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Aerospace · Defense · Space Executive Search

When the hire cannot fail.

Six months open. Another firm already burned. A program slipping. That is when clients call us. EXO Talent Partners is a retained executive search firm placing senior leaders at the aerospace and defense manufacturers the primes depend on.

Start the ConversationRecent Engagements
Retained
Search is the default
One Sector
A&D, exclusively
Founder-Run
Every search, personally
175+
Placements across A&D
~9 yrs
Aerospace & defense recruiting
6 to 8 wks
Typical retained close, intake to acceptance
8
Concurrent retained roles, single client
What Makes Us Different

One sector. Four boardrooms.

Most aerospace and defense executive search firms specialize in one capital structure. EXO works across all four, because senior leadership in this industry moves between them.

PE

Private Equity

Operating partners and portfolio company CEOs. The hundred-day plan. EBITDA discipline. Bolt-on integration.

PUB

Public Companies

Tier 1 primes and listed A&D operators. Comp packages that clear the proxy. Governance that is real.

PRV

Privately Held

Founder-led and family-owned defense manufacturers. Culture is the search, not a side check.

GOV

Government Contracting

Cleared workforce, capture and BD leadership, DFARS, ITAR, and CMMC fluency. Built for DoD and space-program contractors.

Recent Work

Searches that closed where others stalled.

A deliberately small book of leadership searches for aerospace and defense organizations. The majority of our work is confidential and never appears publicly. The engagements below are anonymized.

Defense Electronics · Supply Chain Leadership

Director of Supply Chain recruited back into defense, against a Tier 1 offer.

The client needed a supply chain leader the market was not producing. We recruited a passive candidate out of a Fortune 50 entertainment company, brought him back into defense, and closed against a competing Tier 1 offer.

RetainedPassive candidateCompeting offer
Defense Electronics · Account Velocity

Three senior placements inside eight weeks of signing the MSA.

Engaged in mid-May. By mid-July, three leadership seats were filled and the engagement had grown from two searches to eight concurrent retained roles. Velocity is the product of doing the intake right.

Retained portfolio8 concurrent roles
Tier 1 Prime · Critical Minerals

Critical-minerals leader recruited out of a prime after 21 years.

A defense manufacturer needed a leader for a strategic critical-minerals and category-management mandate, a seat with no ready talent pool. We found a supply chain executive who had spent 21 years inside a Tier 1 prime, made the case for a move most recruiters could not open, and placed him into the role.

Retained21-year passiveCritical minerals
Tier 1 Prime · Manufacturing

Director of Manufacturing moved prime to prime, through multiple counteroffers.

Our client, a Tier 1 prime, needed a manufacturing director for a larger mandate than the candidate already held. We recruited a leader with 10 years inside another Tier 1 prime, carried him through multiple counteroffers from his employer, and closed the move into the bigger seat.

RetainedPrime to primeBeat multiple counteroffers
Recent placements

Selected recent placements. Leadership and senior seats closed for aerospace and defense manufacturers and PE-backed industrial platforms.

Executive & General Management
  • VP of OperationsAerospace & Defense Manufacturer
Director
  • Senior Director of EngineeringTier 2 HiRel
  • Director of Program ManagementTier 2 HiRel
  • Director of OperationsPublic Aerospace Manufacturer
  • Director of ManufacturingTier 1 Prime
  • Director of Supply Chain, Proposal & StrategyTier 1 Prime
  • Director of Critical Minerals, Supply ChainTier 1 Prime
  • Director of Strategic SourcingTier 1 Prime
  • Director of Strategic Accounts & Business DevelopmentTier 2 HiRel
Senior Manager
  • Senior Material Program ManagerTier 1 Prime
  • Senior Manager, Supply Chain & ProcurementTier 2 Sub
  • Senior Manager, Supply Chain Category ManagementTier 1 Prime
  • Senior Manager, Supply ChainTier 1 Prime
  • Senior Manager, Electrical CategoryTier 1 Prime
Manager
  • Mechanical Category ManagerTier 1 Prime
  • Business Development ManagerTier 2 A&D Manufacturer

More engagements →

How We Work

A named process. Not a promise.

Every retained search runs the same five-stage discipline. Clients see the stage, the status, and what happens next, every week.

01

Calibration

Real intake with the hiring manager and stakeholders. The seat, the politics, the comp envelope, the failure modes.

02

Market Map

The companies and operators who actually do this work, mapped before outreach begins.

03

Direct Outreach

Passive candidates, approached directly. Not job boards. Not databases.

04

Two-Stage Screen

Capability first, then calibration against the client, so every submittal is worth a meeting.

05

Aligned Offer

Comp, relocation, and counteroffer risk handled upstream, so the finish is a formality.

Alex Ganz, founder of EXO Talent Partners, aerospace and defense executive recruiter
The Founder

Built by a practitioner.

I spent four years building an aerospace and defense executive search practice inside a global firm. By the time I left, I had a clear picture of what this market needed and what it was not getting.

Clients were not losing searches because of bad luck. They were losing them because the recruiter did not understand clearance requirements, could not benchmark compensation in regulated markets, and did not have the relationships to reach passive candidates.

I founded EXO to fix that. Every search runs through me personally.

If a search is worth retaining, it is worth my full attention.

More about Alex →

What Clients Say

On the record.

“Alex played a pivotal role in one of the most significant decisions of my career. I would not have made that leap without him. What set him apart most was his integrity.”

Chris Rainone · Director, Critical Materials & Category Management

“By far the best recruiter I have worked with in my career. Initial contact in May, offer in June, start date in July. Prompt, knowledgeable, and committed to the right match.”

Julius Madai · Supply Chain Leader, Aerospace & Defense

“Alex kept me well-informed at every stage and ensured there were no surprises along the way. His ability to coordinate efficiently with the hiring team made the experience smooth and stress-free.”

Jagat Shah · Director of Program Management

“Alex leads a top one percent recruiting firm. He prepared me for every interview and sold me on a new opportunity, and I am working with him now to fill positions on my own team.”

Brian T. Wysocki, PMP · Business Leader

Recommendations from leaders EXO has placed. More on LinkedIn →

Engage EXO

Have a role that cannot wait?

One call and you will know if we can help. You get a straight answer on fit within twenty-four hours, and a shortlist in weeks, not months. Fast and precise, because every search runs through the founder personally.

Book a 20-Minute CallOr send the details

Prefer direct? Email contact@exotalentpartners.com or call +1 (972) 607-3210.