Leadership hiring when the cost of getting it wrong is measured in months, not resumes
Most searches don't fail in execution. They fail before sourcing starts — when the role gets defined around assumptions nobody has tested, requirements get added until the profile is impossible, and the offer gets built against comp data that doesn't reflect the market you're actually competing in.
Building Blocks is built around a different starting point. Before a search runs, the business problem gets diagnosed. The role gets pressure-tested. The conditions for a successful hire get established.
That's why the searches complete. And why the hires stick.
Why leadership searches stall — even when the talent is there
The brief looks complete. The role is defined. Everyone says they're aligned.
But the business problem the hire is supposed to solve hasn't been fully examined. The requirements reflect what someone imagined, not what the role actually needs to deliver. The comp was set before anyone tested it against the market.
By the time sourcing starts, the search is already off course. The process moves. The decision doesn't get made.
The most important work in a search happens before the first profile gets reviewed.
That's where I start.
What changes when one person owns the decision
The first conversation isn't about the job description. It's about the business.
What decision is behind this hire? How are you managing without it today? What have you tried, and what did that experience tell you? What breaks if this isn't filled in the next 60 days?
The answers to those questions determine whether the role as written will actually solve the problem — or whether the search is being built around a profile that looks right on paper but misses what the business actually needs.
Once the problem is clear, the role gets defined to solve it. Requirements get tested against market reality. The search runs with a spec that holds.
Troy Frank | Managing Principal
25 years in executive search. 150+ leadership placements across GTM, product, data, and AI. I work with growth-stage founders, VC talent partners, and operating partners on the hires that shape what happens next.
92% completion rate
95% retention rate
45–60 days to offer
Who this is for
Venture and investor-backed companies
Founders and operators at Series A through C companies where the next leadership hire shapes execution and trajectory — and where getting it wrong is measured in runway, not just time.
VC and PE talent partners
Talent and operating partners who need a search managed deliberately from the start — not handed off to a team that takes the brief at face value.
The roles:
Most searches are VP and SVP-level heads of function across commercial, product, clinical, analytics, and market access. The layer where execution strategy gets built.
When the decision model is tested
These are examples of leadership decisions made under real constraints.
PE-backed life sciences company | SVP Global Sales
We needed to rebuild our sales organization post-acquisition—moving from a relationship-driven EU model to a high-velocity U.S. enterprise motion. The real risk was hiring someone who looked right on paper but couldn’t execute the shift.
Troy pressure-tested what would actually transfer and placed our SVP in 10 weeks. That hire led the commercial transformation and we completed the rebuild on schedule.
— CCO, PE-backed life sciences company
Series C RWD analytics company | Principal Data Scientist
We didn’t have a job description. We had a problem. The role needed deep oncology expertise, real coding ability, and the credibility to work directly with C-suite customers.
Troy helped us define what the role needed to be before going to market. The first hire became the template for our customer success science team.
— VP, Data Products, Series C analytics company
PE-backed digital health platform | VP Product (M&A Integration)
We were merging a consumer health asset with a B2B analytics platform—two completely different business models. The risk was hiring someone strong in one who couldn’t bridge both.
Troy found a leader who unified product strategy across the portfolio. They built the team, delivered the integrated roadmap, and positioned us for the next market shift.