The Search
For buyers who know they need to hire externally.
Retained executive search for senior AI-era roles. We evaluate candidates against the version of the role the next 3–5 years will demand — not just the job description today.
The leader who fits the role today may not be the leader the role needs in 18 months.
Retained executive search and leadership readiness diagnostics for AI-era roles — built by a partner who delivered 500+ hires inside NVIDIA during the AI shift.
You are usually here for one of three reasons.
- You know you need to hire a senior leader.
- You are unsure whether an existing leader, finalist, or role can scale.
- You need to reset how a leader operates in an AI-changed role.
The Readiness Index
For buyers privately uncertain whether a leader, finalist, or role can scale.
A scored diagnostic. Six evidence-graded dimensions. One route: Transform, Search, or Rescope — meaning the role itself may be structurally wrong before the market is tested.
The Transformation
For senior leaders already in seat who need to reset their AI operating posture.
An 8-week 1:1 sprint. Diagnostic-informed. Evidence-graded.
Why the recommendation is the recommendation.
The Index is priced independently so the recommendation stays independent. If the evidence says Transform, we say Transform. If it says Search, we say Search. If it says Rescope, we say the role is broken before we sell a search.
Project Atlas
The search does not disappear into a black box.
Every search runs on a visible artifact system: mandate brief, market map, candidate defense, slate logic, weekly memo, and decision record. The client sees the thinking, not just the activity.
Composite example. Names changed. Structure unchanged.
PROJECT ATLAS·MANDATE BRIEF
Role
VP, AI Infrastructure
Reports to: CTO · Direct reports: 4 (growing to 9 within 12 months)
Scope: Full ownership of training, inference, and developer platform
Calibration parameters
Must have
- Production experience scaling >1,000 GPU clusters
- Built or run a multi-tenant inference platform at >$10M ARR
- Hired and held 4+ senior IC/EM staff through hypergrowth
Strong have
- NVIDIA, hyperscaler, or AI-native infra background
- Public technical voice (talks, papers, GitHub)
Dealbreakers
- Pure research background with no production scar tissue
- Anyone who has not survived an on-call rotation in the last 3 years
Compensation envelope
Base$325K – $375KEquity0.4% – 0.7% (Series B refresh post-close)Sign-onNegotiable up to $250KY1 target$1.1M – $1.4M
Process commitments
Slate target5 candidatesSlateMid-search slate checkpointFirst offerOffer-stage milestoneCloseClose-stage milestone
Confidential · RunRetained · Project Atlas · 14 Apr 2026
PROJECT ATLAS·MARKET MAP
Segment 1 — AI-native infra leaders
Identified47Qualified22Contacted18In conversation9
Cohort leads: A1, A2, A3, A4, A5, A6
Strongest pool. Two Staff-level candidates already pre-IPO.
Segment 2 — Hyperscaler platform directors
Identified31Qualified14Contacted11In conversation4
Cohort leads: B1, B2, B3, B4
Comp delta is the friction. RSU-heavy packages competing.
Segment 3 — PE-backed infra CTOs
Identified18Qualified6Contacted5In conversation1
Wrong altitude. De-prioritized as primary segment early in mapping.
Confidential · RunRetained · Project Atlas · 23 Apr 2026
PROJECT ATLAS·CANDIDATE DEFENSE
Why them — evidence
- Built and ran the training cluster from 800 → 6,400 GPUs over 22 months
- Authored the company's internal inference-cost reduction program (43% reduction, two quarters)
- Hired 6 of 8 senior ICs currently running the platform
- Operating altitude: presenting at board level despite IC title
- Public technical voice: 2 conference talks, active on hardware forums
Risk surface
- First-VP move. Mitigation: already operating at scope; CEO reference confirmed
- Comp gap: $4.2M unvested. Mitigation: sign-on + accelerated refresh modeled
- SF Bay-based, role hybrid. Mitigation: confirmed willingness to travel monthly
Reference signal — back-channel, 4 sources
Direct manager: "If she leaves, we're in trouble. She's the operating spine of the platform team."
Peer Staff Engineer: "The most clear-headed infra leader I've worked with in ten years."
Future-proof lens
24–36 month scale view: operating altitude already at VP. Pattern of compounding scope ownership. Risk of plateau low; risk of outgrowing the role exists if Series C scope does not expand.
Recommendation
Strong Yes. Lead candidate. Move to founder interview at next-stage milestone.
Confidential · RunRetained · Project Atlas · 06 May 2026
PROJECT ATLAS·SLATE OF FIVE
A2Staff Eng, AI-native unicorn · 800→6400 GPU build · First VPStrong Yes
A4Sr Director, hyperscaler · Multi-tenant infra at scale · Comp gapYes
A1Staff Eng, AI-native unicorn · Inference cost program lead · Comms styleYes
B1Director, hyperscaler · 12K GPU production fleet · Risk-averseQualified
A6Principal, AI-native unicorn · Built platform from zero · Earliness in roleQualified
Confidential · RunRetained · Project Atlas · 19 May 2026
PROJECT ATLAS·WEEK 5 MEMO
Velocity
Outreach sent42 ▲ 6First conversations11 ▲ 2Deep-dives5 ▲ 1Defense briefs3 ▲ 1Slate-track7 —
Conversions
Outreach → conversation26% (target 22%)Conversation → deep-dive45% (target 40%)Deep-dive → defense60% (target 55%)
Slate health
On track against agreed search cadence. Lead: A2 (Strong Yes, founder interview Wed). Backup depth: A1, A4 advancing. B1 and A6 in evaluation.
