Los Angeles · Dubai Legal & Compliance FinTech Leadership General Counsel Technology Executives Private Equity Financial Services C-Suite Placement
Los Angeles · Dubai Legal & Compliance FinTech Leadership General Counsel Technology Executives Private Equity Financial Services C-Suite Placement
About Gilbert Lennard

The search firm
built for precision.

Most recruiters move fast and hope for the best. Gilbert Lennard doesn’t operate that way.

We are a boutique executive search firm founded in Los Angeles, with a dedicated MENA practice in Duba, connecting world-class talent across Financial Services, Technology, and Legal globally.

We invest significant time before making a single introduction. Understanding your culture, trajectory, and precise definition of exceptional. The result is a shortlist you can trust, not a stack of CVs dressed up as strategy. Our network spans two decades of cultivated relationships across global investment banks, leading law firms, and the technology businesses shaping tomorrow’s financial infrastructure.

US  Los Angeles

Global Headquarters

Beverly Hills, CA  ·  Americas practice covering US, Canada & Latin America. Our founding office, established 2004.

AE  Dubai

MENA Regional Office

Business Bay, Dubai  ·  Dedicated Middle East & North Africa practice serving the GCC’s fastest-growing financial and legal markets.
Founded
0
Repeat Clients
0 %
Guarantee
0 mo
Global Offices
0

"We don't believe in spray-and-pray.
We believe in one right person — found with
certainty, not chance."

Our Disciplines

Three sectors.
One standard.

01

Financial Services

From investment banking to asset management, we place leaders who move capital and define strategy at the highest levels of global finance — across LA, New York, London, and the GCC.

02

Technology

Placing technology executives who don’t just understand the code — they understand the commercial stakes of building at scale in regulated environments across FinTech and beyond.

03

Legal

The General Counsel, Partner, and Head of Legal appointments that protect, enable, and define your organisation’s most critical decisions — across common law and civil law jurisdictions.

How We Work

A methodology built
on depth, not speed.

01 / Brief

Deep Discovery

We don’t take a job spec and run. We spend real time with your leadership team to understand culture, team dynamics, growth trajectory, and exactly what success looks like.

02 / Search

Precision Mapping

Using our proprietary global network, we map the full landscape of qualified candidates — including those not actively looking for their next opportunity.

03 / Assess

Rigorous Evaluation

Every candidate is assessed against your specific brief. Competency interviews, deep referencing, and cultural alignment checks before any introduction is made.

04 / Place

Long-Term Partnership

Our 12-month retention guarantee reflects our confidence. We stay close post-placement to ensure smooth integration and lasting success for both parties.

Why Gilbert Lennard

What sets us apart.

Contingency-Only Model

You only pay when we deliver. No retainers, no upfront fees. Our success-only model aligns our interests with yours from day one.

US & MENA Dual Presence

Beverly Hills, LA to DIFC, Dubai. Two offices, one standard. We bridge Western and GCC talent markets with genuine on-the-ground knowledge in both.

Sector Specialism

We don’t do everything. Financial Services, Technology, and Legal — that’s it. Deep domain expertise means we speak your language and know your market intimately.

12-Month Guarantee

Every placement carries a 12-month guarantee. If it doesn’t work, we replace — no additional fee. Our 96% retention rate speaks to the quality of our process.

Absolute Discretion

Every search is handled with complete confidentiality. No client names shared without permission. No approaches within your organisation. Ever.

Emiratisation Practice

A dedicated practice helping organisations meet and exceed UAE nationalisation targets with exceptional Emirati talent for senior and specialist roles.
Current Mandates

Open Roles.

Chief Risk Officer

Financial Services

Us Los Angeles, CA

$300k+

General Counsel, MENA

Legal

AE Dubai, DIFC

AED 1.2M+

Chief Technology Officer

FinTech

US Los Angeles, CA

$280k+

Head of Compliance & Legal

Asset Management

AE Abu Dhabi, ADGM

AED 900k+

VP Engineering – Payments

Technology

US LA / Remote

$240k+

Managing Director, Private Credit

Private Equity

AE Dubai

AED 1.5M+

Market Intelligence

Talent Market Pulse.

Financial Services

YoY increase in demand for Risk & Compliance leadership across US and GCC tier-1 institutions.
+ 0 %

↑ Demand rising sharply

Legal – GCC

Average total comp for General Counsel roles placed in DIFC and ADGM in the last 12 months.
$ 0 k

↑ Up 18% YoY

Technology

Average time elite CTO candidates remain available before accepting a competing offer in the US market.
0 days

⚡ Move quickly

MENA FinTech

Growth in executive search mandates across the GCC FinTech sector — Q1 2025 vs Q1 2024.
0 x

↑ Fastest growing region

What you actually get

Stop hiring.
Start winning.

“The hire Gilbert Lennard made for us last year is the single best decision we made that quarter. The role had been open for four months before we called them.”

01

Your pipeline moves.
Again.

Speed

That VP role that’s been open for three months — the one holding up two product
launches and a board commitment — gets closed in five days. Your leadership
team stops carrying the load. You stop apologising to investors.

02

The candidate who
wasn't looking.

Access

The best people for your role are already employed, performing, and not on any
job board. They answer our call because we’ve spent years earning that
relationship. You get access to talent your competitors will never see.
 

03

One hire that changes
the shape of the firm.

Impact

The right General Counsel doesn’t just protect the business — they open new
markets. The right CTO doesn’t just write better code — they attract the team that
builds your next product. We find the person who multiplies, not just fills.

04

You stop doing
this yourself.

Reclaimed time

No more 40-page shortlists with no context. No more candidate management. No
more interview scheduling at 11pm. We handle everything, brief you when it
matters, and protect your time like it’s ours.
Role matcher

Find out if we're
the right fit.

Three questions. We’ll tell you exactly how Gilbert Lennard can help — or whether another path makes more sense.

Client Voices

What clients say.

"

Gilbert Lennard found us a General Counsel who transformed how we manage legal risk. They didn’t just fill the role — they understood exactly what kind of leader we needed before we did.

R

Richard Ashford
CEO, Meridian Capital · Los Angeles Search

"

Three CTO searches in four years. Every single time, they’ve delivered a shortlist we couldn’t fault. Their understanding of regulated FinTech environments is genuinely unmatched.

S

Sarah Chen
COO, Beacon Payments · San Francisco

"

Finding senior legal talent in the DIFC ecosystem is notoriously difficult. Gilbert Lennard placed our Head of Regulatory Affairs in under three weeks. Exceptional network in the GCC.

K

Khalid Al-Rashidi
Managing Partner, Gulf Law Partners · Dubai

"

In an industry full of noise, Gilbert Lennard are remarkably quiet and remarkably effective. The quality of their introductions is simply a different standard to anything else we’ve experienced.

A

Amara Osei
CEO, Volta Asset Management · Abu Dhabi

Trusted by leading organisations across the Americas, Europe & GCC

Start a Search

Ready to find your
next leader?

Whether you have an active search, a confidential brief, or simply want to understand the market — our partners in Los Angeles and Dubai are available for a discreet conversation.

US Los Angeles HQ

AE Dubai DIFC

Email

For Candidates

Your next chapter
starts here.

We work with a select group of senior professionals across Financial Services, Technology, and Legal. If you are open to exceptional opportunities, we would like to hear from you.

Candidate Enquiries

General Enquiries

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