stand For
Every search firm lists its values. Ours are simply the things we will not trade away to win a mandate or close a search faster, and our clients and candidates hold us to them..
INTEGRITY:
We tell clients and candidates the truth, including when it is not what they hoped to hear. Honest feedback at every stage, never silence, never spin.
DISCRETION:
Confidentiality is the default, not an upgrade. Many of our appointments are never announced, and a search surfaces only when and where you choose.
RIGOUR:
A shortlist of three to five genuinely appointable people, chosen for the quality of the research behind them, not the speed of the turnaround.
INDEPENDENCE:
Privately owned and answerable only to our clients, so our advice is never shaped by anyone else's targets or quotas.
MEANINGFUL RELATIONSHIPS:
We invest in relationships that outlast a single search, with clients who return and candidates who stay in touch long before the right role appears.
FAIRNESS:
Every candidate is assessed on merit, with the same rigour and respect whatever the outcome, and every shortlist reflects the real breadth of the market.
Director Led, Start to Finish
Executive search too often means being sold by a senior name, then handed to someone junior once the fee is agreed. We do not work that way. At PARTNER Executive a Director leads your search from the first briefing to the accepted offer, so the person who understands your brief is the same person mapping the market, approaching candidates and guiding you through to appointment.
That continuity is a deliberate choice. It means you deal throughout with someone who has appointed at this level for years, across the sectors you operate in, rather than a rotating account team. Our searches are led by Managing Director Gregor McNally, who brings more than 16 years in executive search across Australia's mining, resources, energy, engineering and infrastructure sectors and is a member of AHRI, the Australian HR Institute.
Two Sides of Every Search
Whether you are hiring or being hired, you deal with the same firm and the same standard.
Explore Client Services
When the appointment matters, you want a partner who has done it before, at this level, in your industry. We run retained searches for the appointments that shape performance: executive and senior leadership roles, and the specialist positions your industry depends on. Every search is director led, confidential where it needs to be, and built around your brief.
Explore Candidate services
The best moves are rarely advertised. Senior leaders who work with PARTNER get confidential career conversations, honest advice on where they sit in the market, and access to retained searches that never reach a job board, with genuine support from first approach to accepted offer.
The Numbers We Stand Behind
Not targets or aspirations, but what our searches deliver, tracked across every mandate.
4
weeks average from brief to shortlist
98%
of retained executive searches completed
4
weeks average from brief to shortlist
250+
executive and senior management appointments
Candidate identification across active and passive talent, Australia-wide and globally.
Vision and values alignment assessed alongside technical capability, every time.
Diversity and inclusion genuinely embedded throughout each search mandate, not bolted on.
Honest and direct communication with both clients and candidates at every stage of the process.
Post-placement follow-up, because we're invested in the partnership long after the ink dries.
Frequently Asked QUestions
What is PARTNER Executive?
PARTNER Executive is a specialist executive search and recruitment firm based in Perth and Sydney, working across Australia's mining, energy, engineering, infrastructure and industrial sectors. The firm conducts retained search for executive, senior leadership and specialist appointments, from board and chief executive roles to the niche positions these industries depend on.
Who leads PARTNER Executive?
PARTNER Executive is led by Managing Director Gregor McNally, who has more than 16 years in executive search across Australia's industrial and resources sectors and is a member of AHRI, the Australian HR Institute. Every retained search is director led, from the first briefing to the accepted offer.
What is the difference between retained executive search and a standard recruitment agency?
A recruitment agency usually advertises a role and forwards the people who apply. Retained executive search works the other way: PARTNER Executive maps the whole market and approaches the strongest candidates directly, including those who are not looking. It suits senior and specialist appointments, where the best people rarely answer advertisements.
What industries does PARTNER Executive specialise in?
PARTNER Executive works across mining and metals, critical minerals and battery materials, oil, gas and LNG, energy transition and renewables, power and utilities, engineering, construction and infrastructure, aviation and airport operations, defence, and transport and logistics.
Why use a specialist search firm rather than a generalist recruiter?
A generalist recruiter covers every field and rarely knows any one of them deeply. PARTNER Executive works only in industrial and resources markets, so it already understands the commercial, technical and cultural dynamics that decide what good leadership looks like in each, and it can reach the people who matter without starting from scratch.
Does PARTNER Executive handle confidential appointments?
Yes. Much of PARTNER Executive's work is confidential, including sensitive replacements, succession planning and appointments that cannot be advertised. Searches use staged disclosure, so they surface only when and where the client chooses.
