Executive Search
Retained and contingent search for permanent leaders — CFO, CEO, COO, and the senior roles a middle-market business cannot get wrong.
Search · Staffing · Strategy
Executive Search, Staffing & Strategy for the Middle Market
Stature is an integrated executive search, staffing, and advisory firm serving the middle market.
Stand Tall. Think Forward.
Talent problems are rarely just talent problems.
A vacant leadership seat, a stretched finance team, a missed operating plan, or a fast-growing business usually points to something larger. Stature helps companies address both sides of the issue: the people needed to move forward and the business problem those people are being asked to solve.
What We Do
Three capabilities. One team. No handoffs.
Search finds the leader. Staffing keeps the work moving. Strategy addresses what a hire alone cannot. Engage one of the three, or all three.
Staffing
Contract, interim, direct hire, and temp-to-hire talent across finance and accounting, HR, operations, and selected light industrial roles.
Strategy
Finance transformation, liquidity and cash-flow management, transaction support, turnaround, and fractional leadership.
Who We Work With
Built for the Middle Market
We work with founders, CEOs, boards, private equity firms, family-owned companies, and middle-market operators who need practical help, clear advice, and the right talent in place. Some are growing. Some are changing hands. Some are under real pressure. We are built for all three.
- Building the leadership team for the next stage of growth
- Professionalizing a founder-led or family-owned business
- Preparing for leadership succession
- Integrating an acquisition or standing up a new division
- Upgrading finance and reporting infrastructure
- Adding flexible capacity during rapid growth or transition
- Covering a seat that is sitting empty
- Working through cash pressure or a sale process
Why One Firm
Pull one thread and the other two move.
Traditional search engagements often end at placement. Stature can support the business before, during, and after the hire; with interim coverage and advisory help when the situation requires it.
A search sometimes surfaces a finance or operating issue that no single hire will resolve. A strategy engagement usually needs an operator strong enough to carry the plan. Staffing keeps the work moving while the permanent decision gets made well. You can start with any one of the three and add another without starting over with a new firm.
What you get when it works
You'll know it landed when the company is steadier, better led, and worth more than the day we showed up.
The seat
Filled by someone the team and the board actually trust to run it
The numbers
Visible, forecastable, and reliable enough to plan against
The story
One version of the plan that leaders, lenders, and investors believe
Evidence
Placements that hold
A hire is only a good hire if the leader is still there years later. We track that, and we will show you the numbers.
94.4%
of assessable CFO placements were still in the role at 36 months
6.7 yrs
median tenure across completed CFO placements
75%
of CFO placements remain in the seat today
Based on Stature's analysis of 132 valid placements, including 28 CFO placements, observed through July 17, 2026. Retention rates include only placements old enough to assess at each milestone. Historical outcomes do not guarantee future results. See the full retention data.
Who Runs It
Meet the Founders
Stature is led by operators and advisors who have sat in the seat. Meet the full team.
Dan Ellis
Co-Founder & Managing Partner · Executive Search & Staffing
A CPA with more than 20 years advising middle-market businesses and over 300 completed executive searches. Dan's finance and accounting foundation shapes how he assesses leadership talent, particularly for PE-backed, family-owned, and founder-led companies where fit, judgment, and execution matter more than pedigree.
Jeff Addison
Co-Founder & Managing Partner · Strategy & Advisory
A turnaround and finance executive who has restructured billion-dollar companies and guided municipalities through some of the largest bankruptcies in U.S. history. Jeff leads liquidity, finance transformation, and transaction-support work, and steps into interim and fractional leadership roles when a business needs experienced hands immediately.
Common Questions
Straight answers
What is Stature?
An integrated executive search, staffing, and advisory firm serving the middle market. We do three things from one team: executive search to place permanent leaders, staffing to supply interim executives and project talent, and strategy to advise on liquidity, performance, and high-stakes events.
Who does Stature work with?
Middle-market owners, founders, CEOs, boards, and the private equity firms that back them. Some clients are growing, professionalizing a founder-led business, planning succession, or integrating an acquisition. Others are working through a vacant seat, cash pressure, or a sale process. We work across manufacturing, industrial services, private equity portfolio companies, family-owned businesses, and professional services.
Can we engage Stature for only one service?
Yes. Search, staffing, and strategy are each available as standalone engagements, and most clients start with one. The advantage of one firm is that you can add a second capability later without starting over with a new provider and re-explaining your business.
How is Stature different from a traditional search firm?
Traditional search engagements often end at placement. Stature can support the business before, during, and after the hire; with interim coverage and advisory help when the situation requires it.
Do you provide interim executives?
Yes. We place interim CFOs, controllers, and other functional leaders who can often start within days — to stabilize reporting, hold a function through transition, and give you time to make the permanent decision well.
Let's talk before the decision gets harder.
Waiting has a cost. So does the wrong move. We help you avoid both. Tell us what is happening and we will give you a straight read on whether it is a search, an interim leader, an advisory mandate, or nothing at all yet.
A member of the Stature team will respond within one business day.