Since 2016, Hofer & Stelmach has helped the world's leading companies locate rare specialists and subject-matter experts — drawing from a talent pool in Eastern Europe and the post-Soviet region that most firms have never mapped.
Average search-to-placement (Q1 2026)
Client satisfaction across 10 countries
Every mandate. No contingency. No shortcuts.
Boutique by design. Operating across 10 countries on three continents.
Built in Budapest. Now operating across 10 countries on three continents — always boutique by design, never by accident.
We started with a single conviction: that the most valuable specialists in the world are rarely the ones who are actively looking. Ten years later, that conviction is our competitive advantage.
From quantitative analysts and materials scientists to regulatory specialists and rare-field engineers — we search across every discipline where talent is genuinely hard to find.
Our network spans the post-Soviet region — Russia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Georgia and beyond. A vast, largely untapped reservoir of world-class specialists that most international firms have never accessed.
Measured annually. Earned by finding people others couldn't.
Based on post-placement surveys sent to all clients at 12 months, with a response rate above 80%.
There are hundreds of search firms. Most of them will tell you they're different. Here is what actually sets us apart.
Generalist firms search who's available. We search who's right — including people who have never appeared on any list, in any system, anywhere.
We limit the number of searches we run at any time. Not because we have to — because quality requires it. Every client gets a founding partner's attention from day one to placement.
We don't brief ourselves on your industry after you call us. Our consultants have field-level knowledge of the disciplines they search in — which means we can assess depth, not just credentials.
Most firms disappear after placement. We track retention, performance, and fit at 6, 12, and 24 months. If something isn't working, we want to know — and we act on it.
Most search firms work from the same databases, the same networks, the same shortlists. When a role is standard, that works. When you need someone truly rare — a specialist in a narrow field, a practitioner with 20 years of irreplaceable experience, an expert who has never looked for a job — it doesn't. That's where we operate.
75% of employers globally report difficulty finding the skilled talent they need — a figure that has nearly doubled since 2014. For roles requiring deep technical or analytical expertise, the gap is even wider.
Source: ManpowerGroup 2024 Global Talent Shortage Survey, 40,000+ employers across 41 countries.
EU compliance. Eastern networks. We understand the regulatory, cultural, and professional landscape on both sides — and know what it takes to make a placement that lasts.
We don't post jobs. We identify, approach, and assess individuals who are not actively looking — people whose expertise is known only within their field.
We spend time understanding your organisation, your field, and the exact profile you need before we search for anyone.
Our contacts are not scraped from databases. They are known to us personally — specialists we've tracked, met, and assessed over years.
Every candidate on our shortlist has been evaluated for technical depth, cultural fit, and long-term potential. No filler.
We check in at 6, 12, and 24 months after every placement — with both the client and the expert. 5+ year average tenure.
We don't post jobs. We identify, approach, and assess individuals who are not actively looking — people whose expertise is known only within their field. Every search begins with a deep brief and ends with a shortlist we can personally vouch for.
Placement is the beginning, not the end. We track expert retention, performance, and client satisfaction at 6, 12, and 24 months post-placement.
We take a limited number of mandates at any time. That's not a constraint — it's how we ensure every client gets the attention their search deserves.
Rare expertise doesn't belong to one sector. Neither do we.
Quantitative analysts, risk modellers, structured finance specialists, and regulatory experts placed at multinational banks, asset managers, and insurance groups.
Deep-tech researchers, systems architects, and rare-discipline engineers — placed at companies where the wrong hire sets a programme back by years.
Materials scientists, process engineers, and technical directors across electrical engineering, maritime construction, metallurgy, and precision manufacturing.
Specialists in grid infrastructure, renewable transition, and energy systems — people who understand the physics, not just the strategy.
We also search across life sciences, defence, and public sector — wherever the talent is genuinely hard to find.
Across 10 countries. Every sector. One standard.
"We'd been searching for 14 months through three other firms. Hofer & Stelmach found the right person in seven weeks. The depth of their network is unlike anything we'd encountered before."
"The specialist they placed had a profile we didn't think existed in Europe. They not only found her — they convinced her to move. That's a different kind of search firm."
"They understood the technical requirements of the role at a level that surprised us. This wasn't a generalist firm guessing at a brief — they knew exactly what we needed."
"They found someone we considered unreachable. Within three months, he was leading our key programme."
A small team with deep expertise. Every consultant is a specialist, not a generalist.
Our consultants don't just understand hiring — they understand the disciplines they search in. That's what allows us to assess a candidate's depth, not just their CV.
We operate across 10 countries in multiple languages, with genuine cultural fluency on both sides of the East-West divide. Not a local office on a map — a real network, built over years.
Consistent top-place finishers in the International Executive Search Federation rankings — recognised annually for search quality and client outcomes.
Martin Hofer, Founding Partner, CEO · Arthur Stelmach, Founding Partner, HR
Five voices. Five sectors. One consistent outcome.
"They found a grid systems specialist we'd been unable to locate for two years. Within 18 months, that hire had reshaped our entire technical roadmap."
"We needed a quantitative risk expert with a very specific background. They delivered a shortlist of three credible candidates in under eight weeks."
"The researcher they placed was genuinely world-class — someone we would never have found through conventional search. The impact on our R&D output was immediate."
"They understood the regulatory nuance of the role before we'd finished explaining it. That level of domain knowledge is rare in a search firm."
"Three searches over four years. Every placement is still with us. That's the only metric that matters."
We stand behind every placement we make. Not as a formality — as a standard.
If a placed expert leaves or does not perform within the first 12 months for reasons within our control, we conduct a full replacement search at no additional fee. No conditions. No negotiation.
We check in at 6, 12, and 24 months after every placement — with both the client and the expert. We want to know what's working and what isn't, before it becomes a problem.
We work on a retained basis only. That means we are fully committed to your search from the moment we take the mandate — not racing against other firms, not cutting corners to close first.
Every mandate is owned by a named founding partner. You will always know who is responsible for your search — and that person will be reachable, informed, and accountable throughout.
We measure what matters — not activity, but outcomes.
Across all mandates in Q1 2026, including highly specialised and rare-profile searches. Industry average: 14–16 weeks.
Measured annually across 10 countries. Clients return because the placements hold.
Based on internal tracking since 2016. Industry average is 4–5 years. Our placements consistently exceed it.
These are outcomes from completed mandates — not projections, not averages from a larger pool.
If you have a search that matters — one where the wrong hire would cost you more than the fee — we'd like to hear about it.
Founding Partner, CEO
martin.hofer@hsglobal.ch
info@hsglobal.ch · +43 699 81314587
Budapest (HQ): Bajcsy-Zsilinszky ut 46-4/102, Hungary
Vienna: Schottenring 16/2, 1010, Austria
Boutique by design. Operating since 2016.
We Find the Experts Nobody Else Can.