Executive Search Intelligence

One researcher.
Ten searches.

Mandate replaces 26 hours of manual research per search with AI-powered tools — built by Thompson Recruiting Solutions from real searches, for retained search firms.

Built and used daily by Thompson Recruiting Solutions · "Empowering Organizations Through the Strength of Human Capital"

mandate · abc corp cdo search · pipeline
Screened candidates
EM
Elena Morse
Chief Data Officer · West Monroe Partners
T&M transition ✓ Board-ready PE environment
91
JD
John Doe
SVP Services & Delivery · KPMG
1,400 FTE ✓ Outcome model
88
AI Debrief ready · John Doe ICP score updated · Screening probes generated · Outreach drafted

"We built Mandate for ourselves. Every search Thompson RS runs goes through it. You're not our test case — we are."

26.5
researcher hours saved
per search
38
average days to first slate
vs 70-day industry benchmark
90 sec
profile summarised & ICP-scored
against your criteria
7
AI research tools in
one integrated platform
The problem we solved for ourselves

Retained search is won in the research phase.
Most firms are still doing it manually.

Every hour a researcher spends on manual tasks is an hour not spent building relationships, qualifying candidates, or advising clients. Mandate changes that equation.

5 hrs
Building a sourcing brief
Title universe, target companies, boolean strings — rebuilt from scratch every search.
✦ Mandate: 30 seconds with AI Discovery
20 min
Reading each profile
Mapping LinkedIn experience to ICP criteria manually. Repeated 30–40 times per search.
✦ Mandate: 90 seconds with AI Summariser
3 hrs
Writing outreach messages
Every message drafted from scratch. Inconsistent quality. No institutional memory.
✦ Mandate: 3-touch sequence in seconds
2 hrs
Structuring debrief notes
Rough call notes sitting in a document. ICP scores not updated. Insights lost.
✦ Mandate: Raw notes → structured record
How a search runs

From position profile to placed candidate — in one platform.

Every step of a retained mandate connected. AI handles the research. You handle the relationships and the judgement.

Upload brief
PDF or DOCX → ICP extracted automatically
AI
AI Discovery
Company tiers, title universe, boolean strings
AI
3
Build pipeline
Kanban across 8 stages, full team visibility
Summarise profiles
Paste any LinkedIn profile → ICP brief in 90 sec
AI
Build outreach
Personalised 3-touch sequences per candidate
AI
Convert debrief
Rough notes → structured screening record
AI
7
ICP scoring
Weighted comparison across slate candidates
Slate + deliver
AI narratives · Client portal · Feedback
AI
Features

Every tool your research team needs.
Purpose-built for retained search.

✦ AI Research

Candidate Discovery Engine

From your ICP criteria, generate a complete sourcing brief in 30 seconds. Tiered target companies, 12+ title variants, boolean search strings ready to paste into LinkedIn Recruiter, and non-obvious sourcing angles.

  • Tier 1, 2, and 3 target companies ranked by talent concentration
  • Boolean strings formatted for LinkedIn Recruiter — copy and search immediately
  • Non-obvious sourcing angles: adjacent industries, step-up profiles, conference lists
  • Off-limits companies automatically flagged before you start sourcing
↑ Saves ~5 hours per search
AI Discovery · ABC Corp CDO · North America
Tier 1 target companies
West Monroe PartnersSlalomKPMG
Tier 2
3CloudInsight DirectDeloitte Digital
LinkedIn boolean string
("Chief Delivery Officer" OR "CDO"
OR "SVP Services" OR "Head of Delivery")
AND (Snowflake OR Databricks OR AWS)
AND "PE" -"seeking" -"available"
✦ AI Research

Profile Summariser

Paste any LinkedIn profile. Receive a structured ICP-mapped assessment in 90 seconds — career arc, criterion-by-criterion scoring with evidence, green flags, red flags, and personalised outreach hooks.

