ID Universe - Institute of Directors | Executive Search & Board Advisory

Our capabilities

Five practices. One accountable partner.

From a confidential chairman search to a full generational succession - one team owns the outcome, not a hand-off chain.

Executive Search

Board and C-level appointments - from chairmen to independent directors. Full market mapping across 30 countries, independent assessment and a replacement guarantee.

Succession Planning

The departure of a key director should never be a crisis. Formal plans, internal pipeline assessment and a 3-5 year scenario map - before the need arises.

Leadership Development

Courses, programmes and executive coaching designed by directors, for directors. Accelerated onboarding cuts a new director's path to impact from 12 months to 3-4.

Outsourcing & Outstaffing

We act as the legal employer of your temporary staff - payroll, taxes, administration, training and testing - without growing your headcount.

Corporate Services

HR legal matters, internal and external reporting, tax consulting and risk minimisation across every jurisdiction where we operate.

ID Compass™ Assessment

Our proprietary leadership assessment: cognitive complexity, values, team chemistry and proven results - verified through 360° referencing. Every shortlist is partner-reviewed.

Methodology

How a mandate works

A disciplined five-stage process. Timelines are contractual, analytics are transparent, and the same senior partner stays with you throughout.

Brief & context

We immerse in your strategy, culture and board dynamics - and lock the role profile against the 2030 strategy, not a copy of the incumbent.

Market mapping

Full mapping across 30 countries: who exists, who is reachable, who fits. Typically 150-200 profiles in the funnel.

Assessment

In-depth interviews, 360° references and ID Compass™ evaluation of competencies, values and leadership style.

Shortlist & decision

3-5 finalists with transparent analytics. We support negotiations and the offer - and stay through closing.

Onboarding & guarantee

Accelerated first-100-days integration and a 12-month replacement guarantee, fixed in the mandate agreement.

Industries

Sector practices built for 2026 - and the decade after

Deep domain expertise in six sectors where leadership mistakes cost the most.

+Click a sector to open details

Proprietary research

ID Board Pulse™ 2026

Our annual study of 400+ boards across Europe, the Middle East and Asia. The 2026 edition: AI oversight is now the №1 capability gap - and the boards closing it outperform peers on total shareholder return.

Request the report

Boards with a formal AI oversight agenda61%

Companies with a CEO succession plan in place58%

Boards that assess culture as formally as finances34%

Directors confident in their cyber oversight27%

Source: ID Board Pulse 2026, ID Universe.

Market in numbers

What a hiring mistake costs

Three metrics every board should know.

30-50%of executive hires fail within 18 months

$21bnfailure rate with a professional search partner

30-33%global executive search market today, forecast to expand steadily through 2034

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ID Board Pulse - the governance digest

One email a month. What changed in boards, succession and AI oversight - and what it means for your next appointment.

Board and CEO moves across Europe, the Middle East and Asia
One framework per issue - applied, not abstract
Early access to ID Board Pulse™ research editions

Who we serve

One firm. Two doors.

Boards hire the future of their companies. Executives hire the future of their careers. Both enter here.

For boards & owners

You are appointing leadership

A chairman, CEO or independent director is a decision that compounds for a decade. We run the process so you can run the decision.

Mandates led personally by a senior partner - never delegated
Market mapping across 30 countries before the first call
ID Compass™ assessment, 360° references, culture-fit proof
Off-limits policy: we never recruit from active clients

Brief us confidentially

For executives & candidates

You are choosing your next board

The right mandate accelerates a career; the wrong one stalls it. We match leaders to boards where they will actually succeed.

Access to unpublished board and C-level mandates
Honest feedback on fit, culture and governance quality
Preparation for board interviews and first-100-days plans
Your data never leaves NDA-grade confidentiality

Join the talent universe

Insights & topics

Ideas that move boards forward

Practitioner research and checklists - written for chairs, nominating committees and owners.

Board brief · 45 seconds

How to win board support for your decision

Six steps, from the first conversation to the vote.

Start before the meeting

Decisions are shaped before the meeting, not in the boardroom. Meet the chair and key directors one-to-one two to three weeks ahead.

Map the room

Who decides, who influences, who doubts? Know what each director cares about most: risk, capital, reputation, people.

Speak the board’s language

Strategy, risk and value – not operations. One page: the decision, the options, the cost of doing nothing.

Answer objections in advance

Send the papers seven days before the meeting. Address the three hardest questions in the paper itself.

Let the chair lead

Agree the agenda and timing with the chair. A proposal the chair introduces is already half-accepted.

