Talent Agent services

Your Career Deserves Representation

Private Talent Agent services for CEOs, C-suite executives and senior leaders making important career moves.

You have spent decades building your career, your reputation and your commercial value. When the time comes to make your next move, relying on advertised vacancies, recruitment databases and the hope that the right headhunter happens to call is an extraordinarily passive way to manage it.

There is another way to go to market.

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For more than 20 years, Kylie Hammond has worked at the intersection of executive search, talent management, executive career strategy and board search. She has helped hundreds of senior executives navigate highly confidential career moves and has built an extensive network across CEOs, C-suite executives, HR leaders, chairs, board directors, executive search professionals, private companies and the investment community.

Through her private Talent Agent Service, Kylie turns the traditional recruitment model around. Instead of representing the employer, Kylie represents you.

This is not simply career coaching. It is not an outplacement program and it is not a CV service. It is highly personalised executive career representation, combining strategy, personal branding, market intelligence, proactive opportunity development, executive search connections, private business introductions, interview preparation, negotiation support and longer-term career planning.

The objective is simple: get you into the right conversations, with the right people, for the right opportunities.

Kylie Hammond at Tiger Boards reception, Leadership, Governance and Impact books — Kylie Hammond LLM Ent Gov · Founder & CEO, Tiger Boards

The model

What Is a Talent Agent?

Think about the way other highly valued talent is represented. Actors have agents. Professional athletes have managers. Authors have literary agents. Senior commercial talent, however, is often expected to navigate one of the most important financial and professional decisions of their lives largely on their own.

The Talent Agent model changes that. Kylie works as your strategic representative in the executive employment market, combining executive search expertise, career strategy, personal branding, market intelligence, networking, interview preparation and proactive opportunity development into one highly personalised engagement.

The objective is not simply to help you apply for roles. It is to position you correctly, identify where your experience has genuine market value, create access to opportunities and decision-makers, and then work alongside you from the beginning of the search through to interview, offer, negotiation and the next stage of your career.

A recruiter represents the vacancy. A Talent Agent represents the executive.

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You do not need to become better at applying for jobs. You need to get into the rooms where decisions are being made.

The context

The Executive Market Has Changed

At senior executive level, the market is smaller, more competitive and more relationship-driven than many candidates expect. Recruitment processes are taking longer, companies are conducting more interviews before making a decision, and a C-suite process can easily stretch across many weeks or months as diaries, internal approvals and multiple stakeholders come into play.

That creates risk for the executive. The longer a recruitment process runs, the greater the chance that the organisation changes direction, identifies an internal candidate, loses headcount, restructures the role or simply pauses the search. For that reason, an executive cannot afford to have one opportunity on the go and wait for it to resolve before starting another.

Years ago, Kylie regularly worked to a methodology of 100 approaches in 100 days. Done properly, that level of targeted activity could generate longlists, shortlists and serious offers. Today, the market often demands significantly more activity to produce a comparable result. In some searches, 200 or even 300 potential employers and market touchpoints may need to be considered over a similar period.

The answer is not indiscriminate volume. The quality of the approach matters more than ever. Every approach needs a reason behind it: why this company, why this executive, why now, what problem could they solve, who is the right person to approach and what will make that person take notice?

The brief

A Candidate-Centric Approach

Kylie has always believed that the candidate should sit at the heart of the recruitment process. That philosophy has shaped her executive career practice from the beginning.

Traditional recruitment naturally focuses on the employer because the employer is paying the search firm to fill a particular vacancy. The search consultant's obligation is to that mandate. A Talent Agent has a completely different brief. The brief is you: your experience, your commercial value, your ambitions, your remuneration, your preferred industries, your geography, your future board aspirations, your appetite for risk and, ultimately, what constitutes the right next move for your career.

This allows Kylie to take a much more holistic view. The objective is not to push you towards a particular vacancy simply because it exists. It is to understand what the next chapter should look like and then work proactively to create the right conversations around it.

Exclusivity

Private Representation. Limited Client Engagements.