  • Every ICP criterion scored 0–5 with specific evidence from the profile
  • Must-have criteria failures flagged — automatic alert before advancing
  • 3 tailored outreach hooks based on the candidate's actual background
  • Recommendation: long_list, short_list, or pass with primary reason
↑ Saves ~15 min per candidate
Profile Summary · John Doe · ABC Corp CDO ICP
Delivery org scale 1,000+ FTE
Led 1,400-person KPMG US and India delivery practice
T&M → outcome model
8pt margin improvement over 3 years — specific numbers cited
Nearshore management
Chicago + Bangalore managed — no LatAm exposure evidenced
→ Short list · Probe: LatAm capacity plan
✦ AI Research

Outreach Sequence Builder

Generate a personalised 3-touch sequence for every candidate — opening, a day-6 follow-up with a different angle, and a day-14 soft close. LinkedIn or email. Written in your firm's voice, stored against the candidate record.

  • Every message references specific details from the candidate's actual background
  • Never uses "exciting opportunity," "perfect fit," or "came across your profile"
  • Tone options: conversational, formal, peer-to-peer
  • Sequences logged — no duplicate outreach across searches
↑ Saves ~10 min per candidate
Outreach · John Doe · LinkedIn · Conversational
1
Opening message Day 0
John — the T&M to outcome transition you ran at KPMG is exactly what ABC Corp needs to build. They're at $150M with a clear path to $300M+ and a PE board asking hard questions about delivery margin. Worth a 15-min conversation?
2
Follow-up — different angle Day 6
The CDO role is new to the org — you'd be building it, not inheriting it. Reports directly to CEO. If the timing's right, I can send the full spec.
✦ AI Research

Screening Debrief Converter

Type rough post-call notes in any format — stream of consciousness is fine. Mandate converts them into a structured screening record, updates ICP scores with evidence, captures compensation data, and surfaces follow-up actions.

  • Works from any rough notes format — no template required
  • ICP scores updated automatically with call evidence
  • Compensation and availability captured and stored securely
  • Flags raised and follow-up actions with suggested owner assigned
↑ Saves ~30 min per candidate
Debrief Converter · John Doe
"Strong on delivery scale - mentioned 1400 people across US and India. Really good on the outcome model story, 8 points of margin improvement. Weak on LatAm, said he has a plan but could not be specific when pushed. Comp is 400-450K, available 60 days..."
Delivery1,400 FTE — US + India · High confidence
Outcome modelStrong · 8pt margin, specific numbers cited
LatAm gap⚠ Flag · Vague under probing — probe in next call
Comp / avail$400–450K base · 60-day notice
RatingStrong yes — advance to ICP scoring
Workflow

Weighted ICP Scoring Grid

Side-by-side comparison of your slate candidates across every ICP criterion. Weighted scores, must-have flags, evidence notes per criterion, and automatic overall score calculation — the objective foundation for every client conversation.

  • Up to 10 criteria, each weighted and scored 0–5
  • Must-have criteria flagged — automatic disqualification alert if unmet
  • Evidence notes per criterion updated from debrief records automatically
  • Side-by-side comparison for up to 6 candidates
ICP Scoring · ABC Corp CDO · 3 candidates
Criterion
E. Morse
J. Doe
L. Park
Delivery scale 1K+ FTEmust
5/5
4/5
5/5
T&M → outcome modelmust
4/5
5/5
4/5
PE environment
4/5
4/5
2/5
Overall ICP score
91 88 85
✦ AI Research

AI Slate Narratives + Client Portal

Differentiated candidate narratives generated from screening records and ICP scores. Delivered through a branded client portal with magic-link access — no email attachments, no manual formatting, structured feedback collected automatically.

  • Every candidate receives a genuinely differentiated narrative — not a template
  • Executive summary, career highlights, assessment, and considerations included
  • Client portal with magic-link — no login required for clients
  • Structured advance / hold / decline feedback logged with reason automatically
↑ Saves ~4 hrs per slate delivery
Client Slate · ABC Corp CDO · 3 candidates
Elle More
Chief Data Officer · West NY Partners
More's differentiating credential is her experience owning a T&M to outcome transition at scale. At West NY she restructured the firm's data practice pricing model across 140 consultants, achieving an 11-point margin improvement over 18 months — directly analogous to ABC Corp's current mandate.
91 Lead candidate Board-ready
Client feedback pending · Magic link sent 2 hours ago
Workflow

Off-Limits Tracking

Automatically create off-limits restrictions when a search closes — protecting placed candidates and active clients from inadvertent sourcing. Warnings surface throughout the platform wherever a restricted company appears.

