Company lists · Data refreshed September 2026
Top 25 Private equity recruiting firms based in Chicago, United States
RevenueBase identified 158 private equity recruiting firms headquartered in Chicago, United States as of September 2026 and tracks 4,424 professional contacts across them, including 2,185 with verified work emails. New York is the largest hub.
This list covers private equity recruiting firms headquartered in Chicago, United States, matched on what each company actually does as described in its own words. Ranked by team size, largest first. Every row shows the company's own description, how directly it supports the match, and when it was last checked. Data refreshed September 5, 2026.
Published by RevenueBase, a B2B data infrastructure company. This list was built with RevenueBase SmartSearch, the natural-language company search RevenueBase customers use to build their own targeted lists and unlock verified emails and direct dials at the companies on them. How these lists are built and judged.
The 25 largest private equity recruiting firms based in Chicago, United States
Ranked by team size| # | Company | Contacts | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lincoln InternationalStrong evidence | 1,489 | |||
“Lincoln International, Inc.(NYSE: LCLN) is a trusted investment banking advisor to business owners and senior executives of leading private equity firms and their portfolio…” Source: company website · checked Sep 5, 2026Thanks. The Data Team will review it. | |||||
| 2 | 656 | ||||
“For more than 35 years, DHR has been a leading provider of executive search, leadership consulting and emerging leader search solutions, serving more than 60 markets around the…” Source: company website · checked Sep 5, 2026Thanks. The Data Team will review it. | |||||
| 3 | SBI PartnersIndirect evidence | 295 | |||
“SBI Partners is a boutique search firm with 50 years of combined recruitment experience specializing in the placement of Accounting, Finance and Supply Chain professionals.” Source: company website · checked Sep 5, 2026Thanks. The Data Team will review it. | |||||
| 4 | 251 | ||||
“The Jacobson Group is the leading provider of talent to the insurance industry.” Source: company website · checked Sep 5, 2026Thanks. The Data Team will review it. | |||||
| 5 | 105 | ||||
“Hunt Club is an executive search firm for pre- and post-IPO companies, private equity and venture capital firms, and their portfolio business leaders who require access to…” Source: company website · checked Sep 5, 2026Thanks. The Data Team will review it. | |||||
| 6 | Madison Dearborn Partners, LLCStrong evidence | 99 | |||
“Madison Dearborn Partners, LLC ("MDP") is a leading private equity investment firm based in Chicago that, since its formation in 1992, has raised aggregate capital of…” Source: company website · checked Sep 5, 2026Thanks. The Data Team will review it. | |||||
| 7 | 89 | ||||
“Founded in 1986, Harmer is a trusted recruiting partner specializing in Accounting, Finance, and Information Technology.” Source: company website · checked Sep 5, 2026Thanks. The Data Team will review it. | |||||
| 8 | 80 | ||||
“Since our beginning in 1985, Slayton Search Partners' strategy has been to focus on possibilities, not limitations.” Source: company website · checked Sep 5, 2026Thanks. The Data Team will review it. | |||||
| 9 | 79 | ||||
“Flexpoint Ford is a specialist private equity firm focused on financial services and adjacent verticals.” Source: company website · checked Sep 5, 2026Thanks. The Data Team will review it. | |||||
| 10 | RCP AdvisorsStrong evidence | 78 | |||
“Founded in 2001, RCP Advisors, a strategy of Ridgepost Capital (NYSE: RPC), is a private equity investment firm that provides access to North American small buyout fund managers…” Source: company website · checked Sep 5, 2026Thanks. The Data Team will review it. | |||||
| 11 | 65 | ||||
“CMC Consultants Inc.” Source: company website · checked Sep 5, 2026Thanks. The Data Team will review it. | |||||
| 12 | 60 | ||||
“Your retained source for executive search!” Source: company website · checked Sep 5, 2026Thanks. The Data Team will review it. | |||||
| 13 | 54 | ||||
“Founded in 1994, 20/20 Foresight is a national executive search and full-service talent advisory firm that specializes in real estate, financial services, and professional…” Source: company website · checked Sep 5, 2026Thanks. The Data Team will review it. | |||||
| 14 | 48 | ||||
“Since 1996, Jobplex has served the emerging leader recruiting market, complementing the senior-level retained executive search services provided by our parent company, DHR Global.” Source: company website · checked Sep 5, 2026Thanks. The Data Team will review it. | |||||
| 15 | 44 | ||||
“As a boutique retained search firm, PierceGray helps clients succeed by finding the right leaders.” Source: company website · checked Sep 5, 2026Thanks. The Data Team will review it. | |||||
| 16 | 43 | ||||
“CIVC Partners is a private equity firm, based in Chicago, focused on middle market buyout, recapitalization, and growth equity investments in industry sectors where our firm can…” Source: company website · checked Sep 5, 2026Thanks. The Data Team will review it. | |||||
| 17 | 35 | ||||
“The Edgewater Funds is a Chicago-based private equity firm with over $4 billion of capital commitments raised since 2001.” Source: company website · checked Sep 5, 2026Thanks. The Data Team will review it. | |||||
| 18 | 35 | ||||
“BCI is a boutique recruiting firm that has served the financial services industry nationwide for more than 25 years.” Source: company website · checked Sep 5, 2026Thanks. The Data Team will review it. | |||||
| 19 | 26 | ||||
“ASI is more than just a reliable search firm; we are a trustworthy business partner.” Source: company website · checked Sep 5, 2026Thanks. The Data Team will review it. | |||||
| 20 | 26 | ||||
“Although the recruitment business can be transactional, LMB Associates believes in a collaborative, personalized approach to recruiting, building valued relationships with both…” Source: company website · checked Sep 5, 2026Thanks. The Data Team will review it. | |||||
| 21 | 25 | ||||
“As a premier search firm, Grayson Search Partners specializes in connecting exceptional talent with organizations.” Source: company website · checked Sep 5, 2026Thanks. The Data Team will review it. | |||||
| 22 | 21 | ||||
“Benford Capital Partners is a Chicago-based private equity investment firm focused on leveraged buyouts and recapitalizations of lower middle market companies.” Source: company website · checked Sep 5, 2026Thanks. The Data Team will review it. | |||||
| 23 | 21 | ||||
“Founded in 2003, Lantern Partners is a premier, retained, executive recruitment firm, focused on C-level and executive leadership positions for the investor-backed technology…” Source: company website · checked Sep 5, 2026Thanks. The Data Team will review it. | |||||
| 24 | Periscope EquityStrong evidence | 20 | |||
“Periscope Equity is a Chicago-based private equity firm that partners with founder-owned, business services companies.” Source: company website · checked Sep 5, 2026Thanks. The Data Team will review it. | |||||
| 25 | 20 | ||||
“Veridian National Search is your partner, and our focus is on conducting custom recruiting.” Source: company website · checked Sep 5, 2026Thanks. The Data Team will review it. | |||||
Showing 25 of 158 private equity recruiting firms based in Chicago, United States
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Private equity recruiting firms based in Chicago, United States at a glance
As of Sep 5, 2026Companies by employee count
Email recency for this list is measured across the whole United States list rather than this city, so it is reported there. Company counts and contact totals on this page are exact for Chicago, over 158 companies.
