Leadership

Jeff Raymond

President, Raymond Search Group
Managing Partner, Direct Recruiters, Inc.

Jeff Raymond is the President and CEO of Raymond Search Group and a Managing Partner at Direct Recruiters, Inc., where he leads executive search and talent strategy engagements across the built environment.

For more than a decade, Jeff has advised founders, private equity sponsors, portfolio company executives, and leadership teams on the hires that shape growth, succession, expansion, and long-term enterprise value. His work sits at the intersection of executive search, market intelligence, leadership assessment, and organizational strategy.

Under Jeff’s leadership, Raymond Search Group has become a specialized search partner for the companies that design, build, maintain, and operate the world around us. The firm serves contractors, consulting engineering firms, architecture and planning organizations, mechanical service providers, building automation companies, water and wastewater businesses, industrial service providers, specialty contractors, and private equity-backed platforms across North America.

Jeff’s approach is rooted in a simple belief: critical hires require more than resumes.

Every search begins with a deep understanding of the business problem, the role outcomes, the leadership profile, the market, and the company stage. From there, Raymond Search Group maps the market, identifies proven passive talent, evaluates technical and cultural fit, and gives clients the information they need to make confident hiring decisions.

Jeff has led searches for CEOs, Presidents, General Managers, Regional Vice Presidents, operating leaders, sales executives, market leaders, technical specialists, and other high-impact roles across the built environment. His work has supported private equity-backed platforms through leadership upgrades and integration, helped founder-led companies scale, and enabled contractors, engineering firms, and service businesses to expand into new markets with stronger leadership teams.

What differentiates Jeff and Raymond Search Group is the firm’s depth of specialization. The team studies organizational structures, competitive landscapes, compensation trends, talent movement, delivery models, and market dynamics. This allows RSG to advise clients not only on who to hire, but how to think about the talent market surrounding the role.

As part of Direct Recruiters and the Starfish Partners network, Jeff brings clients the reach and resources of a national search platform while maintaining the specialization, urgency, and high-touch partnership of a boutique firm.

Jeff leads Raymond Search Group with a clear standard: great companies are built by great people. That belief drives the firm’s work every day – helping clients identify, attract, assess, and secure the leaders who move organizations forward.

In addition to advising clients, Jeff is focused on developing future recruiting leaders, refining RSG’s search methodology, leveraging technology to improve talent acquisition outcomes, and advancing the role of executive search as a strategic growth lever for companies across the built environment.