Offer a choice, then close

Two or three options with a clear recommendation. Ask for the decision explicitly and minute the next checkpoint.

A decision the board shapes is a decision the board defends.

ID Universe advises chairs and executives on board dynamics and governance.

Discuss a board challenge

0 / 9Support around the table

Mandates in focus

Three searches. Three outcomes.

Anonymised, as every mandate in our profession. The numbers are real; the names stay protected.

Recent mandates - anonymised

Updated quarterly

Chairman

Chairman for a listed industrial group - mandate completed in six weeks with four appointable finalists.

Zürich · 2026

CEO

CEO for a PE-backed logistics platform - profile locked with the deal team, hire closed in 38 days.

London · 2026

NED ×2

Two independent directors with AI-risk and audit-committee depth for a financial services board.

Moscow · 2025

Succession

Three-year CEO succession plan for a family holding - board-approved, zero days of pause at handover.

Geneva · 2025

CRO

Chief Risk Officer for a commodities trader - sanctions-compliance expertise, closed across three jurisdictions.

Geneva · 2025

Family council

First independent directors and family-council governance for a third-generation family business.

Dubai · 2025

COO

Chief Operating Officer for an energy-transition manufacturer - decarbonisation track record required.

Vienna · 2024

Fund CFO

Fund CFO for a private-capital firm - LP reporting and exit-readiness built into the profile.

Zürich · 2024

CHRO

Chief Human Resources Officer (CHRO) for a consumer group – post-merger culture integration mandate.

London · 2024

Audit chair

Audit-committee chair for a bank - regulatory remediation experience required.

Moscow · 2024

NextGen

NextGen engagement director for a family office - governance education for the fourth generation.

Dubai · 2024

After the appointment

The mandate ends. The partnership does not.

A placement is the start of value, not the end of a search. We stay in the boardroom through the first year - because our guarantee does.

Book an annual board review

Every review is included in the mandate - and the annual board review is where most of our next mandates begin.

Partners

The partners you will actually work with

The senior partner who wins your confidence leads the mandate personally - through onboarding and beyond.

Thommy StahlinPartner · Switzerland & Liechtenstein

Chairman and CEO searches across DACH; family-business governance.

Kelvin TrottPartner · United Kingdom

Board appointments for listed and PE-backed companies; financial services.

Irina GladuniakPartner · United Kingdom

Leadership assessment and development; accelerated onboarding programmes.

Tatyana KapralPartner · Eastern Europe & CIS

Cross-border mandates, succession and family-office advisory.

Geography

Four offices. Thirty countries of practice.

Zürich · London · Moscow - with active mandates across the Middle East, including the UAE, and Asia-Pacific.

HeadquartersZürich

Beethovenstrasse 11, 8002 Zürich
+41 (44) 997 21 14

EMEALondon

33 St James's Square, SW1Y 4JS
+44 (0) 20 7748 6607

Eastern Europe & CISMoscow

34 Shelepikhinskaya Emb., bld. 1
+7 (495) 727 58 94

Middle East practiceDubai · Abu Dhabi

Mandates across the GCC: family offices, sovereign-adjacent entities, trading houses. Arabic-speaking consultants on request.

Careers

Become part of the universe

We are always open to researchers, consultants and engagement managers who share our quality standards.

Candidate brief · 45 seconds

How to handle a difficult interview

Six steps for top managers, from preparation to the final question.

Do your homework

Study the strategy, the latest results, the market and the competitors. Know why the role exists and what success looks like after 100 days.

Have a 90-second story

Who you are, what you have built, why this role and why now. Clear and specific – never a recital of your CV.

Prove it with evidence

Answer with the situation, your action and a measurable result. Figures and real decisions beat adjectives.

Take the hard question calmly

Pause, clarify, then answer the question actually asked. Own a failure briefly and show what you changed.

Ask questions that show judgement

Ask about the expectations of the CEO and the owners, the real challenges and the decisions ahead. Your questions are part of the assessment.

Close with intent

Summarise why you fit, state your interest clearly and agree the next steps before you leave the room.

Preparation turns a difficult interview into a conversation between equals.

ID Universe confidentially connects top managers with leadership roles.

Send your CV

0 / 5Panel convinced

Contact

Let's start with a conversation

The first consultation is confidential and without obligation. A conversation takes 30 minutes - and commits you to nothing.

Zürich+41 (44) 997 21 14
London+44 (0) 20 7748 6607
Moscow+7 (495) 727 58 94
Emailid-universe@id-universe.com
GuaranteeNDA from the first call · contractual timelines · 12-month replacement