About mad
mad is an independent executive search firm. We hire the leaders of startups and scale-ups, then the teams they build. In the US, we find the first US leader of French scale-ups and mid-sized companies.
Who we are
Jean-Charles Martinez founded Talent Partners in 2019. The firm became mad in 2024. It has made more than 800 hires since it started, for French and international startups and scale-ups.
We hire people in post, who don't answer job ads. Half of our placements come from mad connect, our private network of 85,000 profiles: people we have followed for years, often people we placed somewhere else before.
Our legal entity is Talent Partners RH-Recrutement, registered in Paris. Our legal notice gives the details.
Where we are
Offices in Paris and Montpellier, and a base in preparation in Miami. Our searches run wherever the role is. Over the past twelve months, recruiting took us to twelve countries, the US included.
The team
Jean-Charles MartinezFounder and CEOJean-Charles leads the firm's executive mandates, CRO, CTO, VP Sales and Country Manager, for French and international startups and scale-ups. He publishes mad's C-level salary benchmark and writes about what a leadership hire really costs.
Nancy runs mad with Jean-Charles. She leads the candidate interviews, in France and in the US, and makes the first call with every candidate of a US search.
How we work, in four rules
We know the market before you call
The best people don't answer job ads. They answer someone they know. That's why we don't prospect the market: we know it.
We publish what we know
Our C-level salary benchmark cites its sources and shows its method. Our comparison of fourteen search firms names the competitors, including when you should choose them over us.
No invented figures
Every figure we publish has a dated source. When a source doesn't cover a case, we say so.
We stay after the signature
Check-ins at 30, 90 and 180 days, on both sides. That's where a hire succeeds or quietly fails.
Beyond the search
mad (Talent Partners) is an independent executive search firm. It is not affiliated with MAD Talent, with MAD, the luxury consultancy (mad.fr), or with MAD Group (madgroup.fr).
A leadership role to fill, in the US or in France?
Tell us about the role in three lines. We reply within the day, New York time, with a first read: feasibility, profile to target, realistic package range.
Book a call →Write to us