Talent Agent is deliberately a highly personalised service. Kylie works with a limited number of senior executives at any one time because genuine representation requires considerably more than occasional career advice. It means understanding your career, your reputation, your market value and your ambitions deeply enough to confidently represent you in conversations with senior decision-makers.

It also means being prepared to put relationships built over more than two decades behind the right introduction. Your candidacy is not indiscriminately circulated across the market. Every approach is considered. Every introduction has a purpose. Confidentiality is paramount.

This is a relationship built on trust, discretion and mutual commitment. Clients need to be prepared to do the work, respond quickly, prepare properly for meetings, engage actively with the strategy and be serious about making a career move.

Kylie represents you as she would want to be represented herself.

Network

Access Changes Everything

At senior executive level, the biggest obstacle is often not capability. It is access. You can be exceptionally qualified for an opportunity and never know that the conversation is taking place. You can send an outstanding resume to an organisation and never reach the person capable of making the decision.

You can spend months applying for advertised positions while some of the most interesting executive appointments in the market are being discussed privately between CEOs, chairs, HR Directors, investors, private equity partners and executive search consultants.

This is where Kylie's network becomes part of the proposition. After more than two decades in executive search, talent management, executive career advisory and board search, Kylie has built relationships across the Australian business community and the wider Asia-Pacific executive market. Her work through Tiger Boards further extends that network into chairs, non-executive directors, private companies, founders, investors and the broader board ecosystem.

The objective is not to introduce you to everybody. It is to work out who needs to know you and create a credible reason for the conversation.

How the service operates

The Talent Agent Framework

The service is designed as an end-to-end representation model rather than a collection of disconnected career services. The framework is: Understand You, Position You, Map the Market, Represent You, Navigate the Search, Prepare You, Negotiate for You, and Build What Comes Next.

Understand You

Every engagement begins with a detailed assessment of where you currently sit in the market and where you want to go. Kylie works with you to examine your career history, achievements, leadership experience, market reputation, remuneration, transferable capability and longer-term ambitions. Together, you establish a clear career strategy, including the roles, organisations, industries and opportunities that make commercial sense. Just as importantly, Kylie will give you a frank assessment of what may not be realistic or where your positioning needs work before approaching the market.

Executive career roadmap
Target role and remuneration strategy
Industry and sector assessment
Career transition strategy
Target employer profile
Executive value proposition
Longer-term career and Board Portfolio® considerations

Position You

Before going to market, your positioning needs to be right. A senior executive should not look like another applicant. Kylie works with you to develop a coherent executive narrative that clearly communicates who you are, what you have achieved, what you are known for and why an organisation should be interested in meeting you. Depending on the engagement, this can include your executive resume, LinkedIn profile, corporate biography, cover letters, executive value proposition and broader online positioning. The objective is not simply to make the documents look better. It is to make the market understand your value faster.

Map the Market

A serious executive search requires more than watching advertised vacancies. Kylie works with clients to map the market and identify organisations where their experience could have genuine value. This can include listed companies, substantial private businesses, private equity portfolio companies, venture-backed organisations, family businesses, professional services firms, emerging companies and organisations undergoing growth, transformation, succession or strategic change. Rather than asking only who is advertising, the better question is: who should know about you?

Represent You

This is where Talent Agent differs fundamentally from traditional career coaching. Where appropriate, Kylie actively represents clients in the market. That can include approaching organisations about your candidacy, facilitating private introductions, connecting you with CEOs, HR Directors, chairs and other senior decision-makers, and identifying conversations that may never have originated through an advertised vacancy. Every approach is considered and targeted. Your confidentiality remains paramount, and your candidacy is not simply circulated indiscriminately around the market.

Navigate the Search

Executive search firms remain an important part of the senior employment market, and Kylie has worked alongside the executive search profession for more than two decades. The Talent Agent model does not compete with good executive search consultants. It works with them. Kylie can help identify the consultants and firms most relevant to your background, make introductions where appropriate, position you for current and future searches and coach you through search processes. If another executive search firm holds the perfect mandate for you, that is a good outcome. The objective is to make sure you are in the conversation.

