At SALTER.ME, we are retained headhunters partnering exclusively with Global Executive and Professional Search firms operating across Financial Services. We help our clients attract senior search leaders, practice heads, and high-performing consultants who build and scale credible, commercially driven practices, complex and regulated markets.
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With more than 25 years of experience in retained Executive Search, we bring deep market knowledge, an extensive international network, and a proven ability to deliver senior appointments across London, New York, and other major financial centres.
Our reputation for discretion, integrity, and delivery has made us a trusted partner in navigating senior talent markets. We provide clients and candidates with a genuine “white-glove” service, ensuring confidentiality, precision, and professionalism throughout every stage of the process.
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All of our engagements are conducted on a fully retained basis. Each search is rigorous, confidential, and insight-led. We conduct comprehensive market mapping, engage senior candidates directly and with care, and provide our clients with an informed, detailed perspective of leadership capability across Financial Services. With our global reach and sector depth, no key individual or market insight is ever out of reach.
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CANDIDATE REPRESENTATION:
Our Candidate market insight, advisory, and representation services offer a discreet pathway to uncover and navigate new career opportunities, whether it's an individual trajectory or leading a team into a fresh organisation. With over 20 years of experience, our ties with leading Global Recruitment and Executive Search Firms, Public & Private Recruitment businesses, Private & Institutional Investors, Recruitment Holding Companies, M&A Advisors, and others bolster our esteemed position and wide-reaching network within the industry.
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With each individual, we dive deep into understanding their aspirations, motivations, and ambitions. Hand in hand, we devise a discreet strategy for market navigation. Our engagements are chiefly at the Owner/Board tier. Rather than relying on traditional CVs, our reputation and nuanced grasp of both the individual and the potential organisation set the stage for substantive dialogues. Acutely aware of the profound trust entrusted to us and potential risks, we exercise rigorous confidentiality, revealing identities only when a tangible, reciprocal opportunity surfaces.​
OUR CORE MARKET FOCUS:
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Board, Executive & Leadership Search (C, C-1, C-2 & V-Suite)
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Senior Retained Search (D-Suite)
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Senior Mixed Retained/Non-Retained (D-Suite)
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Senior Interim Management/Contract (Hrly/Day/FTC)
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Research & Insight
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Leadership Consulting & Assessment
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OUR CORE TALENT FOCUS:
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Partner/Managing Partner
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Director/Managing Director
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Director/Associate Director
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Senior/Principal Consultant
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Partner/Director/Head of Research
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Senior/Principal Associate
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OUR CORE FINANCIAL SERVICES COVERAGE:​
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Banking & Capital Markets
Corporate Banking, Commercial Banking, Capital Markets, Treasury Services, Custody and Fund Services, Securities and Brokerage, Broker-Dealers, and Trading Platforms.
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Investment & Asset Management
Investment Management, Asset Management, Hedge Funds, Wealth and Advisory, Pension Funds, Family Offices, and Institutional Investment. -
Private Markets & Alternative Investments
Private Equity, Private Credit, Venture Capital, Infrastructure Investment, Real Assets, Commodities, and Fund of Funds. -
Insurance & Reinsurance
Life, Non-Life, Specialty, and Captive Insurance, Reinsurance, and Brokerage. -
FinTech & Digital Finance
FinTech, Payment Services, Digital Payments, Financial Technology Infrastructure, and Digital Assets and Transformation. -
Governance, Risk & Regulation
Risk Management, Compliance, Financial Crime, Conduct, and Regulatory and Compliance Services. -
Sustainability & Advisory
ESG and Sustainable Finance, and broader Financial Services Consulting and Professional Services.
“INSIGHT PERCEIVES, INTELLIGENCE UNDERSTANDS, INTELLECT COMPREHENDS, WISDOM KNOWS"
- MATSHONA DHLIWAYO
Steven Salter
Founder, SALTER.ME
With more than twenty-five years in retained executive search, I have been based in and worked across the United States and the United Kingdom, operating globally throughout my career. Having led senior hiring both within international search firms and later for private equity investors, I saw first-hand how transactional and volume-driven the recruitment-to-recruitment market was, and how poorly it reflected the calibre of work expected at the top of the industry. I founded SALTER.ME to create a truly discreet, insight-led search partner to the global executive search community, a business built on integrity, ethics, and service without compromise. I had no interest in building another contingent business competing for hires; I wanted to create something altogether different, a white-glove retained search partner that reflects the standards, depth, and discretion expected at the top of the market.
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My career has included leading Ajilon Executive, the retained executive search arm of Adecco, before joining James Caan’s private equity firm, Hamilton Bradshaw, as Head of Talent. Those years gave me a unique perspective on how leadership and culture drive performance and long-term value across the search industry. Having since worked across multiple markets, my work today focuses exclusively on Financial Services, partnering with global Executive and Professional Search firms to identify and attract outstanding senior talent and build high-performing, credible practices. Over the years, I have completed hundreds of retained searches, helping exceptional organisations hire outstanding people while building enduring relationships grounded in trust, discretion, and care.
“THOSE WHO FOLLOW THE CROWD, USUALLY GET LOST IN IT”
- RICK WARREN
“WE ARE WHAT WE REPEATEDLY DO.
EXCELLENCE, THEN, IS NOT AN ACT,
BUT A HABIT”
- WILL DURANT
RESEARCH, INSIGHT & INTELLIGENCE:
Our foundation lies in the ever-adaptive realm of Research & Insight (R&I), which remains central to our ethos. Benefitting from our extensive industry tenure, we tap into our far-reaching global connections to deliver unsurpassed client and candidate services. A synergy of our internal specialists and external collaborators allows us to craft bespoke R&I solutions, featuring rigorous Market Mapping and Benchmarking initiatives across the sector. We extend discreet yet profound insights into markets, talent pools, and competitor movements, thus enabling our clients to chart strategic and informed pathways.
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INTERNAL & EXTERNAL BENCHMARKING:
In the highly competitive arena of Global Recruitment, the scramble for top-tier talent is ceaseless. Our expertise affords clients the precision to calibrate remuneration structures across roles—be it Senior, Leadership, Emergent Leadership Talent, Executive, or Non-Executive. By delivering real-time compensation analytics of competitor enterprises, we empower clients to sculpt competitive strategies, ensuring they remain magnets for industry-leading talent.
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MARKET MAPPING:
Spanning over two and a half decades, we've been meticulously analysing the Global Recruitment landscape, dedicating the recent decade exclusively to the Global Executive/Leadership Search Industry. Our commitment to a proactive, contemporaneous research methodology ensures we remain abreast of market nuances. This dedication ensures swift, pinpoint search operations. Our bespoke research techniques provide a holistic and deep dive into the Global Industry's pulse.
@SALTER.ME (Jensal Ltd)
71-75 Shelton Street, London, WC2H 9JQ5
Email: steven@salter.me
“We are a signatory to HM Government’s Voluntary Code of Conduct for Executive Search Firms.”
