Hiring a CRO for hypergrowth isn’t the same as hiring one for a turnaround. One builds at speed. The other fixes what’s broken. Same title. Completely different muscle.
Yet too often, companies hire based on CVs and logos—ignoring what actually matters: can this person win here, now, under these conditions?
We’ve worked through hypergrowth, product relaunches, post-acquisition chaos, M&A prep. We’ve seen how much context changes the job—and the outcome. The right hire unlocks momentum. The wrong one slows everything down.
Image by Amina Atar
Situational hiring is your edge. Use it.
McKinsey reports that more than half of all transformations fail not because of bad strategy, but because leadership wasn’t aligned. And with nearly 40% of high-growth companies expected to pivot or restructure by 2026 (PitchBook). Leadership needs are no longer static, they’re a moving target.
At Susan Pike & Partners, we don’t guess. We calibrate. We anchor every search in real context—strategy, stage, environment—and assess leaders against what the role truly demands. It’s not about what someone’s done before. It’s about whether they can deliver here and now, in your world.
Hiring without context is a gamble. But the right leader, at the right moment? That’s when things move.
Let’s talk.