Decisions needed
- Equity refresh structure for A2 — CFO sign-off by Friday
- Reference release for A4 — pending current employer notification window
- Confirm: open to remote-first for the right candidate?
Next week commitments
- Founder interviews: A2 (Wed), A1 (Thu)
- 8 net-new outreach in Segment 1
- Defense briefs: A4, B1
Confidential · RunRetained · Project Atlas · 19 May 2026
The Lens
An evidence standard for AI-era leadership readiness.
No evidence = no score.
- 01
AI Leverage Judgment
What we test: Whether the leader can move an AI idea from discussion to an operating plan with a named owner, a business metric, an adoption path, and a defined risk boundary.
Evidence might include: A documented prioritization framework, AI ideas the leader rejected or paused with stated reasoning, and named adoption paths or pilots.
- 02
Workflow Redesign
What we test: Whether the leader has redesigned a workflow they own because AI, automation, or better tooling changed what was possible — not just added a tool to the old process.
Evidence might include: Cycle-time changes, ownership shifts, review-loop rework, or output-quality changes attributable to deliberate redesign.
- 03
Learning Velocity
What we test: Whether the leader has formally reallocated meeting time, budget, or headcount because the business context changed — and at what cadence.
Evidence might include: Meeting cadence changes, budget reallocation against a new test cell, or named owners for new operating bets.
- 04
Human + Machine Leadership Range
What we test: Whether the leader can clearly define what should be automated, augmented, escalated, or kept human in their function — and has set decision rights to match.
Evidence might include: Documented decision rights, review rules for AI-assisted work, and escalation paths the team operates against.
- 05
Signal Clarity
What we test: Whether the leader has changed the signals they use to run the business as speed and information volume increased — and whether those signals help others make better decisions.
Evidence might include: Updated dashboards, decision-record artifacts, or operating reviews that produce decisions, not just status.
- 06
Cross-Functional Translation Power
What we test: Whether the leader can secure active buy-in or budget across functions on messy AI, automation, workforce, or operating-model decisions.
Evidence might include: Documented alignment artifacts, named adjacent-function sponsors, and decisions that cleared a function boundary.
Founder & Method
“Jason’s approach to talent recruiting is state-of-the-art and game-changing.”
Jason La Barbera built RunRetained from 25 years in executive search — including six years inside NVIDIA, where he delivered 500+ hires during the AI shift. Distinguished Engineer, SVP, VP, and Senior Director searches across AI, GPU cloud, storage, and platform. He built the firm to be the one he wished existed when he was the buyer.
Confidentiality is the default. Named references available on request, post-NDA.
- One partner. A visible operating system. Judgment stays with Jason.
- Compounding. Your second search starts with the calibration earned on the first.
Questions buyers ask before they call.
- Why not just call references?
- References describe how a leader fit the role they were hired into. The right question is whether they can scale into the role the next 18–36 months will demand. Evidence answers that. References usually don’t.
- How long does a senior search typically take?
- Senior search engagements commonly run across a multi-month process, depending on role complexity, market depth, stakeholder availability, and candidate timing. We define the expected cadence before kickoff.
- How is this different from executive coaching?
- Executive coaching is bounded by what the leader is open to. The Transformation is bounded by what the role demands. We start with diagnostic evidence, not coaching goals, and the work is operating-system focused — workflow design, decision rights, signal architecture — not personality or communication.
- Will the Index always recommend a Search?
- No. The Index can route to Transform, Search, or Rescope. Rescope means the role is structurally wrong before the market is even tested — and there is no downstream search fee for us. That’s the test.
- Can my CHRO own this internally?
- Yes. The methodology is designed to support internal sponsorship. In most cases, the CHRO can own the internal process while the CEO, board, or sponsor holds the strategic decision.
- Do you work below Director level?
- No. RunRetained is built for senior leadership, executive, and high-leverage technical leadership roles.
Built for / not built for.
Built for
- AI/ML leadership — VP, SVP, Distinguished Engineer, Principal Architect
- Infrastructure and platform engineering leadership
- Product and GTM leadership at PE-backed scaleups
- Confidential replacements and successions
- Targeted market mapping for board-level talent planning
Not built for
- Director-level and below
- Companies looking to outsource the leadership decision itself
- Buyers seeking software without search judgment
- Roles where speed and price matter more than fit
If a leader is on your mind, start there.
If you already know you need to hire, start a confidential search. If you are not sure whether the leader, role, or search is the answer, request the Readiness Index.
Confidentiality is the default. Sensitive leadership questions, replacement searches, succession concerns, and diagnostic findings are handled directly by Jason and shared only with agreed stakeholders.