Financial Services · Technology · Legal
Where
Exceptional
Leaders
Are Found
Gilbert Lennard is a boutique executive search firm Dubai businesses trust, placing transformative leaders across Financial Services, Technology, and Legal — from Los Angeles to Dubai and beyond.
View Open Roles
Our Approach
12-Month Retention Rate
0
%
Average Days to Place
0
Senior Leaders Placed
0
+
-
Los Angeles, CA HQ -
Dubai, UAE MENA
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 Dubai businesses trust, founded in Los Angeles, with a dedicated MENA practice in Dubai, 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.
- Investment Banking
- Asset & Wealth Management
- Private Equity & Venture
- Risk & Compliance
- CFO & Finance Leadership
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.
- CTO & CIO Appointments
- FinTech & RegTech
- Engineering Leadership
- Product & Platform Leaders
- CISO & Cybersecurity
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.
- General Counsel
- Partner & Senior Associate
- Legal Operations
- Regulatory & Compliance
- In-House Legal Teams
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, an executive search firm Dubai companies trust, made for us last year was the single best decision we made that quarter. The role had been open for four months before we engaged them.”
See if we’re the right fit
Meet the team
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
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.
Book a call
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
JPMorgan
Linklaters
Aldar
Man Group
Gibson Dunn
Mubadala
BlackRock
First Abu Dhabi Bank
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, as a trusted executive search firm Dubai, are available for a discreet conversation.
US Los Angeles HQ
AE Dubai DIFC
info@gilbertlennard.com
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, connect with our team — a trusted executive search firm Dubai.