Prepare You

Securing an interview is only the beginning. Senior executive recruitment processes can involve multiple interviews with different stakeholders over several months. Each conversation matters. Kylie works intensively with clients before significant interviews, helping them understand the organisation, its leadership, board, ownership, strategy, competitive environment and the individuals they are meeting. Preparation can include executive interview coaching, mock interviews, difficult question preparation, executive messaging, competitive intelligence and positioning. The objective is for you to walk into the room prepared to have a peer-to-peer commercial conversation, rather than simply responding to interview questions.

Negotiate for You

An offer is not the end of the process. It is another important decision point. Kylie can work alongside you as the opportunity moves towards offer, helping you consider remuneration, incentives, equity, role scope, title, performance expectations and other commercial elements of the appointment. Where appropriate, she can also help you prepare for salary and employment contract negotiations so that you enter the new role on appropriate terms. Sometimes the right advice will be to accept. Sometimes it will be to negotiate. Occasionally, it will be to walk away. The advantage of having a Talent Agent is that the advice is centred on your career, not on filling the vacancy.

Build What Comes Next

For many senior executives, the next executive appointment is only one part of a much bigger career picture. Kylie's work through Tiger Boards means the conversation can also extend into your longer-term Board Portfolio®, advisory appointments, portfolio career, consulting opportunities, entrepreneurial interests and eventual transition from full-time executive leadership. The ideal time to start thinking about your board career is not the day you retire from executive life. It should be considered while you are still building the relationships, experience and reputation that will eventually make you attractive to boards.

The right introduction to the right decision-maker can be worth more than 100 online applications.

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The Hidden Executive Market

One of the biggest mistakes senior executives make is assuming the employment market consists of the jobs they can see. It does not. At senior levels, opportunities emerge through relationships long before advertisements appear, and sometimes they never become advertisements at all.

A CEO mentions to a chair that they need a new commercial leader. A private equity partner decides a portfolio company needs a stronger CFO. A board starts discussing CEO succession. An organisation begins quietly looking at replacing an underperforming executive. A company preparing for a transaction realises it needs capability it does not currently have. A former colleague hears that somebody is leaving, or a search consultant starts mapping a market before the mandate is publicly known.

This is the market senior executives need to become plugged into. It is particularly important for executives returning to Australia after years overseas, or people who have spent ten years with their heads down doing an excellent job inside one organisation. Their old contacts may have moved, search consultants may have changed firms, CEOs may have retired, industries may have consolidated and private equity ownership may have shifted. Their LinkedIn network might be large, but their active business network can still be stale.

Preparation

Interview Strategy and Deep Preparation

The flip side of having fewer high-quality opportunities is that you cannot afford to waste them. Kylie is increasingly surprised by how underprepared senior executives can be for important interviews. At this level, it is not enough to rely on the position description and the company website. You should understand who owns the company, who sits on the board, what their backgrounds are, what has changed in the leadership team, what the annual report tells you, what the strategic priorities appear to be and what has been said in the media.

Depending on the organisation, you may need to understand the competitors, investors, revenue, margin, market share, valuation, recent transactions or regulatory environment. Most importantly, you need to have thought deeply about what problem the organisation is really trying to solve by making this appointment, and what evidence from your career demonstrates that you can solve it.

At C-suite level, you cannot afford to wing the interview.

Longer term

More Than Your Next Job

For many of the executives Kylie works with, the next appointment is not the end of the conversation. It is part of a much longer career strategy. A CEO in their 50s may have another major executive role ahead of them, but it can still be the right time to think about board exposure, governance experience, advisory appointments, chair relationships and what a future Board Portfolio® might eventually look like.

This is where Kylie's executive career work and her board search practice at Tiger Boards naturally come together. The relationship can extend beyond one job search into longer-term executive career management, board readiness, advisory opportunities and the transition from executive income to portfolio income.

Fit

Who Is This Service For?

A CEO or C-suite executive considering the next appointment
An executive returning to Australia following an international career
A leader re-entering the market after a long tenure with one organisation
An executive navigating redundancy or an unexpected career transition
A senior candidate struggling to gain traction through advertised applications
An executive looking to reposition into another industry or sector
A leader seeking access to private equity, venture capital or private company opportunities
Someone looking for more proactive representation in the executive market
An executive beginning to think about the transition from executive career to Board Portfolio®
A time-poor leader unwilling to spend months navigating the market alone

This Is Not for Everyone

Talent Agent is not designed for somebody who simply wants their resume rewritten and then intends to see what happens. Nor is it designed for executives who want to test the market without making a serious commitment to the process.

