Dakota Marketplace FOR Executive Search

Upload the Brief. Get the Top 20 Candidates.

PE executive search is a research problem. Dakota delivers 150,000+ sponsor-backed executive profiles with full career histories and transaction records, plus an AI that reads your brief and surfaces the top 20 best fits in minutes.

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150K+

Sponsor-Backed Exec Profiles

640,000+

Private Companies

Full

Career Bios & Work History

$995

Per User / Per Year

AI Included

Brief-to-Candidates App, Upload a brief, get ranked results in minutes

The Feature No Other Executive Search Tool Has

Upload the Executive Brief. Dakota AI Returns the Top 20 Best-Fit Candidates.

Upload a full Executive Brief and receive a ranked list of the 20 best-fit candidates from 150,000+ sponsor-backed executive profiles, in minutes rather than weeks.

Upload Executive Brief

Upload the role brief, job description, PE sponsor context, industry, revenue stage, geographic requirements, and cultural fit criteria

AI Reads the Brief

Dakota's Claude-powered AI reads every field of the brief and identifies the key matching criteria, industry experience, deal scale, PE ownership type, functional depth

Matches 150K+ Profiles

The AI cross-references the brief against 150,000+ sponsor-backed executive bios, career histories, and transaction records in real time

✓

Top 20 Best Fits, Ranked

A ranked list of the 20 best-fit candidates with match rationale, bio excerpts, and direct contact information, ready for the first outreach call

Brief-Specific Matching, Not Generic Search Filters

Dakota's AI reads the full Executive Brief as a document, understanding nuanced requirements like "led a company through a PE-sponsored carve-out" or "managed EBITDA expansion from $12M to $45M," and matches against those specific criteria, not just titles and industries.

Transaction-Backed Track Records, Not Just Titles

Every executive bio is linked to the transactions that occurred at their companies. The AI matches candidates who have been through the specific type of transaction your PE client is planning, filtering by actual deal experience, not claimed experience.

Days to Minutes, The Speed Advantage

The first-cut candidate list typically takes 3-7 days of researcher time. Dakota's AI produces the same list in under 10 minutes, shifting researcher capacity from screening to engagement.

Surfaces Candidates You Would Not Have Found

The most valuable candidates are often not in the recruiter's network and not actively looking. Dakota's AI scans 150,000+ profiles and surfaces non-obvious candidates who are the best fits but require active sourcing to reach.

Why Dakota Is Different for Executive Search

150,000+ Sponsor-Backed Executives. Full Bios. Verified Contacts. Transaction History.

PE firms are not looking for the best CEO in the world. They are looking for the specific CEO who has operated a PE-backed company of the right size, in the right sector, through the right ownership cycle. Most talent databases have titles and employers. Dakota has the full professional biography, the career trajectory, and the transaction history of every deal under each executive's tenure.

We used to spend the first week of every search just getting to a qualified longlist. Dakota cuts that to a single afternoon. The AI matching against the brief is remarkably accurate, it surfaces candidates with exactly the right PE-backed operating experience that we would have found eventually through manual research, but would have taken us days to identify.

Managing Partner, PE-Focused Executive Search Firm

150,000+ Sponsor-Backed Execs, The PE Universe Specifically

150,000+ executives at sponsor-backed portfolio companies with full biographical data, career history, prior roles, and the specific PE context of each position they have held. Not scraped from LinkedIn.

Full Career Bios, The History That Makes the Difference

The difference between a PE-backed operator and a founder-owned company CEO is significant and not visible from a LinkedIn profile. Dakota's biographical data captures the full career context so search firms can assess fit before the first outreach call.

Transaction Track Records, Performance Linked to Outcomes

Dakota links every executive bio to the transaction history of companies they have run, with buyer, deal timeline, and value creation context. Identify executives whose track record includes the specific outcome your client is seeking to replicate.

Direct Contact Information, Reach the Candidate Directly

Direct phone and email for 150,000+ executives, not LinkedIn InMail, not a request through an assistant. Verified daily so the first contact from the search firm is direct and current.

Sample Executive Profiles

The Depth of What Dakota Has on Every Sponsor-Backed Executive.

Representative examples of the biographical detail, career history, and transaction linkage that makes candidate evaluation possible before the first conversation.

* All executive names are redacted. All actual Dakota profiles include verified contact information, direct phone numbers, and email addresses updated daily.

C-Suite Role Coverage

Every Role Your PE Clients Need to Fill, In the Database.

Every C-suite role PE firms hire search firms to fill, with functional bio depth and prior role history specific to each position.

CEO

Chief Executive Officer

Operational leaders with documented PE ownership cycle experience, EBITDA expansion, add-on integrations, and exit preparation. The most searched role in PE executive search.

PE operating experience, Hold period track records, Exit history

CFO

Chief Financial Officer

Finance leaders with PE portfolio experience in working capital management, lender relationships, financial reporting build-out, and exit preparation. Carve-out experience flagged where present.

Carve-out, Exit prep, Lender mgmt, Reporting build-out

COO

Chief Operating Officer

Operational leaders experienced in scaling PE-backed businesses through process improvement, KPI development, and operational infrastructure build-out. Often the CEO successor candidate.

