Company lists · Data refreshed September 2026
Top 25 Retained executive search firms based in France
RevenueBase identified 1,215 retained executive search firms headquartered in France as of September 2026 and tracks 9,777 professional contacts across them, including 2,683 with verified work emails. Paris is the largest hub.
This list covers retained executive search firms headquartered in France, 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, its RevenueBase Smart Search rating, and when it was last checked. Data refreshed September 14, 2026.
Published by RevenueBase, a B2B data infrastructure company. This list was built with RevenueBase Smart Search, 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 retained executive search firms based in France
Ranked by team size| # | Company | Contacts | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1,086 contacts → | ||||
Indirect evidence “Start People est un réseau de 267 agences de recrutement (CDI, CDD, intérim, CDIE) réparties sur toute la France, qui offre une gamme de prestations de recrutement sur-mesure aux…” Source: RevenueBase Database · checked Sep 14, 2026Thanks. The Data Team will review it. | |||||
| 2 | 233 contacts → | ||||
Indirect evidence “Cabinet de conseil en recrutement d’experts, cadres et managers (PME, ETI et groupes internationaux) basé en France, en Suisse et en Espagne, Adsearch se distingue par sa très…” Source: RevenueBase Database · checked Sep 14, 2026Thanks. The Data Team will review it. | |||||
| 3 | 220 contacts → | ||||
Indirect evidence “FAB Group est un cabinet de conseil en recrutement et en management de transition.” Source: RevenueBase Database · checked Sep 14, 2026Thanks. The Data Team will review it. | |||||
| 4 | 141 contacts → | ||||
Strong evidence “We are especialized in middle-top recruitment, executive search, head hunting, externatilization of recruitment.” Source: RevenueBase Database · checked Sep 14, 2026Thanks. The Data Team will review it. | |||||
| 5 | 116 contacts → | ||||
Indirect evidence “MÉTHODE Notre approche directe garantit une chasse exhaustive, prenant en compte l’intégralité du marché (tamisage à maille très serrée) quel que soit le secteur d’activité, le…” Source: RevenueBase Database · checked Sep 14, 2026Thanks. The Data Team will review it. | |||||
| 6 | 114 contacts → | ||||
Strong evidence “OP Search is a leader in International Executive Search for Senior Management and key roles within the C-suite.” Source: RevenueBase Database · checked Sep 14, 2026Thanks. The Data Team will review it. | |||||
| 7 | 90 contacts → | ||||
Indirect evidence “Fondé en 2013, Upward est un cabinet de recrutement de cadres et cadres dirigeants.” Source: RevenueBase Database · checked Sep 14, 2026Thanks. The Data Team will review it. | |||||
| 8 | 79 contacts → | ||||
Indirect evidence “Key Talents @ Key Moments, Depuis 2004, Keyman accompagne les entreprises dans le recrutement de membres de CODIR, de cadres et de profils experts, partout en France, grâce à un…” Source: RevenueBase Database · checked Sep 14, 2026Thanks. The Data Team will review it. | |||||
| 9 | 79 contacts → | ||||
Indirect evidence “Cabinet de recrutement et de conseil en entreprise, nous proposons nos prestations de services sur 3 secteurs d'activité :* La grande distribution, la distribution spécialisée et…” Source: RevenueBase Database · checked Sep 14, 2026Thanks. The Data Team will review it. | |||||
| 10 | 76 contacts → | ||||
Indirect evidence “Filiale du groupe William Sinclair, Sinclair Ressources est un cabinet de recrutement temporaire et permanent spécialisé depuis 14 ans sur les métiers suivants - Comptabilité et…” Source: RevenueBase Database · checked Sep 14, 2026Thanks. The Data Team will review it. | |||||
| 11 | 70 contacts → | ||||
Indirect evidence “Depuis 1989, le Groupe FSC, à travers ses activités de conseil en ressources humaines, accompagne et rassemble les organisations comme les individus qui poursuivent une ambition…” Source: RevenueBase Database · checked Sep 14, 2026Thanks. The Data Team will review it. | |||||
| 12 | 65 contacts → | ||||
Indirect evidence “Notre cabinet conseil ACTIFORCES créé depuis plus de 20 ans répond aux 3 besoins majeurs des entreprises en matière de Ressources Humaines- le Recrutement et l’Approche Directe -…” Source: RevenueBase Database · checked Sep 14, 2026Thanks. The Data Team will review it. | |||||
