Northern lights over mountain peak

Ozone Executive Search

Leaders who take businesses to new heights.

Operating at the intersection of technology, infrastructure and energy. Augmented by our proprietary assessment platform, we identify leaders shaping how modern organisations innovate, operate and scale.

Core Practices

Two practices. One standard of excellence.

Ozone operates across two distinct but strategically aligned practices, each built on deep sector expertise and powered by FormulaAE.

Practice One

Tech Platforms & Transformation

C-Suite and senior leadership across Engineering, Product and Data within tech-native businesses and organisations redesigning how they compete through technology.

Roles & Specialisms

Chief Technology Officer (CTO)
Chief Information Officer (CIO)
Chief Data Officer (CDO)
Chief Product Officer (CPO)
VP / SVP Engineering
VP / SVP Product
VP / SVP Data & AI
Senior Advisor & NED

Practice Two

Infrastructure & Energy

Board-level appointments across infrastructure, energy and sustainability, including private equity. Not role-specific, but sector-deep. Covering every C-suite and leadership position where transformation, innovation and operational excellence define the next decade.

Roles & Specialisms

Chief Executive Officer (CEO)
Chief Operating Officer (COO)
Chief Financial Officer (CFO)
Chief Technology Officer (CTO)
Chief Sustainability Officer (CSO)
Chief Investment Officer (CIO)
Operating Partner
Partner
Investment Director
Senior Advisor & NED

The Team Behind Ozone

Experience meets conviction.

Pierre Bretin

Practice Lead, Executive Search

Pierre leads the Ozone executive search practice. With over a decade of experience in executive search, team building, and leadership advisory, he has successfully led senior mandates across the UK and Europe. His network and strategic instinct define how we identify and assess high impact leaders in our specialist markets.

Jack Bainger

ENTREPRENEUR, FOUNDER & CEO

With more than 15 years experience in recruitment, a large proportion building and scaling founder-led businesses across tech, product, AI and green-tech. He partners with ambitious companies when hiring really matters. From senior engineers and product leaders through to exec search and specialist AI talent. Clear thinking, real market insight, exceptional service.

Rory Leadsom

Co-Founder & Director

15+ years in talent consulting. Rory began his career embedded in the security sector, evolving into media and ecommerce industries, where technology leadership has never mattered more. Having operated at C-Suite level for over a decade, he brings Ozone a commercially grounded perspective on how businesses build and evolve their teams, with deep fluency across fractional and permanent hiring.

Beyond Placement

Leadership Consulting.

More than a seat at the table.

We go deeper than the brief. Our process includes capability, culture, and personality assessments on the candidate, the existing leadership team and the team they will lead. Combined with an understanding of what the business truly needs, we ensure every leader aligns with working styles, communication dynamics, business structure, and culture. A complementary addition that elevates your business.

AI Literacy Assessment

Evaluating a leader's understanding and application of AI across strategy and operations.

Transformation Readiness

Mapping how candidates navigate change, ambiguity and organisational evolution.

Team Compatibility

Assessing personality types, communication styles and leadership dynamics against your existing team.

Culture & Values Alignment

Ensuring the hire reinforces your culture and fills capability gaps where they matter most.

The Process

Precision at every stage.

Our core values of sustainability, transparency and technological innovation set us apart. Every stage identifies leaders who redefine what's possible.

01

Discovery & Briefing

An in-depth consultation to understand your business, culture, leadership gaps and strategic objectives. We don't take briefs, we build them collaboratively.

02

Market Mapping & Intelligence

Proprietary research across our networks, identifying leaders who aren't actively looking but are ready for the right opportunity.

03

FormulaAE Assessment

Every candidate is assessed through our proprietary engine, evaluating cognitive patterns, AI literacy, transformation readiness and leadership style.

04

Cultural & Team Alignment

We run capability and personality assessments on your existing team to ensure the new hire complements working styles, fills capability gaps and elevates the collective.

05

Calibrated Shortlist

A curated shortlist of exceptional candidates, each presented with a detailed profile including assessment insights, cultural fit analysis and strategic alignment.

06

Onboarding & Integration

Our engagement doesn't end at placement. We support the transition with periodic check-ins at 3, 6 and 12 months to monitor performance against the original brief - ensuring effective integration and early impact.

Get In Touch

Speak with Pierre.

Whether you're exploring a board-level appointment, need leadership consulting or simply want to understand how Ozone operates.

All conversations are strictly confidential
No obligation, exploratory conversations welcome
Typical response within 24 hours
Book a 20-Minute Introduction

Links to Pierre's calendar, pick a time that works for you.

FAQ

What leaders ask us.

What makes Ozone different from traditional executive search firms? +

Most executive search firms find you candidates. We go further by actually evaluating them. Alongside our networks and search process, we use FormulaAE, our own AI-powered assessment tool, to look at candidates beyond just their CV. That means understanding how they think, how they adapt, and whether they'll actually fit the team and culture they're stepping into. The honest answer to what makes us different though? The people behind it. We're a team that takes the work seriously, stays close to our clients, and doesn't cut corners.

How long does a typical search take? +

We aim to complete our mandates within 8-12 weeks from briefing to accepted offer. The FormulaAE assessment and cultural alignment process adds depth, saves time, increases alignment and accelerates transparent decision making.

What is FormulaAE and how does it apply to executive search? +

FormulaAE is our own assessment tool, built specifically to identify capability and culture gaps in your leadership team. FormulaAE goes beyond traditional search by mapping leadership style, cognitive patterns, AI literacy and transformation capability giving you a data-driven picture of each candidate. It can also benchmark the candidate to your existing leadership team, so you can see exactly where they will compliment your organisation. We ensure that every new hire joins as a complementary fit.

Can you help if we're not sure exactly what role we need? +

Absolutely. Many of our engagements start with a leadership consulting conversation before a search begins. We help you define the capability gap, design the role and articulate what good looks like before we go to market.

What guarantee do you offer on placements? +

All Ozone placements come with a guarantee. If a placed candidate leaves or is terminated, we will conduct a replacement search at no additional fee. We stand behind every appointment.

How confidential is the process? +

Completely. We operate discreet processes with experience running searches under strict NDA protocols for both clients and candidates. Our market intelligence is treated with the highest levels of confidentiality.