Our co-founders Ken Charles and Cody Pettit, two Americans living in Tokyo, met in 2010. Cody was a young English teacher and Ken had just sold his first startup company to a tech firm in San Francisco after years recruiting on Wall Street.

They bonded over a love of life, gaming, Japan, and all sorts of geeky things.

Ken went on to found the IT recruiting division at a preeminent executive search firm in Tokyo. Over many drinks across many nights, Ken convinced Cody to leave the safety of English teaching and to become a recruiter. This was 2015 and set off the sequence of events that would lead to ExecutiveSearch.AI.

Ken and Cody in Tokyo

Ken and Cody in Shimo-Kitazawa, Tokyo circa 2014.

Recruiting was stuck in the dark ages

It became obvious to both Ken and Cody that the recruiting industry was stuck in the dark ages. Boiler-room style call centers, bothering office receptionists, or even worse — mindlessly spamming people on LinkedIn or Bizreach all day — is low quality work and not worthy of the high service fees recruiting firms charge.

High quality, passive job seekers need a trusted partner who truly understands their industry and career ambitions. And companies looking for top talent need partners who can find candidates outside of LinkedIn & Bizreach.

Thus began the founding principle of ExecutiveSearch.AI — Ken and Cody would start a "Tech-first Executive Search" firm. One where the focus would be on the human-to-human elements. One where software & AI would be used to free up recruiters' time so they could spend more time with candidates. On February 1st, 2018, they launched the company.

Joining Monstarlab

In 2023, ExecutiveSearch.AI was acquired by Monstarlab Holdings Inc., a publicly traded digital consultancy established in 2006 in Tokyo, Japan. The company has 28 centres of excellence in 18 countries and territories, powered by around 1,500 strategists, experience designers and engineers.

This acquisition gave ExecutiveSearch.AI global reach and enterprise stability while maintaining our startup agility and innovative culture.

With Monstarlab's backing, we expanded our ambitions. We added a fourth partner, Gary Schrader, who previously led a 30-person cross-industry recruiting team at Randstad—the world's largest recruiting firm. Gary is leading our expansion into all industries beyond our tech roots.

We've grown from 2 founders to a diverse team of four partners, recruiters, and engineers—and we're just getting started.

Three principles we live by

Systems

We build repeatable, scalable processes. Every workflow is documented, measured, and continuously improved.

Data

Every decision is backed by data. We measure what matters and use insights to drive better outcomes for clients and candidates.

Customer Experience

Clients and candidates deserve a world-class experience. We obsess over every touchpoint and communication.

Ready to work with the future of recruiting?

Whether you're a company looking for top talent or a candidate exploring your next opportunity, we'd love to hear from you.