JN Talent Advisory
Precision in Every Placement.
Executive search for investor-backed growth. When you work with JN Talent, you work directly with a partner who has spent 25 years building leadership teams for VC and PE-backed companies.
Evidence in the numbers
25+ years
in executive search, PE and VC-backed leadership.
100+ searches
completed across SaaS, industrials, business services, and energy.
95%
of placements still in role after two years.
Why JN Talent?
One partner. Every search. No handoffs.
Larger firms hand your search to a team — a partner for the pitch, associates for the sourcing, a researcher you never meet. At JN Talent, the person who takes your first call runs your search from kickoff to close. That means faster ramp-up, no re-explaining your business twice, and judgment shaped by two and a half decades of doing this work — not a playbook.
Built for the pace of PE and VC-backed companies
Portfolio companies don't have the runway for a six-month search or a generic slate. JN Talent moves quickly, adapts the process to fit the mandate, and stays closely aligned with boards and heads of talent throughout — not just at the start and the finish.
Flexible engagement models
Not every hiring need calls for a full retained search. JN Talent offers both full-cycle retained search and fractional recruiting arrangements (90/120/180-day terms), so smaller or earlier-stage portfolio companies get senior-level search support without paying for more than they need.
Meet the Founder
Judie Norkaitis is an executive search leader with more than 25 years of experience building C-suite and leadership teams for growth-stage companies — from seed-stage startups through venture-backed and private equity-backed portfolio companies. She partners directly with boards, founders, and heads of talent to design and execute searches that scale organizations through critical inflection points, with deep sector expertise in SaaS, industrial manufacturing, B2B marketplaces, and oil & gas.
Throughout her career, Judie has brought an entrepreneurial approach to search — running her own independent practice as well as leading engagements within established firms, including Renovata & Company and Heller Search. That range has given her a practitioner's understanding of what growth-stage leaders actually need: speed, precision, and a search partner who operates as an extension of the team rather than an outside vendor.
Judie began her career as a research associate at Heidrick & Struggles in Chicago, training in executive search at one of the industry's most established firms. Early on, she also worked with the International Monetary Fund in the former Soviet Union — a research and support role that sharpened her ability to operate across complex, unfamiliar environments, a skill she brings to every search today.
Our Approach
Search, Not a Sales Process
JN Talent Advisory strategizes directly with portfolio company leadership and their boards to understand what a role actually requires — not just a job description, but the operating context, the team it sits inside, and what success looks like in 12 months.
We move quickly because our clients don't have time to wait, and we stay flexible because the need in front of us often changes mid-search. If priorities shift, we adjust the search with you, in real time, rather than restarting the clock.
"The cost of hiring someone bad is so much greater than missing out on someone good." — Joe Kraus
Industries & Practice Areas
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Industries & Practice Areas -
Saas
Two and a half decades of building leadership teams for B2B and B2C SaaS companies, from Series A through exit. Representative roles: CEO, CTO, VP Product, VP Customer Success.
Financial Services
Search for financial services and fintech leadership, from founder-led startups to mature, investor-backed platforms. Representative roles: CEO, CFO, Head of Risk, VP Business Development.
B2B Marketplace
We place leadership across B2B marketplace and platform businesses, from early-stage growth to scaled, PE-backed operations. Representative roles: CEO, CRO, VP Sales, Head of Marketplace Operations.
Oil & Gas
Executive search for leadership teams across the energy sector, with a focus on operational discipline and long-term value creation for investor-backed companies. Representative roles: CEO, CFO, VP Operations, Head of Business Development.
Healthcare
We build leadership teams for healthcare and healthcare services companies balancing growth, compliance, and patient outcomes. Representative roles: CEO, CMO, VP Clinical Operations, Head of Compliance.
Industrial Manufacturing
We recruit operational and commercial leaders for PE-backed industrial and manufacturing businesses navigating growth, consolidation, or transition. Representative roles: CEO, COO, VP Operations, VP Supply Chain.
Our Services
A search built around how you actually hire — thoughtful, senior-led, and tailored to the role in front of you.
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Our retained search is a dedicated, white glove engagement from first conversation to signed offer. We start by getting under the skin of your role and culture, then go straight to the passive market — the executives who aren't browsing job boards but are exactly who you need. Every candidate is vetted before you ever see a name, so you're choosing from a small, curated slate of the best, not sifting through a stack. We manage the entire candidate experience, guide you through offer negotiation, and stay engaged after the hire lands. Because this search is exclusively yours, you get our full focus and total discretion — not a race against other firms.
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For fast-moving startups and seed-stage teams, we offer contingency search — a lighter-touch, budget-friendly way to fill junior and early-career roles quickly. We tap our network to source qualified candidates fast, so you can keep building without slowing down to run a full search process. You only pay if we place someone, making it a low-risk way to get moving on hiring while you scale. It's a great fit when you need speed and flexibility over a deep, white glove process — ideal for the roles that keep your team growing day to day.
Contact Us
Let's Talk About Your Next Hire
Whether you're a board, a founder, or a head of talent trying to fill a critical leadership gap, we'd love to hear from you.