  • Auto-created on engagement close — no manual entry needed
  • Warnings on candidate profiles, sourcing agent results, and discovery briefs
  • Settings page for manual entries, bulk import from past placements
  • Expiry management with 30-day advance notifications
Off-Limits · Active restrictions
🚫
ABC-M Group is currently off-limitsActive client · Director Finance placed · Expires May 2027
ABC (Alpha Beta Corp)
Active client
Until Jun 2027
ABC-M Group
Active client
Until May 2027
ABC Logistics Corp
Placed candidate
Indefinite
Intelligence

Market Mapping Report

Client-ready market maps powered by live LinkedIn data — real employee headcounts, actual active job postings, and compensation benchmarks from current listings. Generated in minutes, delivered alongside your retainer.

  • Real employee headcounts — not estimates from web search
  • Active job posting counts signal hiring velocity and backfill opportunities
  • Compensation benchmarks extracted from live current postings
  • Supply/demand ratio helps clients understand the market before searching
Market Map · CDO · Data/Analytics Consulting · NA
847
qualifying profiles
34
active openings
25:1
supply/demand
1
West Monroe Partners
42 profiles
● Hiring
1
Slalom Consulting
38 profiles
○ Stable
2
KPMG
31 profiles
● Hiring
Workflow

Position Profile Document Loader

Upload any position profile — from any search firm's template, in PDF or Word format — and Mandate extracts role details, ICP criteria, performance expectations, and reporting structure automatically. Every major industry format tested.

  • Handles Thompson RS, GEB, KornFerry, and client-direct document formats
  • Detects and blocks engagement letters — protects confidential fee data
  • Routes candidate cover letters to the Profile Summariser instead
  • Individual contributor detection suppresses irrelevant management criteria
Document Loader · File classification
📄
Director_Finance_Position_Profile.pdf
ABC-M Group · Thompson RS · 5 pages
✓ Parsed
RoleDirector Finance
Reports toChief Financial Officer
LocationElmira, Ontario
ICP criteriaCPA · FP&A · ERP · Treasury · Team leadership
🚫
Engagement_Letter_Director_Engineering.pdf
Fee agreement detected · Not a position profile
Blocked
How we compare

Built for retained search. Not adapted from something else.

Every platform below serves retained search firms. Only Mandate was built by one.

Capability
Mandate
Invenias
Ezekia
Clockwork
Loxo
AI discovery brief
Profile summariser vs ICP
Summaries only
Personalised outreach sequences
Basic email
Debrief converter (AI)
Weighted ICP scoring grid
Basic
AI slate narratives
Client portal + feedback
Partial
Market mapping (live data)
Off-limits tracking
Position profile document loader
The return on investment

Mandate pays for itself before you finish your second search.

The math is straightforward. The time saved on research translates directly into capacity for more searches — or a faster, higher-quality process on the ones you're already running.

26.5
hours saved per search
×
12
searches per year
=
318 hrs
researcher capacity freed
×
$15,900
recovered capacity value
At $50/hr researcher cost, 12 searches/year, Mandate recovers $15,900 in researcher capacity annually.
Enough to run 4–5 additional searches without adding headcount. At an average fee of $30K per placement,
that's $120–150K in additional revenue potential from a single subscription.
Why Thompson Recruiting Solutions built Mandate

Built by practitioners.
Not software vendors.

We are an active retained executive search firm. We built Mandate because the tools available to boutique firms were built by people who studied executive search from the outside. We built it from the inside — on real searches, with real clients, solving the exact problems our research team faces every week. We run every search through Mandate. You're not our test case — we are.

Founded by Anjalee Thompson, a proven executive search professional with 15+ years of North American retained search experience.

Thompson Recruiting Solutions thompsonrs.com Active retained search firm Canada + US
Searches run through Mandate
ABC (Alpha Beta Corp)
Manager Compensation · Manager Revenue Operations
ABC-M Group
Director Finance · Senior Financial Analyst · Director Engineering
ABC Logistics Corp
Vice President Corporate Development
ABC Corp
Chief Delivery Officer
Get started

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Mandate is built and operated by Thompson Recruiting Solutions · thompsonrs.com · 1.888.245.5025