Riviera Partners

About Us

Founded in 2001, Riviera Partners is a global driver of innovation solely focused on placing technical executive leadership talent in the crucial areas of product management, software engineering, IT, AI/ML/Data, cybersecurity, and design. As the go-to talent partner for leading private equity investors, venture capitalists, public companies, and innovative organizations globally, Riviera has grown to over 120 team members and placed talent in more than 25 countries. Their proprietary technology, SutroX, combines deep recruiting expertise with AI and machine learning to power every search — limiting false positives, maximizing results, and delivering full transparency throughout the process.

Riviera operates across six offices — San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York City, Bozeman, Providence, and London — with boots on the ground in major tech hubs globally, including a growing EMEA practice. Beyond executive search, Riviera offers Talent Advisory services to help companies assess talent, define clearer roles, and design more effective organizations, while Paragon by Riviera Partners serves as their full-service talent acquisition arm for technology founders, leaders, and investors who need to scale technical teams and get to market faster. Diversity is a foundational priority in every search, with more than 40% of placements going to women or professionals of color.

Achievements

Riviera Partners

Find a Recruiter

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Riviera was founded in 2002 to help transformative companies flourish in a continually evolving technology marketplace through the successful recruitment of executives and engineers.

We’re committed to delivering the best recruiting service and experience possible. Our full stack recruiting approach enables us to help people and companies reach their full potential.

We take a hands-on approach to everything we do at Riviera and we understand that our hard work plays a critical role in helping others flourish.

Riviera Partners

Solutions And Expertise

Solutions
  • Advisory Services
  • Board Services
  • Data Analy./Mrkt. Intell.
  • Executive Search
  • On-Demand Recruiting
  • Recruitment Research
Industries
  • Advertising/Marketing
  • Aerospace/Defense
  • Agriculture
  • Automotive
  • Biotechnology
  • Clean Tech./Sustain.
  • Cloud Based
  • Communications
  • Construction
  • Consulting
  • Consumer
  • Consumer Products
  • Consumer Services
  • Cybersecurity
  • Data & Analytics
  • Devices
  • Energy
  • Engineering & Archit.
  • Financial Services
  • FinTech
  • Hedge Funds
  • High Tech
  • Industrial
  • Internet
  • Life Sci./Healthcare
  • Machine Learning
  • Media & Entertainment
  • Medical Devices
  • Mobile
  • Payments/Processes
  • Private Equity
  • Professional Services
  • Quantitative Finance
  • Software
  • Sports
  • Supply Chain
  • Technology
  • Transportation
  • Travel, Hosp. & Leisure
  • Venture Capital
Functions
  • Data/Analytics
  • Information/Digital
  • Research & Develop.

Riviera Partners

News Briefings

Riviera Partners Acquires Lateral Labs

San Francisco-based Riviera Partners, a recruitment provider specializing in C-level engineering, product, and design leader placements, has acquired Lateral Labs, a specialized recruiting firm serving top AI startups. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. “The acquisition comes as companies remain challenged to meet the demand of organizational AI readiness,” the firm said. “Adding Lateral Labs positions Riviera Partners

Executive Search Continues Its Confident Climb As Transformation Takes Center Stage

The executive search industry entered 2026 from a position of strength. According to Hunt Scanlon, fee revenue at the 50 largest executive search firms in the U.S. / Americas – the global talent sector’s largest and most dominant region – jumped 11 percent last year, topping out at $6.69 billion. Seventy-five percent of search firms

Riviera Partners Names Managing Partner and General Manager of Paragon

San Francisco-based Riviera Partners, a recruitment provider specializing in C-level engineering, product, and design leader placements, has appointed Chris Rice as managing partner and general manager of Paragon, the firm’s global high-volume recruiting division supporting technology founders, leaders, and investors. “Talent remains the clearest advantage in the AI era,” said Michael Newcomer, chief executive officer of Riviera Partners. “Companies

AI Hiring in 2026: Talent, Pay & Readiness

Artificial intelligence is no longer a side initiative championed by innovation teams executive search consultants continue to tell Hunt Scanlon Media. It has become a strategic lever that shapes competitive positioning, operating models, and enterprise value. As adoption deepens, the conversation is shifting from experimentation to execution — from what AI can do to how

Riviera Partners

Press Releases

Riviera Partners Acquires Lateral Labs, Expanding Its AI and Machine Learning Talent Search and Placement Capabilities

Acquisition unites industry’s leading tech-focused executive search firm with pioneering AI-native recruiting organization. San Francisco, CA — June 24 2026 — Riviera Partners, the leading global executive search firm specializing in technology leadership, today announced the acquisition of Lateral Labs, a specialized recruiting firm serving top AI startups. The acquisition comes as companies remain challenged to meet the demand

Cyber Risk Is Enterprise Risk: What That Means for Board Oversight in 2026

There’s still a version of cybersecurity that lives in the IT department, run by people with technical titles, surfaced to the board only when something breaks. That model stopped working about five years ago. Where it persists, it tends to leave financial and regulatory exposure that boards haven’t priced in and often haven’t been asked

How to Structure a Security Organization by Stage, Risk Profile, and the Bench Beneath the CISO

Security functions tend to grow one incident at a time. A breach happens, headcount gets added. A compliance auditor finds something, a role is created to satisfy it. The org chart that results reads like a record of past emergencies — every gap covered by the role that solved the last one, with no coherent

The CISO Mandate Isn’t One-Size-Fits-All: How the Role Changes Across VC, PE, and Public Companies

The most consistent mistake Riviera sees in a CISO search is importing a mandate from a different company type. The CISO who built security from scratch at a Series C startup is not the same person who walks into a PE portfolio company and formalizes third-party risk, even if their resumes look similar. Treat these

Riviera Partners

Multimedia

Finding the Right Technology Visionary to Lead Your Digital Transformation

In this brand new episode of ‘Talent Talks,’ we are joined alongside Iain Grant, senior partner of Riviera Partners. In this exclusive podcast, Mr. Grant examines how to recruit the most fit executive to lead a digital transformation. Financial services, real estate, and healthcare are all industries ripe for the next wave of digital transformation