Operations scaling, Process build, KPI development, CEO track

CIO/CTO

Chief Information / Technology Officer

Technology leaders with PE portfolio experience in ERP implementations, technology modernization under ownership transition, and digital transformation mandates. Increasing demand post-acquisition.

ERP implementation, Tech modernization, Post-acquisition mandate

CMO

Chief Marketing Officer

Marketing leaders with PE portfolio experience in brand repositioning under ownership changes, revenue marketing, and digital build-out for historically offline businesses.

Brand repositioning, Revenue marketing, Digital build-out

CCO/CSO

Chief Compliance / Strategy Officer

Compliance and strategy leaders at regulated PE portfolio companies in healthcare, financial services, and insurance. Increasing PE demand for compliance infrastructure build-out post-acquisition.

Regulated sectors, Compliance build-out, PE ownership context

What's in Every Executive Profile

Six Data Layers Per Executive, Everything That Makes Candidate Evaluation Possible.

Six layers of biographical and contextual data that allow search firms to assess fit before the first call, not during it.

Biography

Full Professional Biography, Career Narrative

Not just current role and employer. The context, scale, and functional responsibilities of each position, so search firms know whether this person has actually done what the client needs.

Full bio, Career narrative, Functional depth, Educational background

Work History

Prior Role History, Every Position, Every Company

Employer, title, tenure, and business context for each role. The sequence that shows whether an executive has progressed through the right types of companies at the right scale inflection points.

Role sequence, Tenure data, Company context, Sponsor ownership noted

Transaction History

Deal Track Record, Performance Linked to Outcomes

Every M&A transaction, exit, and financing event at companies the executive has led, linked to their specific role and tenure. Filter by the exact transaction type your client is planning.

Exits, Recapitalizations, Add-on integrations, Exit multiples

Company Context

Sponsor Ownership and Portfolio Context

Which PE firm owns the current company, when they acquired it, and what the typical hold period looks like. Tells search firms whether a candidate is likely available or in a period of transition.

Sponsor ownership, Hold period, Fund strategy, Availability signals

Direct Contact

Verified Direct Contact Information

Direct phone and email, not LinkedIn InMail, not routed through corporate communications. Verified daily by the Dakota research team. Updates automatically when a candidate changes roles.

Direct phone, Verified email, Daily verification, Role change alerts

Scale Intelligence

Revenue Scale, Company Size and Growth Context

Revenue range and employee count of every company the executive has operated. Assess scale fit before screening calls, not during them.

Revenue ranges, Employee counts, Growth stage context, Scale fit assessment

A Day in the Life

What an Executive Search Engagement Looks Like With Dakota.

The workflow that used to take two weeks now takes two days.

Day 1, Mandate Kickoff

PE firm sends the Executive Brief for a new CEO search at a healthcare services portfolio company

The brief specifies: PE-backed operating experience, $100M-$300M revenue, healthcare services background, prior add-on integration experience, geography flexible, $700K-$900K compensation, exit in 3-4 years.

AI App: Upload the brief, AI reads all criteria, returns ranked list of top 20 CEOs from 150K+ bios who match PE background + healthcare services + scale + add-on experience. Delivered in under 10 minutes.

Day 1, Afternoon

Review AI-generated longlist, add context from search firm's own network

14 of the 20 AI-matched candidates are strong fits. 6 are close but have one visible disqualifying factor. The search team adds 3 from their own network. Total longlist: 17 qualified names, built in 4 hours rather than 2 weeks.

Dakota delivers: Full bio on each candidate, prior role history, transaction track record at each prior company, direct contact information for outreach, all in one view.

Day 2, First Outreach

Call the top 8 candidates directly using Dakota's verified direct contact information

Direct calls to the mobile numbers in Dakota's database, verified current as of this week. The conversation starts with specifics about the candidate's prior PE experience and transaction history, which signals preparation and earns their time.

Dakota delivers: Direct phone numbers and emails for every candidate on the longlist, verified, current, and updated daily as executives change roles.

Day 5, Shortlist Presentation

Present a 6-candidate shortlist to the PE client with full contextual backing

Each candidate presentation includes Dakota's bio summary, role history, transaction track record, and the specific reasons their background aligns with the mandate. PE partners see candidates who have demonstrably done what the role requires.

AI App: Use Dakota's AI to generate a comparative summary of the 6 shortlisted candidates against the original brief criteria, giving the PE client a structured assessment for their partner review meeting.

Understanding the PE Executive Search Market

Why PE-Mandated Executive Search Is Different, And Why Dakota Is Built for It.

PE clients are the most demanding and most specific executive search clients in the market. Dakota is purpose-built for search firms operating in that environment.

Time Is Deal Value, Speed Matters More Than in Corporate Search

Every month a key role sits vacant is a month of value creation lost. PE firms measure GPs on IRR. Search firms that compress timelines win more mandates. Dakota's AI compresses the research phase from weeks to hours.

