The shortlist you'd write yourself, if you had the time

The shortlist you'd write yourself, if you had the time.

A discreet, partner-led executive search firm in Athens. Retained mandates only. No consultant carries more than seven at a time.

Sixteen years on Kanari Street.

Sixteen years on Kanari Street.

Why choose us

150+
Projects
80+
Happy Clients
10+
Years Experience
15+
Awards

Where we have been quoted.

KathimeriniNaftemporikiReuters AthensBloomberg GreeceLloyd's ListTradeWindsForbes GreeceFinancial Times

Discuss a mandate.

We arrange a thirty-minute introductory call with the lead partner for your sector. There is no fee for the call and we will not solicit. We will tell you, candidly, whether we are the right firm for

Three things we believe.

Retained, not contingent

Retained, not contingent

We work on a fixed fee, paid in three instalments, and we do not present a candidate we are also presenting elsewhere.
Seven mandates, no more

Seven mandates, no more

Each consultant is capped at seven concurrent mandates. We turn work down rather than break the cap.
The shortlist is the shortlist

The shortlist is the shortlist

We deliver four candidates per mandate, in writing, with full references and a candid weakness section. We do not pad.

Six practice areas.

Board & Non-Executive

Board & Non-Executive

Chair, INED, audit/risk/remco searches.
Chief Executive

Chief Executive

Successor and external CEO mandates for owner-managed and listed firms.
Chief Financial

Chief Financial

Group CFO, listed-company CFO, family-office CFO.
Chief Commercial & Sales

Chief Commercial & Sales

Commercial directors for B2B and B2C scale-ups.
Chief Operating

Chief Operating

COOs for industrial, logistics, and ports.
Family Office & Private Wealth

Family Office & Private Wealth

CEO of family office, head of investments, advisor.

Seven sectors. Each led by a partner.

Shipping & Maritime

Shipping & Maritime

Konstantinos Megariotis
Banking & Financial Services

Banking & Financial Services

Iro Konstantopoulou
Energy & Utilities

Energy & Utilities

Eleftherios Vraniotis
Industrial & Manufacturing

Industrial & Manufacturing

Konstantinos Megariotis
Consumer & Retail

Consumer & Retail

Anna-Maria Doukissa
Healthcare & Life Sciences

Healthcare & Life Sciences

Iro Konstantopoulou

How a search runs at ApexSearch.

Week 1 — Specification

Week 1 — Specification

A written brief built jointly with the client board. Approved before any candidate is approached.
Week 2–3 — Long-list build

Week 2–3 — Long-list build

Our research desk produces a 60–120 name long-list against the brief, with research notes.
Week 4–6 — Discreet approach

Week 4–6 — Discreet approach

The lead partner approaches each long-list name in confidence. No third-party representation, no scraping, no LinkedIn InMail.
Week 7–8 — Short-list assembly

Week 7–8 — Short-list assembly

The lead partner produces a four-candidate shortlist with full dossiers, references, and a candid weakness section.
Week 9–11 — Client interviews

Week 9–11 — Client interviews

We attend, take notes, and provide a structured assessment after each.
Week 12 — Offer & onboarding

Week 12 — Offer & onboarding

We support the offer process, the onboarding conversation, and the 90-day check-in.

Selected recent mandates (anonymised).

Group CEO

Group CEO

Athens-listed industrial group, €430M revenue, family-controlled. Twelve weeks. Internal candidate from a competitor; placement at 28 months still in role.
Chair

Chair

Cypriot bank, mid-size. Eight weeks. Greek-Cypriot returning from London after fifteen years.
Group CFO

Group CFO

Greek shipping group, dual-listed Athens / NYSE. Fourteen weeks (extended specification). German-Greek finance director from Hamburg.
Head of Investments

Head of Investments

Athens single-family office, €1.4B AUM. Ten weeks. Cypriot returning from Geneva.

From the Leadership Letter.

Leadership Notes — Q2 2026

Leadership Notes — Q2 2026

"When the family-controlled board needs an outsider: notes from twelve mandates." Signed by Eleftherios Vraniotis. (9 May 2026)
Sector Notes

Sector Notes

"Greek shipping CFOs: the next succession bench, by tonnage class." Signed by Konstantinos Megariotis. (4 April 2026)
Whitepapers

Whitepapers

"Off-limits in 2026: when does our hands-off period really end?" Signed by Iro Konstantopoulou. (28 March 2026)

What clients say (when we ask).

“We had run a previous CEO search with a global firm and rejected the entire shortlist. Eleftherios delivered four candidates in eleven weeks; we hired the second. He is, quietly, the only consultant in our network we recommend without qualification.”
Athens-listed industrial group
Chair (anonymous, with permission)
“Konstantinos read three of my published papers before the first call and asked me about the second. I was impressed and slightly unsettled. The role he placed me in is the right one and I am still in it three years later.”
Greek shipping group
Group CFO (placed candidate)
“Iro was the only consultant who pushed back on the specification and asked the audit committee to be in the brief meeting. The committee chair told me, in private, that this was the moment we knew we had picked the right firm.”
Cypriot bank
Chair-Designate
“I did not want our search to be on the market. ApexSearch handled it without a single leak. The Head of Investments they placed has a quiet manner and a sharp eye, exactly as Iro had described in the dossier.”
Family office
Founder
“Vassilis told me, on week six, that the candidate I had asked him to consider was the wrong one. He was right. I hired the candidate he recommended on week eight and that hire alone is worth twice the fee.”
Athens technology scale-up
founder, on a CCO mandate

The shortlist you'd write yourself, if you had the time.