Without Mycelium
A leader is hired against an outdated brief and a strong CV, then meets a business no one fully mapped.
The result
- Growth targets slip, milestones missed
- Investment cases stall, momentum lost
- Teams disengage, costly re-hires follow
Leadership search · Private equity & enterprise
The right leader for where you're going, not where they've been.
Senior leadership hires fail far more often than they should. Rarely for lack of talent, almost always for lack of fit. Mycelium Search places functional, C-suite and board-level leaders who take root, deliver and stay.
London-based. Working across the UK, Europe and North America with private equity, portfolio companies and enterprise.
6 to 12
month
guarantee
Track record
Leadership environments our founders have built teams across.
The case for getting this right
A senior hire is one of the highest-stakes decisions a business makes
3.2 yrs
Average tenure of an externally hired executive, down from 5.3 years.
Spencer Stuart, 2025
40%
Of externally hired executives underperform or exit within 18 months.
Harvard Business Review, 2024
60%
Of those failures trace to cultural and contextual misfit, not capability.
HBR / Gartner
The problem we solve
Capability gets people hired. Fit determines whether they last.
Most leadership search stops at the CV. We go deeper, mapping the business a leader is actually walking into, so the appointment is deep rooted and holds.
With Mycelium
A leader is matched to the real environment, ecosystem and effect of the role, and built to succeed in it.
The outcome
- Clarity on the true brief from week one
- Faster impact, fewer false starts and re-hires
- Genuine alignment across teams, stakeholders, investors and the board
Our approach
Mycelium-Based Search
Our methodology designs every leadership role from the ground up, assessing the full system a leader must succeed within, across three connected dimensions.
Environment
The market, sector and external conditions the role must navigate to succeed.
Ecosystem
The business itself: culture, structure, team and the way decisions actually get made.
Effect
The measurable impact the leader must create. Outcomes defining the first 12 to 24 months.
Who we help
Built for complex, high-stakes leadership hires
Private equity & portfolio companies
CEO, CFO and commercial leadership through buy-and-build, scale-up and pre-exit. Leaders who drive the value-creation plan.
Large & complex enterprises
Senior leaders who operate across complexity: transformation, multi-market structures and demanding governance.
Founder-led scale-ups
Experienced operators who complement the founding team and carry the business into its next stage of growth.
Boards & investors
Chairs, Non-Executive Directors and advisors who strengthen governance, oversight and strategic decision-making.
Engagement models
Three ways to engage. One standard of rigour.
Full Search is our recommended model. Two further models bring our method where lighter touch is the right answer.
Model 01
Full Search
Flagship · RecommendedLong-term thinking, not transactional search. Our complete retained leadership search partnership.
All five stages · 6 to 12 month guarantee
Model 02
Search-as-a-Service
We identify, engage and qualify senior talent. Your team runs the interview and selection process.
Stage 2: Search
Model 03
Design & Discovery
We clarify the role, align decision-makers and equip your team with the foundations for a confident search.
Stage 1: Design & Discovery
Track record
What leaders say about working with our founders
Recommendations from leaders our founders have partnered with across their careers in talent and search. Names withheld, sector and seniority disclosed.
He took a really commercial approach, making sure we brought in the right talent to drive the business forward.
I had the pleasure of working with Adam at Yum! Brands, both with KFC and later with Pizza Hut, where he led recruitment on my team. Adam is incredibly passionate about the candidate experience and always made sure people felt valued throughout the process. At the same time, he took a really commercial approach, making sure we were bringing in the right talent to drive the business forward. He helped us hire world-class talent and left a real legacy in both brands. What I really valued about Adam was his humility, self-awareness, and eagerness to learn. He never saw recruitment as just filling roles — he saw it as shaping the future of the business, and he did it brilliantly. Adam's impact is lasting, and anyone who works with him will quickly see how much he raises the bar.
Global QSR & Hospitality
Operator & People Leader
His knowledge, contacts and insights were highly impressive. We hired a really amazing candidate thanks to him.
Adam supported me and the team in the search and selection of a senior-level appointment. His knowledge, contacts and insights were highly impressive. He actively supported in all interviews and kept the whole process on track. I know we managed to hire ourselves a really amazing candidate thanks to Adam. I would certainly work with Adam again.