AI matching: longlist in minutes, Speed is mandate-winning competitive advantage

PE Experience Required, Not Optional, Not Interchangeable

PE clients strongly prefer candidates who have already operated in a PE-owned company and understand board reporting, EBITDA management, and operating partner relationships. Dakota's 150,000+ sponsor-backed profiles enable exactly this search.

150K+ sponsor-backed profiles, PE experience flagged, Hold period context

Briefs Are Specific, The Matching Problem Is Real

A brief for a $150M healthcare services portco with add-on strategy is meaningfully different from a brief for a $150M IT services portco being prepared for exit. Dakota's AI reads these distinctions and matches accordingly.

Brief-specific AI matching, Nuanced criteria processing, Not keyword filtering

Search Firms Win Mandates From PE Firms, Dakota Helps Win Both

Dakota serves search firms on two fronts: delivering the right candidates quickly, and identifying PE firms with active portfolio needs. 5,000+ PE firm profiles with hold period signals show which sponsors are in active hiring mode right now.

5,000+ PE firms, Portco hold periods, Active hiring signals

Portco Transactions Equal Immediate Hiring Mandates

Every PE acquisition creates immediate executive hiring needs. Dakota's transaction feed identifies every new acquisition as a potential search mandate, with the sponsor contact and portco CEO information for proactive BD outreach.

20,000+ transactions, New acquisition = new mandate, BD opportunity signal

Business Development, Know Which PE Firms Need Your Services

Know which sponsors are active, which portcos are in early hold periods needing management build-out, and which PE firms are expanding in your sector. Dakota replaces inbound referrals with systematic intelligence-driven BD.

GP firm contacts, Managing partner access, Portco build-out signals

Measurable Impact for Executive Search Firms

Four Outcomes That Change How Search Firms Compete for PE Mandates.

Every mandate won faster and with stronger candidates builds the track record that wins the next mandate.

Days

Not Weeks, AI Matching Compresses the Research Phase

The first-cut longlist typically takes 1-2 weeks of researcher time. Dakota's AI compresses that to under 10 minutes, shifting capacity from database browsing to candidate engagement and relationship development.

For search firms with 10 active mandates at any time, Dakota's AI saves 20-40 researcher weeks per year, capacity for 4-8 additional mandates at the same headcount.

5-10×

Expansion in Searchable Executive Universe

Most PE-focused search firms cover a few thousand executives well and the rest sparsely. Dakota's 150,000+ profiles expand the searchable universe by 5-10x from day one, surfacing candidates who are exactly what the brief requires but outside the recruiter's existing network.

The most valuable candidates are often the non-obvious ones, the COO of a sponsor-backed industrial company in a secondary market who has exactly the right scale and PE experience but is not in the recruiter's existing network.

Stronger

Shortlists, Transaction-Backed Track Records, Not Just Titles

A shortlist built from full career histories and transaction track records is more defensible to a PE client than one built from LinkedIn profiles. When presenting a CEO candidate, the search firm can point to prior PE-backed companies, exits in their track record, and specific EBITDA growth delivered.

PE clients evaluate shortlists differently than corporate clients. They want operating evidence, not career progression. Dakota gives search firms the evidence layer that makes every presentation more compelling.

PE Mandates, Business Development From Transaction Intelligence

Dakota's transaction feed identifies every new PE acquisition as a potential search mandate. Search firms using Dakota for BD know which PE firms have new portcos in their target sectors and when hold periods are reaching inflection points that trigger leadership changes.

The search firm that calls the PE operating partner one week after a new portco acquisition wins mandates that reactive firms never hear about.

Pricing and Access

The Most Affordable PE Search Intelligence Tool in the Market.

Priced for individual researchers and partners, not as an enterprise software contract. A single placement fee from one PE-mandated search pays for a full year of Dakota access for your entire team.

See the AI App Live, Upload a Real Brief →

Dakota Marketplace, Executive Search Access

$995

Per user, Per year

✦ AI Brief-to-Candidates App included

Full Access Includes

Full access to 150,000+ sponsor-backed executive profiles with bios

Complete career histories and prior role detail for every executive

Transaction track records linked to each executive's company history

Verified direct contact information, phone and email, updated daily

AI app: upload Executive Brief, receive top 20 best-fit candidates

640,000+ private companies with ownership and sponsor context

5,000+ PE firm profiles for business development outreach

Transaction feed, 20,000+ deals + ~2,000 new monthly, mandate signals

Upload the Brief. Get the Top 20 Candidates.

Upload the Executive Brief. Dakota AI Returns the Top 20 Best-Fit Candidates.

150,000+ Sponsor-Backed Executives. Full Bios. Verified Contacts. Transaction History.

The Depth of What Dakota Has on Every Sponsor-Backed Executive.

Every Role Your PE Clients Need to Fill, In the Database.

Six Data Layers Per Executive, Everything That Makes Candidate Evaluation Possible.

What an Executive Search Engagement Looks Like With Dakota.

Why PE-Mandated Executive Search Is Different, And Why Dakota Is Built for It.

Four Outcomes That Change How Search Firms Compete for PE Mandates.

The Most Affordable PE Search Intelligence Tool in the Market.

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