| 13 | 61 contacts → | ||||
Indirect evidence “Fondé en 2010, Solantis est un cabinet de conseil en recrutement à taille humaine, notamment leader sur les métiers de l'IT et Digital.” Source: RevenueBase Database · checked Sep 14, 2026Thanks. The Data Team will review it. | |||||
| 14 | 61 contacts → | ||||
Indirect evidence “Depuis 2005 ans, Expert & Manager est un cabinet de conseil en recrutement.” Source: RevenueBase Database · checked Sep 14, 2026Thanks. The Data Team will review it. | |||||
| 15 | 58 contacts → | ||||
Indirect evidence “Xperts Council connects Private Equities, Consulting Firms, and Corporates with high level professionals for industry sector consultations, senior advisery missions, and…” Source: RevenueBase Database · checked Sep 14, 2026Thanks. The Data Team will review it. | |||||
| 16 | 48 contacts → | ||||
Indirect evidence “NAOS International is a recruitment and headhunting firm founded in 2008 which supports its clients across Europe, Asia, the Middle East, North America and Africa.” Source: RevenueBase Database · checked Sep 14, 2026Thanks. The Data Team will review it. | |||||
| 17 | 45 contacts → | ||||
Indirect evidence “Créé il y a 50 ans et aujourd’hui présidé par Jean-Philippe Demaël, Progress Associés est un des pionniers en France du recrutement de dirigeants et du développement du leadership.” Source: RevenueBase Database · checked Sep 14, 2026Thanks. The Data Team will review it. | |||||
| 18 | 44 contacts → | ||||
Indirect evidence “Spécialiste du #recrutement #intérimaire,#CDD et #CDI, notre équipe est composée de professionnels expérimentés qui répondent à vos besoins et vous accompagnent à chaque étape de…” Source: RevenueBase Database · checked Sep 14, 2026Thanks. The Data Team will review it. | |||||
| 19 | 44 contacts → | ||||
Partial evidence “NIM Europe is a leading provider of interim managers at Executive, Head of Function and Program & Business-Change level in France and throughout the world.” Source: RevenueBase Database · checked Sep 14, 2026Thanks. The Data Team will review it. | |||||
| 20 | 41 contacts → | ||||
Indirect evidence “Au sein de W Group, l’entité W Hunt est un cabinet de recrutement et d'approche directe dédié aux enjeux des cadres et experts.” Source: RevenueBase Database · checked Sep 14, 2026Thanks. The Data Team will review it. | |||||
| 21 | 41 contacts → | ||||
Indirect evidence “Having the right leaders in place and regularly reviewing the effectiveness of the leadership team as a whole is a prerequisite for any company wishing to succeed and create…” Source: RevenueBase Database · checked Sep 14, 2026Thanks. The Data Team will review it. | |||||
| 22 | 38 contacts → | ||||
Indirect evidence “Talent Addict est le cabinet de chasse de têtes leader du recrutement de Consultants en Stratégie et Organisation.” Source: RevenueBase Database · checked Sep 14, 2026Thanks. The Data Team will review it. | |||||
| 23 | 37 contacts → | ||||
Indirect evidence “Sapiance est acteur global du conseil en Ressources Humaines.” Source: RevenueBase Database · checked Sep 14, 2026Thanks. The Data Team will review it. | |||||
| 24 | 37 contacts → | ||||
Partial evidence “AGORA SEARCH est un acteur reconnu dans le Recrutement par Approche Directe de dirigeants et d'Experts, ainsi que dans le Management de Transition et le Conseil RH : chasse de…” Source: RevenueBase Database · checked Sep 14, 2026Thanks. The Data Team will review it. | |||||
| 25 | 37 contacts → | ||||
Strong evidence “Sterling International is a global provider of Retained Executive Search and consulting services in the Fashion, Retail and Luxury Goods sectors, with offices in Paris, Milan, New…” Source: RevenueBase Database · checked Sep 14, 2026Thanks. The Data Team will review it. | |||||
RevenueBase Smart Search
RevenueBase Smart Search assesses information from a company’s LinkedIn profile, information supplied directly by the company, its website, and other publicly available sources. It uses that information to rate how closely the company relates to this list’s category: retained executive search firms. Every row carries its rating and the description the rating was read from, so each one can be checked rather than taken on trust.
