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Security leaders who can run the program and brief the board.
TekRecruiter runs CISO and security leadership executive search for tech and SaaS companies, focused solely on technology and engineering leadership. We walk through the programs a candidate built, the incidents they contained and the audits they passed, so you hire a leader who cuts real risk and explains it to your board in dollars. Beyond experience, we look for HEARTThe HEART standardHHigh agencyEExecutionAAccountabilityRResourcefulnessTTransparencyWhat we look for, beyond skills →.
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What companies hire a security leader to do.
Build the security program
Policies, controls, a risk register and a roadmap sized to the threats the company actually faces, often mapped to NIST CSF 2.0.
Pass the audits that close deals
SOC 2, ISO 27001, HIPAA or PCI DSS, run as a continuous program instead of a yearly scramble before the auditor arrives.
Own detection and response
Monitoring, incident response, and a tested plan for the day something goes wrong, including who decides it is material.
Brief the board and customers
Risk, spend and priorities in business terms, and credible answers to enterprise customers’ security questionnaires.
Why CISO searches go wrong.
Security leaders fail in ways that stay invisible until an audit, a customer review or an incident exposes them.
- 01
A compliance lead in a CISO’s seat.
The SOC 2 report is clean, and nobody can run the response when an alert turns real.
- 02
A reporting line that buried security.
No access to the CEO or the board, so the strongest candidates turned the role down.
- 03
Acronyms instead of risk.
The board heard frameworks and tools, never what a breach would cost or what the budget buys down.
- 04
Hired in a hurry after an incident.
A firefighter who contained the last breach but cannot build the program that prevents the next one.
We ask how they made risk a business decision.
A CISO protects the company’s vision without stalling it: every control has a cost in money, speed or customer friction. So we walk through the programs they built from a real starting point, the incidents that tested them, and how they explained both to people outside security. Every security leader we present also meets our HEART standard.
- Programs they built: the starting point, the team and budget, the frameworks they chose, and the result.
- Incidents they led: how they detected, contained and communicated, and what changed in the program afterward.
- Compliance in practice: the audits they took a company through, and whether the controls held after the auditor left.
- Board communication: what they told the board last quarter, in business terms, and what the board did with it.
| A generalist executive search firm | TekRecruiter |
|---|---|
| Screens on CISSP and CISM | Walks through the programs they built |
| Reads audit experience as security depth | Separates compliance from detection and response |
| Takes the reporting line as given | Settles the reporting line before the search |
| Hears “board experience” and moves on | Asks what they told the board, and what changed |
| Hires the leader, then walks away | Also recruits the security engineers they will lead |
The HEART standard
What we look for beyond skills and experience, in every candidate we present.
- High agencyPeople who see what needs to be done and act without waiting to be told.
- ExecutionPeople who turn ideas into results.
- AccountabilityPeople who own the outcome, not just their piece of the work.
- ResourcefulnessPeople who figure things out when the answer isn’t obvious.
- TransparencyPeople who communicate clearly, honestly, and early.
When a CISO search is the right call.
- SaaS companies selling to enterprises that demand SOC 2 reports and detailed security reviews.
- Regulated industries, including health tech, fintech and companies preparing to go public.
- Companies after an incident or a failed audit that need a leader who will build, not only respond.
- Compliance-only roles with no ownership of security engineering or operations.
- Physical security leadership. We search for information and cybersecurity leaders.
- Virtual or fractional CISO engagements. We search for leaders who join full time.
From the vision to the start date.
Define the mandate
Where the business is now, where this leader must take it in the first year, the team and systems they inherit, and the budget they will work within.
Map and approach
We approach leaders directly, most of whom are not looking, with an anonymized brief that makes the role clear without naming the company.
Assess, present, close
Deep conversations and references on every finalist, then compensation, equity, counteroffers and relocation handled through the start date.
Customer stories.
After eMed’s senior IAM role had been open for more than three months, TekRecruiter found the right candidate in less than a week.
The hiring team needed someone who could build a Java automation framework from scratch, and we had worked the search for six straight months with at least 12 or 13 vendors. TekRecruiter sent one candidate, and he got the job.
TekRecruiter filled more than 12 software engineering roles at eMed.
In less than three days, TekRecruiter found Carewell the perfect senior software engineer with strong TypeScript and Playwright skills.
Qualio hired two senior DevOps engineers for its cloud engineering team from the candidates TekRecruiter presented.
SM2 Dev hired a senior software engineer after TekRecruiter shared three to four candidates within a week, as committed.
The few times I’ve hired over the last five years, I’ve always been vendor neutral, and TekRecruiter has been the staffing partner that filled every one of those open engineering roles.
Their ability to quickly supply highly skilled software and DevOps engineers who blend in well with our existing teams continues to amaze me. They are highly technical at the account management level and transparently propose different solutions, whether staff augmentation or nearshore outsourcing.
CISO search questions, answered.
What does a CISO do?
A Chief Information Security Officer owns the company’s security program: risk assessment, security architecture and controls, compliance frameworks such as SOC 2 and ISO 27001, detection and incident response, security awareness, and reporting risk to executives and the board.
When does a company need a CISO?
Usually when security starts to affect revenue or risk: enterprise customers require SOC 2 and detailed security reviews, the company enters a regulated market, it raises a larger round or prepares to go public, or it has an incident. Earlier-stage companies often start with a Head or Director of Security.
Should the CISO report to the CTO or the CEO?
Both work. Reporting to the CEO gives security independence and board visibility, which regulated and enterprise-facing companies often prefer. Reporting to the CTO keeps security close to engineering. Decide before the search, because it changes who will take the role.
What changed for CISOs at public companies?
Since the SEC’s 2023 cybersecurity rules, public companies must disclose a material cybersecurity incident on Form 8-K within four business days of deciding it is material, and describe each year how they manage cyber risk, how the board oversees it and the expertise of the people responsible. A CISO at a public or pre-IPO company now needs to be ready for that scrutiny.
Has TekRecruiter placed a CISO recently?
Yes. In 2026 we placed a Chief Information Security Officer at a top IT infrastructure company in Atlanta. We also recruit the security engineers under them; see Cybersecurity Engineering.
Is the search retained or contingent?
Both. There is no one-size-fits-all approach: many of our executive searches are retained and some are contingent, depending on the client, the role and the market. We recommend a model before the search starts.
How long does a leadership search take?
From first outreach to the leader’s start date, our leadership searches average about six months. That includes the search, interviews, compensation negotiation and the notice period at the leader’s current company.
Can the search stay confidential?
Yes. We sign NDAs, describe the role in detail but anonymize the company in first conversations, and share company details only with candidates we know we will present. Replacements for sitting leaders are never posted.
What is the HEART standard?
HEART is the standard we screen every candidate against, beyond skills: high agency, execution, accountability, resourcefulness and transparency. It describes people who take ownership, turn ideas into results and move the business forward. See the standard.
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