Diversity in executive search starts with the brief

In executive search, the range of candidates a client will ever consider is set by how the brief is written — not by how the market is searched afterwards.

Menity has been a signatory of the Diversity Charter Slovakia since 30 May 2023. Peter Nemcok, Co-Founder & Managing Partner, signed the Charter on behalf of the firm.

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The Diversity Charter Slovakia is a voluntary initiative administered by Nadácia Pontis through Business Leaders Forum and connected to the European Platform of Diversity Charters. Its signatories commit to equal treatment, non-discrimination and the integration of diversity and inclusion into HR processes, including recruitment and selection.

For an executive search firm, this creates a practical question: what should that commitment mean before a shortlist is presented?

What does diversity mean in executive search?

The composition of a shortlist does not begin when candidate names appear. It begins when the mandate is defined.

Across many retained executive search assignments in Central and Eastern Europe, the initial brief points towards a familiar circle: the same sector, the same job title, the same type of multinational career and often the same small group of employers.

Some of those requirements may be essential. A regulated appointment can require formal approval. A plant leadership role may require specific operational experience. A transformation mandate may call for someone who has already managed comparable complexity.

But familiarity is sometimes used as a substitute for relevance.

A board may initially ask for a CFO who already holds the same title at a direct competitor. The real requirement, however, may be someone who has integrated an acquired business, strengthened governance and rebuilt reporting across several CEE markets. Once the brief is framed around the situation the new leader has to solve, the relevant candidate market can look very different.

Where is leadership diversity shaped?

Before approaching the market, the client and the search partner need to establish:

• what the new leader must deliver during the next two or three years;

• which experience is genuinely indispensable;

• which requirements are only familiar proxies for perceived safety;

• which adjacent sectors or markets contain comparable experience;

• and how every candidate will be assessed against the same criteria.

A broader search does not mean lowering the standard. It means removing criteria that do not predict success and applying the same standard to a wider, relevant candidate pool.

The client ultimately makes the appointment. The responsibility of the executive search partner is to challenge unnecessary restrictions, map the relevant market thoroughly and make sure qualified candidates are not excluded before the search has properly begun.

Consistent assessment does not end with the shortlist. The scope of the mandate and the compensation logic established before negotiation can also shape the outcome. We examine this in Equal pay in executive hiring starts before the offer.

Does a diverse board still need alignment?

Yes. Different backgrounds and perspectives do not compensate for an unclear mandate, weak governance or disagreement about what the organisation needs.

At the same time, alignment should not be confused with sameness. A leadership team can agree on the objective, decision rights and performance standard while its members bring different functional experience, markets, generations and professional backgrounds to the discussion.

The purpose is not difference for its own sake. It is to reduce the risk that everyone interprets an unfamiliar problem through the same previous experience.

Why does demographic representation remain relevant?

Diversity of professional experience is not a substitute for demographic representation or equal treatment. Both dimensions matter.

According to the European Institute for Gender Equality, women held 38.2% of non-executive director positions but only 18.5% of executive director positions in the largest publicly listed EU companies in October 2025.

EU Directive 2022/2381 sets gender-balance objectives for listed companies and requires clear, neutrally formulated selection criteria throughout the appointment process, including pre-selection and shortlisting. This makes the quality of the brief and the consistency of the assessment process directly relevant to board composition.

The numbers do not tell a board whom to appoint. They do show why habitual definitions of the “safe” candidate deserve scrutiny.

What does being a Diversity Charter signatory mean for Menity?

Signing the Charter did not create a new service line for Menity. It made public, alongside our Code of Conduct, the standard we already apply to mandates and candidates.

In practice, this means:

• separating mandate-critical requirements from unnecessary filters;

• looking beyond identical titles and direct competitors when adjacent experience is relevant;

• applying consistent assessment criteria to every candidate;

• discussing the composition of the candidate market with the client;

• and treating every candidate with fairness, discretion and respect.

A search firm cannot determine the composition of a client’s leadership team on its own. It can ensure that relevant candidates are not ruled out by an unnecessary assumption before the search begins. That is where our responsibility sits.

About the author

Peter Nemcok is Co-Founder & Managing Partner of Menity. He has worked in executive search since co-founding the firm in 2007 and advises clients on CEO, Board and C-level appointments across CEE.

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About Menity. Menity is a partner-led retained executive search and CEO & Board Advisory firm founded in 2007. We work with CEOs, boards and owners on CEO, Board and C-level appointments across CEE, with selected cross-border mandates into DACH and the UK.