How this list was built
Company categories are rarely black and white. RevenueBase reads each company's own description of its business to decide whether it belongs among private equity recruiting firms, so some rows will be adjacent to the category rather than pure plays. The description and evidence rating on every row are there so you can check each match yourself.
- Source
- The RevenueBase company graph: 60 million companies and 398.9 million professional contacts resolved from primary sources, queried with RevenueBase SmartSearch, the natural-language company search available to every RevenueBase user.
- What qualifies
- Companies headquartered in Chicago, United States whose own description of what they do matches “private equity recruiting firms”. Matching reads each company's description, not its industry code or its name.
- What we exclude
- Companies whose own description does not clearly place them among private equity recruiting firms, and records with no verified work email. Companies headquartered outside Chicago are excluded even when they keep an office there.
- Match quality
- In blind human judging of this matching method, 86% of matched companies were on target. Expect roughly 1 in 7 rows to be adjacent to the category rather than a pure play. Every row shows the company's own description and an evidence rating so you can judge each match yourself. Read the full methodology: how the lists are built, how the judging worked, and what the figure means.
- Ranking
- Team size, largest first: companies are ordered by the number of professionals RevenueBase tracks at each one. Employee ranges shown are reported bands, for context.
- Verification
- Every listed company carries at least one verified work email, 2,185 across the full list. Contacts re-verify on a rolling cadence, and each contact's own verification date is shown inside RevenueBase.
- Refresh
- This page's figures were pulled from the company graph on September 5, 2026. Lists refresh periodically as the graph is re-checked.
- Corrections
- Wrong category, wrong headquarters, or a company that has closed? Use “Report an issue” on any row. Reports go to the RevenueBase Data Team and feed back into the company graph.
Private equity recruiting firms by metro in the United States
- Private equity recruiting firms in New York489
- Private equity recruiting firms in Chicago158
- Private equity recruiting firms in Atlanta124
- Private equity recruiting firms in Los Angeles120
- Private equity recruiting firms in Dallas117
- Private equity recruiting firms in Houston92
- Private equity recruiting firms in San Francisco80
- Private equity recruiting firms in Boston77
- Private equity recruiting firms in Miami68
- Private equity recruiting firms in Austin64
- Private equity recruiting firms in Charlotte58
- Private equity recruiting firms in Denver54
- Private equity recruiting firms in San Diego41
- Private equity recruiting firms in Phoenix35
- Private equity recruiting firms in Tampa34
- Private equity recruiting firms in Nashville31
- Private equity recruiting firms in Pittsburgh31
- Private equity recruiting firms in Washington29
- Private equity recruiting firms in Minneapolis28
- Private equity recruiting firms in Orlando28
- Private equity recruiting firms in Raleigh28
- Private equity recruiting firms in Scottsdale28
- Private equity recruiting firms in Cleveland27
- Private equity recruiting firms in Irvine27
- Private equity recruiting firms in New York City26
- Private equity recruiting firms in Philadelphia26
- Private equity recruiting firms in Seattle25
Frequently asked
How many private equity recruiting firms are there based in Chicago, United States?
RevenueBase identified 158 private equity recruiting firms headquartered in Chicago, United States as of September 2026, matched on each company's own description of what it does rather than its industry code.
What is the largest company on this list?
Lincoln International, headquartered in Chicago, tops this list with the largest team on record.
Which city has the most private equity recruiting firms?
New York leads with 489 headquartered companies, followed by Chicago (158) and Atlanta (124).
How do I get contact information for these companies?
A free RevenueBase account lets you run this exact search and work the top results, verified emails and direct dials included. Upgrading unlocks all 2,185 verified decision-maker contacts tracked across these 158 companies.
How current is this list?
The list refreshes periodically as the company graph is re-checked. This page's figures were pulled on September 5, 2026.
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About this data
RevenueBase is a B2B data infrastructure company. Its company graph covers 60 million companies and 398.9 million professional contacts, with emails verified on a rolling cadence rather than scraped once and left to decay. These company lists are generated directly from that graph with RevenueBase SmartSearch, the same natural-language company search every RevenueBase user has: describe a market in plain words, get the companies that match, and add verified emails and direct dials for the people at them. It is the same data that powers RevenueBase's B2B data products, and a free account includes 500 credits to start. How these lists are built and judged.
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