Hospitality & Multi-Site
Chief Executive Officer
A remarkable ability to identify people who align with both the required skills and the core values.
I had the pleasure of working with Adam during his tenure at UNiDAYS. As Head of Talent, Adam has a remarkable ability to identify candidates who align perfectly with both the required skills and core values, but also sell the company's mission and vision effectively. Many individuals we hired cited Adam, and his recruitment style, as a key reason for joining. One of Adam's standout qualities is his deep understanding of candidate motivations. He takes the time to listen and engage with potential hires, ensuring he understands what drives them and accurately assesses the right opportunity for them. This skill not only enhances the candidate experience but also leads to higher retention rates. Moreover, Adam excels in building strong relationships, both internally and externally. He collaborates seamlessly with hiring managers and other stakeholders, building a trusted partnership that is crucial in the recruitment process. His approachable nature and genuine interest in others make him a joy to work with. He will undoubtedly contribute to the success of any organisation fortunate enough to have him on board.
Consumer Technology
Chief Operating & Digital Officer
An exceptional talent leader with a real knack for matching people with the right opportunity.
I had the pleasure of working with Adam at UNiDAYS as he was instrumental in recruiting me for my VP role. Adam is an exceptional talent leader with a keen eye for identifying top talent. He possesses a deep understanding of the industry and a knack for matching candidates with the right opportunities. Beyond his professional skills, Adam is a true pleasure to work with. He has a high level of emotional intelligence, a great sense of humour and a positive attitude that inspires those around him. I would wholeheartedly recommend him to any organisation seeking a talented and dedicated HR leader.
Consumer Technology
Vice President of Engineering
He very quickly became a trusted advisor whose guidance I respected.
I first met Adam as a candidate interested in a position he was managing. At the time, I was juggling multiple opportunities and he very quickly became a trusted advisor whose advice and guidance I respected. There was no sales pitch, no pressure, just a very genuine individual who was there to support me through the decision-making process. I would highly recommend Adam for his honest and credible approach. First class.
Travel, Hospitality & Retail
Chief People Officer
An excellent search partner. A refreshing approach. First class.
Adam is an excellent search partner. His refreshing approach to looking for candidates as well as supporting candidates is first class, and I look forward to working with Adam again.
Transformation & People
Senior HR Leader, FCIPD
Our roots
Founded by operators who have built leadership teams from the inside
Adam Davies and Adam Alderton-Swart have built leadership and executive teams across in-house and search environments for over twenty years between them. Mycelium brings that operator's perspective, and a methodology drawn from how natural systems build resilience, to senior hiring.
Common questions
Frequently asked questions
Mycelium-Based Search is our methodology for senior hiring. Rather than starting from an inherited job description, we start from a clean slate and map the full system a leader must succeed within, across three connected dimensions: the Environment around the role, the Ecosystem inside the business, and the Effect the leader must create. The role is designed from the ground up, and every requirement is justified against where the business is heading.
Full Search is our flagship retained partnership: all five stages from role design through search, set-up, delivery and aftercare, backed by the 6 to 12 month guarantee. Search-as-a-Service covers the market execution phase only: we identify, engage and qualify senior talent and hand your team a decision-ready shortlist. Design & Discovery covers the strategic foundations: role clarity, stakeholder alignment and the documentation your team needs to run a confident search.
From a single C-suite appointment to a full leadership-team build, permanent and interim. That spans chief executives, CFOs, COOs, commercial, marketing, technology and people leaders; Chairs, Non-Executive Directors and strategic advisors; and managing directors, country and regional leads and functional VPs.
We partner with private equity funds and their portfolio companies, large and complex enterprises, founder-led scale-ups, and boards making advisory and governance appointments. We are London-based and work across the UK, Europe and North America, wherever a single leadership appointment can define the trajectory of the business.
Every Full Search engagement is backed by a standard 24-week guarantee: if a placed leader does not remain productively employed for six months, we conduct a replacement search at no additional professional fee. For appointments navigating transformation, scale or heightened complexity, the cover can be extended to a full 12 months for a fixed £5,000, payable prior to shortlist delivery.
Partnership, not providers.
Book a discovery call and leave knowing exactly what your next leader should look like.
Book a discovery callhello@myceliumsearch.co.uk · www.myceliumsearch.co.uk