- Strong evidence
- The company's own public description of its business names retained executive search firms.
- Partial evidence
- Its own public description names part of retained executive search firms, so it works in or next to the category without describing itself that way.
- Indirect evidence
- The description shown does not name retained executive search firms. The match rests on the rest of the company's public profile rather than the one sentence quoted here, so this is the rating to check first.
RevenueBase Smart Search is how these lists are built: RevenueBase's data engine and AI assemble the companies that match a category defined in a user's own words, so a list can be about what companies actually do rather than about whichever industry code they were filed under.
Showing 25 of 1,215 retained executive search firms based in France
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Retained executive search firms based in France at a glance
As of Sep 14, 2026Companies by employee count
Email recency for this list is measured worldwide rather than for France, so it is reported there. Company counts and contact totals on this page are exact for France, over 1,215 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 retained executive search firms, so some rows will be adjacent to the category rather than pure plays. The description and RevenueBase Smart Search 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 Smart Search, the natural-language company search available to every RevenueBase user.
- What qualifies
- Companies headquartered in France whose own description of what they do matches “retained executive search firms”. Matching reads each company's description, not its industry code or its name.
- RevenueBase Smart Search
- RevenueBase Smart Search is how this list is assembled and how each row is rated. RevenueBase's data engine and AI assess a company's LinkedIn profile, information supplied directly by the company, its website and other publicly available information, then relate it to a category defined in a user's own words. Each row is rated strong evidence (its own description names retained executive search firms), partial evidence (it names part of the category) or indirect evidence (the description shown names none of it and the match rests on the rest of the company's profile). The description supporting each rating is quoted on the row.
- What we exclude
- Companies whose own description does not clearly place them among retained executive search firms, and records with no verified work email. Companies headquartered outside France 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 its RevenueBase Smart Search 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, 2,683 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 14, 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.
Retained executive search firms by metro
- Retained executive search firms in Paris547
- Retained executive search firms in Lyon63
- Retained executive search firms in Toulouse27
- Retained executive search firms in Nantes25
Frequently asked
What is RevenueBase Smart Search?
RevenueBase Smart Search is how RevenueBase decides which companies belong on this list and how strongly each one fits. Its data engine and AI assess a company's LinkedIn profile, information supplied directly by the company, its website and other publicly available information, then relate it to the category the list is about. Each row is rated strong evidence when the company's own description names retained executive search firms, partial evidence when it names part of the category, and indirect evidence when the description shown names none of it and the match rests on the rest of the company's profile.
How many retained executive search firms are there based in France?
RevenueBase identified 1,215 retained executive search firms headquartered in France 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?
Start People France, headquartered in St Julien Les Metz, tops this list with the largest team on record.
Which city has the most retained executive search firms?
Paris leads with 547 headquartered companies, followed by Lyon (63) and Toulouse (27).
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 2,683 verified decision-maker contacts tracked across these 1,215 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 14, 2026.
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Retained executive search firms by geography
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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 Smart Search, 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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