We share executive moves, placement insights, and Software and SaaS PE leadership trends weekly — feel free to follow us on LinkedIn here:

Introducing Calibrator: AI-Driven Dynamic Scorecard Accelerating Executive Search

The Next Evolution in Executive Search

by Adam Boone

At Bespoke Partners, we know that a single executive hire can unlock billions in value creation for private equity firms. That’s why we are relentless in advancing the science and precision of executive search—and today, we’re proud to introduce the next evolution of that mission: Calibrator.

Calibrator is our new AI-powered dynamic scorecarding application, built to work seamlessly with the Executive Index, the industry’s most advanced talent market mapping platform. It delivers real-time visibility into the complete executive talent pool—helping private equity investors and operators identify the right leaders, faster than ever before.

The new scorecarding application handles the number crunching and data filtering that used to take many hours of manual analysis. The result is a dramatic reduction in generating a complete pool of candidates, dropping the time to reach 100 high-fit candidates by 44%.

Most importantly, it lets our clients and our team supporting them focus on the higher order aspects of recruiting that need the human touch: engaging candidates, assessing them, understanding their potential cultural fit.

As I like to say, "Let AI number crunch and let humans human."

Executive Search at the Speed of Private Equity

Traditional search methods rely on bottom-up, manual candidate discovery, resulting in missed opportunities and drawn-out timelines. Calibrator transforms the process with an intelligent, top-down approach that cuts through the noise—filtering and surfacing high-fit leaders with unmatched speed and accuracy.

  • bp-list-icon

    Clients Can Now:

    • Visualize the entire market for any executive role
    • Adjust scorecard parameters live and in collaboration with Bespoke’s expert team
    • Filter candidates by detailed, high-impact attributes like role performance, growth-stage experience, end-market expertise, geography, and even flight time proximity
    • Cut 2+ weeks from a typical search process
    • Build 100-candidate pools 44% faster than traditional methods
Executive Index + Calibrator, AI-Driven Market Mapping Platform
Play Video

Powered by the Executive Index. Enhanced by AI.

At the core of Calibrator is the Executive Index—our proprietary, AI-augmented platform built from over 53 million rows of executive data validated across more than 575,000 sources. It delivers the most comprehensive view of software and SaaS leadership talent in the U.S., with nearly 700,000 executives mapped and indexed.

Unlike self-reported data from public platforms, the Executive Index presents validated profiles—providing a more accurate view of past performance and future potential.

Precision Meets Performance

An executive hiring decision can impact billions of dollars in value creation for a private equity firm,” says Eric Walczykowski, CEO of Bespoke Partners.

“With Calibrator, we’re giving our clients the clearest lens yet into the talent landscape—so they can make those high-stakes decisions with confidence, clarity, and speed.

The impact of Calibrator and the Executive Index in numbers:

50%

Larger talent pools identified compared to traditional bottom-up methods

2+

Weeks cut from the average executive search process

44%

Faster time to build a 100-candidate pool

90%

Scorecard match accuracy for surfaced candidates

100%

Visibility into flight-time proximity for onsite flexibility

Smarter Search Starts Here

Calibrator isn’t just an enhancement—it’s a reinvention of how executive search should operate in the private equity world. When speed, precision, and performance matter, Calibrator empowers investment professionals and operating partners to move beyond intuition and toward insight-driven hiring.

This is executive search built for the next era.

See Calibrator in Action

Discover how Calibrator is transforming the executive search experience for leading private equity firms and portfolio companies.

Winning Results

americas top 250
hunt scanlon award badge for america's best recruiters
america's top 49 retained executive search firms
america's top 49 retained executive search firms

Authored by:

  • Boone
    Chief Marketing Officer

    Boone”has orchestrated strategy, launches and marketing programs for more than 100 products, services and ventures generating billions of dollars in revenue and many multiples of enterprise value. Sequoia Capital, Goldman Sachs, Greylock, Bessemer Ventures and other top tier private capital investors have backed Boone's companies in a range of sectors including software, telecommunications, cybersecurity, and networking.

    Boone has led marketing, demand generation, branding, product management, services marketing, or alliances marketing programs for numerous successful companies including Avaya-acquisition Sipera, Sequoia start-up Syndesis, Subex, CoManage, and others. He has driven joint marketing programs and go-to-market initiatives with iconic industry leaders including Microsoft, IBM, GE, AT&T, Oracle, Comcast, Cisco, Ciena and Samsung.

    Boone holds an MBA in Business Strategy from the WP Carey School of Business at Arizona State University and completed the Competitive Marketing Strategy Program at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.