We find people
who aren’t looking.
Matches Made Meaningful
What to Expect
Executive search for organizations that refuse to settle.
Most recruiters search the same pool. We go further — deeper into networks, longer into conversations, and further past the resume to find the person who changes everything for your organization.
Our ApproachWe hire for where you’re going, not where you’ve been.
We start with your direction, not your vacancy. Understanding the next chapter means the people we find are built for it.
Every candidate leaves the process with their dignity intact.
How you treat people who don’t get the job matters as much as how you treat those who do. We never forget that.
We’ll tell you what you need to hear, not what you want to.
If the role is mis-scoped, the comp is off-market, or the timeline is unrealistic — we’ll say so. That’s what you’re paying for.
The relationship doesn’t end at the offer letter.
We stay close after placement because a great hire isn’t just found — it’s onboarded, supported, and retained.
Trusted By
Where We Work
Across sectors that shape communities.
We specialize in senior and executive-level search across industries where the right leader changes everything.
How It Works
Three steps.
No shortcuts.
Every search follows the same discipline — listen first, search deep, close with integrity. It’s not complicated. It’s just not how everyone does it.
Work With UsDiscovery
Understand what you actually need.
We spend serious time with you before we spend any time searching. The role, the team, the culture, the gap — we need to understand all of it before we can find the right person for any of it.
Search
Go find the people no one else is talking to.
We don’t post and pray. We build a target list, work our network, and reach out directly to people who aren’t actively looking — because those are often the best candidates.
Close
Get everyone to yes — and mean it.
An offer accepted is not a search completed. We manage the close with honesty and care on both sides, so the placement sticks and everyone starts on the right foot.
The Team
Small on purpose. Invested by design.
Every search at Hawthorne is led by someone who has done this long enough to know the difference between a candidate who looks right and one who actually is.
Scott McGaw
Founder & Principal Consultant
15+ years in executive search. Built Hawthorne to do this differently — with honesty, curiosity, and relentless commitment to fit.
Meet Scott →
Abby Vansnick
Consultant
Sharp instinct and genuine warmth. The kind of recruiter who remembers what you said six months ago — because she was actually listening.
Meet Abby →Latest Thinking
Perspectives on hiring, leadership, and doing this work well.
Job boards create depression.
Job searching in transition is a grief experience. The system was built for volume, not humans. That loss deserves to be named.
The most important work I do doesn’t happen in a search.
It happens in a conversation with someone who has forgotten who they are. The days that gave versus the days that took.
The strongest leaders share one trait. Accountability.
It’s also the thing that most often breaks them. When the environment shifts and they turn it inward.
Let’s Talk
The right search starts
with the right conversation.
Whether you’re looking to build a team or make a move, we’d love to understand what you’re working through. No agenda required.