The strongest outcomes occur when Kylie and the executive work as partners, with a clear strategy, consistent market activity, honest feedback and mutual accountability. There are no shortcuts at this level, but there are smarter ways to go to market.

What clients say

From the people Kylie has represented

Kylie reshaped my strategic vision and opened doors to board opportunities I never imagined.
Marielle Latour · Director

Kylie’s strategic approach was instrumental in assembling a diverse, high-impact board.
Greta Menzies · CEO

I wholeheartedly recommend Kylie for anyone seeking to enhance their board leadership team.
Gordon Jenkins · Chair

Kylie brought a clear, structured approach to translating my experience into a compelling board narrative. I highly recommend her to anyone looking to strengthen their board portfolio and professional brand.
Alayne Baker FCPHR · HR Leader

I had absolute confidence that Kylie was in my court. She challenged my ideas, expanded my thinking and introduced me to a new part of the business world.
Meighan Heard MBA GAICD · COO & Non-Executive Director

Kylie’s expertise and guidance have been instrumental in my transition from a CEO to a Non-Executive Director. She is a true professional and an outstanding mentor.
Tony Chamberlain GAICD · Independent Chair

Kylie is one of a kind. She has a unique way of offering feedback that is candid and individualised, with practical suggestions tailored to your situation.
Kym Bancroft · Executive HSE Leader

Kylie is a true professional, with a genuine passion to support others succeed in their executive careers. I look forward to continuing to work with her as I expand into the boardroom.
Sonia Tecli · Strategic HR Leader

She challenged my way of thinking and helped crystallise my value proposition. Kylie has a strong grasp of what is happening across many industries.
Patrick Viney · Retail Strategy & Transformation

I had the pleasure of working with Kylie to begin a new career as a professional director. Every bullet point is a potential gold nugget.
David McEwen FAICD · Chair

I cannot thank Kylie enough. What truly distinguishes her is her professional expertise, unwavering dedication and honesty. She is the ultimate ally you need by your side.
Chris Travis · Product & Innovation Leader

I’ve known and worked with Kylie. She is without doubt one of the clear leaders in her field, and a pleasure to work with. I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend her to anyone exploring private or public board appointments.
Andrew Twaits · Chief Executive Officer

Kylie Hammond, Founder and CEO of Tiger Boards

Credentials

Why Kylie Hammond?

Kylie Hammond has spent more than 20 years working across executive search, recruitment, human resources, executive career management and board search. She has worked one-to-one with senior executives throughout her career and has delivered thousands of hours of executive coaching and career advisory work.

She holds a Master of Laws in Enterprise Governance from Bond University and a Bachelor of Arts in Industrial Relations from the University of Western Australia. Her professional background spans executive search, talent management, board search, executive coaching and candidate representation, and she is the Founder and CEO of Tiger Boards.

But credentials only tell part of the story. The real value of working with Kylie is that she understands how executive recruitment actually works from the inside. She has interviewed senior executives, conducted executive and board searches, advised companies on appointments, worked with CEOs and chairs, coached candidates through competitive recruitment processes and built relationships across the Australian business community over more than two decades. When she represents an executive, she understands both sides of the table.

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Your Career Is Too Important to Leave to Chance

You may have spent 20 or 30 years building your career. You have accumulated experience, relationships, commercial knowledge and leadership capability that took decades to develop. Yet when it comes time to make one of the most important moves of your professional life, the conventional advice is often remarkably passive: update your resume, apply online, talk to some recruiters and wait.

There is another way.

With the right strategy, positioning, market intelligence, relationships and representation, you can take a far more proactive approach to what happens next. If you are considering a significant executive career move within the next six to twelve months, or you have already been testing the market and are not getting the traction you expected, start with a confidential conversation.

Your career has taken decades to build. Your next move deserves more than an online application.

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