Bespoke Partners Launches AI-Powered Talent Market Mapping Platform

Bespoke Partners has unveiled a new talent market mapping platform designed to revolutionize executive search in the software and SaaS sectors. This tool leverages artificial intelligence and hundreds of data sources to analyze, map, and verify the backgrounds of nearly 700,000 senior executives across the U.S. Let’s take a closer look!

February 4, 2025 – San Diego, CA-headquartered Bespoke Partners has released Bespoke Executive Index, a talent market mapping platform using AI to analyze and validate the backgrounds of senior executives in software and SaaS.

“Today we are reinventing executive search,” said Eric Walczykowski, CEO of Bespoke. “The Bespoke Executive Index is the authoritative source of data on the accomplishments and experience of the full software and SaaS executive market. If you are conducting a search without the Executive Index, you are accessing only a fraction of the talent market you should be. This tech-enabled services foundation is another way that Bespoke is built different and why a search with Bespoke is like nothing else in the industry.”

Unlike self-reported executive profiles on LinkedIn and other platforms, the Executive Index leverages AI and hundreds of data sources to map executives and verify their backgrounds for accuracy. The Executive Index took three years of research, planning and development and more than a year of testing and validation by the Bespoke executive recruiting and research team.

The Executive Index’s impact and scope include:

  • Mapping and validating the detailed backgrounds of nearly 700,000 software and SaaS executives in the United States. The Executive Index aggregates the output of hundreds of public and proprietary data sources and employs an advanced AI analytics engine to parse, verify and summarize executive track records.
  • Providing verified details on executives’ track records in revenue growth, experience with private equity portfolio companies, exits achieved and other accomplishments. Executive Index details are automatically validated and verified using high-credibility third-party data sources and AI analytics.
  • Cutting the average days-to-close of a Bespoke executive search by a projected 15 percent or more. Bespoke’s current days-to-close average is 90 days.
  • Increasing the typical membership for a search by 50 percent when compared to traditional research methods of incrementally identifying candidates.
  • Yielding a scorecard hit rate of 84 percent, nearly triple the accuracy of other common methods of candidate research. This means nearly all the candidates surfaced by the Executive Index based on a set of scorecard filters are a fit and worth pursuing for a given role.
  • Offering a filtering interface to generate search scorecards in real-time, instantly showing how scorecard parameters affect membership size. Experience in a sector, in a role, geographic accessibility, travel times, company stages and many more parameters can be adjusted to automatically filter the talent pool.

Related: Delivering Talent for the AI Revolution

“The Executive Index is particularly suited for identifying executives with experience in achieving the investment thesis and exits for private equity sponsors,” Bespoke Partners said. “The results are significantly faster searches with demonstrably better results, dramatically lowering human capital risk.”

Partnering with Top Private Equity Firms

Bespoke Partners is an executive search and leadership advisory firm dedicated to partnering with top private equity firms, including Francisco Partners, Clearlake Capital, WCAS, Insight Partners, GI Partners, General Atlantic, CVC Capital Partners, and TA Associates, among many others, to recruit software talent and assess and evaluate teams at every stage of the investment lifecycle, from growth equity to buyout. Bespoke Partners is headquartered in San Diego, and operates other regional offices in Austin, TX, and Philadelphia.


Artificial Intelligence’s Impact on Executive Search

Artificial intelligence (AI) can have a significant impact on executive search by streamlining the process and improving decision-making. AI tools can help identify candidates with the right skills and experience, and can also predict how successful they might be in new roles. The ExeQfind Group often get questions from both clients and candidates regarding the impacts of artificial AI on talent management and executive search. “Talent management and executive search processes are no different from virtually every existing industry in that AI can be expected to bring about change and influence,” says a new report from ExeQfind’s Javier Iglesias. “How much and to what degree of change and influence is yet to be determined.”


The search firm has completed over 1,000 searches since its inception a decade ago. Its expertise includes all C-level searches across multiple functional domains, including financial officers, HR and people, marketing and technology, as well as board of directors and internal private equity operating partner searches. The firm’s expanding leadership advisory platform includes organizational due diligence as well as executive assessment and coaching.

Related: Redefining Talent Management for the Modern Age

Bespoke offers a two-year guarantee on executive placements with the company’s leadership assessment service. “If your search firm gives you only a six-month guarantee on placements, then you are working with someone that does not have your best interests at heart,” said Adam Boone, chief marketing officer at Bespoke. “We recommend moving on to work with a firm that takes your success seriously.”

Passion for Aligning Technology

Bespoke Partners also just hired Jay Nguyen as a partner in the product and technology practice. He will be based in Chicago. “Jay’s exceptional track record and passion for aligning technology executive recruiting with business objectives make him a perfect addition to our team,” said Ryan Bonner, partner and leader of Bespoke Partners’ product and technology practice. “His expertise in product and technology roles will enhance our ability to deliver unmatched value to our clients.”

Mr. Nguyen has more than 15 years of executive search expertise and a track record of excellence placing 300+ leaders across the cloud and SaaS industries, particularly in engineering and product roles. His expertise spans venture-backed startups, private equity, and Fortune 1000 companies, with a focus on delivering results in an average of 75 days to close.

“I was looking for a firm that would leverage my background recruiting product and technology leaders for cloud and SaaS clients,” said Mr. Nguyen. “More importantly, I wanted a firm that prioritizes solving for hiring the best who, in turn, solve for clients and stakeholders. Bespoke embodies this mission and made my decision to join an easy one.”

Related: How to Use AI to Stand Out to Executive Search Consultants

Contributed by Scott A. Scanlon, Editor-in-Chief and Dale M. Zupsansky, Executive Editor  – Hunt Scanlon Media

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