What is True known for?

ChatGPT names True most often on the question “What are the best executive search firms?”, where it appeared in 197 of 235 sampled responses (83.8%). Across the 9 executive search firms questions measured by The Shortlist Report, True cleared the reporting threshold on 3.

Is True a good executive search firm?

This measurement cannot answer that. It counts how often ChatGPT names True when asked buyer questions, which follows how much has been written about the firm online rather than how well it works. True was named in 349 of the 705 responses sampled on the questions it appears in. A firm named rarely may still be excellent, and a firm named often may not suit a given brief.

Why is True in tier 1?

Tier 1 does not mean ranked first. It means that at the sample sizes measured, the gap between True and the most-named firm is inside the margin of error, so the sample cannot separate them. Firms sharing a tier are listed in arbitrary order.

Which firms compete with True?

The firms most often named on the same questions as True are Daversa Partners, Egon Zehnder, Heidrick & Struggles, JM Search and Korn Ferry. That overlap indicates which firms a buyer asking the same questions is likely to see alongside True; it is not a judgement of which is the better fit.

Firm profile

True

True was named in 3 of the 9 executive search firms questions measured by The Shortlist Report, appearing in 349 of the 705 AI responses sampled across those questions (49.5%).

No website recorded · Last measured October 1, 2026 · how we measure

3 / 9Questions named in

349Responses naming it

50%Of 705 sampled

1Best tier reached

True is strongest on “What are the best executive search firms?”, where it was named in 197 of 235 responses (83.8%), placing it in tier 2 of that report.

What True is surfaced for in executive search firms

Based on the measured answers, True is most likely to be surfaced when buyers ask about “What are the best executive search firms?”, “Which search firms work with venture-backed startups?” and “Which firms specialise in the role we are hiring for?”.

How the answers describe the firmConducts executive search for technology, growth, and PE/VC-backed companies.

In this sample, True was named on 3 of the 8 executive search firms ranking questions measured. These are the buyer questions where it appeared most often:

Executive search firms — named in 197 of 235 responses (83.8%), tier 2.
Executive search startups — named in 81 of 235 responses (34.5%), tier 1.
Executive search by role — named in 71 of 235 responses (30.2%), tier 5.

This describes when the firm is surfaced, not whether it is the right firm to hire. The sample measures recommendation visibility, not client outcomes.

Every question in executive search firms

True was named on 3 of these 8 ranking questions. The rest are questions buyers ask that it did not come up for — with whoever did.

Leader is the most-named firm on that question. The last column shows where True placed, or a dash where it was not named often enough to clear the reporting threshold. Every row links to the full report.
Question	Leader	True
What are the best executive search firms?235 answers	Egon Zehnder99%	84% · tier 2
Which firms specialise in the role we are hiring for?235 answers	Korn Ferry90%	30% · tier 5
Which search firms work with venture-backed startups?235 answers	Riviera Partners35%	35% · tier 1
Who runs board and chief executive searches?235 answers	Spencer Stuart87%	—
Which search firms deliver genuinely diverse candidate slates?235 answers	Russell Reynolds Associates60%	—
Our executive search is not working. Who can take over?235 answers	Spencer Stuart62%	—
Which search firms know our industry?234 answers	Spencer Stuart93%	—
Which executive search firms report measurable search outcomes?30 answers	Heidrick & Struggles23%	—
How much does an executive search firm charge?pricing · 235 answers	what firms charge	—

Who leads executive search firms overall: Spencer Stuart tops 3 of 8 · Egon Zehnder tops 1 of 8 · Heidrick & Struggles tops 1 of 8 · Korn Ferry tops 1 of 8 · Riviera Partners tops 1 of 8 · Russell Reynolds Associates tops 1 of 8. See all reports.

Where True was named

One row per report in which True cleared the reporting threshold. Reports where it was not named often enough to clear that threshold are not listed. Each report states its own sample size and collection window.
Question	Tier	Responses	Share
What are the best executive search firms?	2	197 of 235	83.8%
Which search firms work with venture-backed startups?	1	81 of 235	34.5%
Which firms specialise in the role we are hiring for?	5	71 of 235	30.2%

What True gets named for

Across the 9 executive search firms questions measured, True is named most often on “What are the best executive search firms?” — it appears in 197 of the 235 ChatGPT responses to that question, or 83.8% of them. Its next strongest question is “Which search firms work with venture-backed startups?”, where it appears in 81 of 235 responses (34.5%).

True clears the reporting threshold on 3 of the 9 questions. The spread matters as much as the peak: a firm named across several different questions is one an assistant reaches for generally, where a firm named on one is attached to a single specialism.

What True’s tier placings mean

On “What are the best executive search firms?”, True sits in tier 2 of 6, named in 197 of 235 responses (83.8%). That places it below the leading group on this question, where the top firm was named in 99.1% of responses against True’s 83.8%. It holds tier 2 alone. 9 further firms were named on this question but fell into lower tiers, meaning the sample did separate True from them.

On “Which search firms work with venture-backed startups?”, True sits in tier 1 of 3, named in 81 of 235 responses (34.5%). Tier 1 does not mean it was ranked first. It means that at 235 responses, the gap between True and the most-named firm in that sample is inside the margin of error, so the two cannot be told apart. True shares tier 1 with Riviera Partners, Daversa Partners and Dave Partners, and the order they are listed in is arbitrary. 6 further firms were named on this question but fell into lower tiers, meaning the sample did separate True from them.

On “Which firms specialise in the role we are hiring for?”, True sits in tier 5 of 6, named in 71 of 235 responses (30.2%). That places it below the leading group on this question, where the top firm was named in 90.2% of responses against True’s 30.2%. It shares tier 5 with Daversa Partners, which the sample cannot separate from it. 3 further firms were named on this question but fell into lower tiers, meaning the sample did separate True from them.

Firms named alongside True

When ChatGPT names True, these firms most often turn up on the same questions: Daversa Partners (3 shared questions), Egon Zehnder (2 shared questions), Heidrick & Struggles (2 shared questions), JM Search (2 shared questions), Korn Ferry (2 shared questions), ON Partners (2 shared questions), Riviera Partners (2 shared questions) and Russell Reynolds Associates (2 shared questions).

That overlap is the closest thing this data holds to a shortlist: these are the firms a buyer asking the same questions is most likely to see beside True. It says nothing about which of them is the better fit.

Daversa Partners · Egon Zehnder · Heidrick & Struggles · JM Search · Korn Ferry · ON Partners · Riviera Partners · Russell Reynolds Associates

What this page is, and is not

It is a count of how often AI assistants named True when asked buyer questions about executive search firms. Nothing here is a review, a rating, or an assessment of the firm’s work.
True did not submit this listing, was not contacted about it, and cannot pay to change it, move up, or be removed.
A firm named in few responses may still be excellent. Share follows what has been published about a firm online, which is what an AI assistant reads.
Wrong details, or a firm merged with another of a similar name? We fix those.

All firms · All 9 reports