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Banff was created from the idea that we needed something better and different.
I started Banff in 2020, but the idea was born over years of conversations with colleagues, friends, and clients. Why wasn’t there something that worked first for the best and brightest execs? I happened to have spent nearly 20 years in executive search, but I could see how much luck and chance impacted people and companies across not just my industry, but also across investing, mentoring, data gathering, and anything that relied on gatekeepers and intermediaries.
We hear that amazing leaders and experts are the most valuable asset, yet the current system puts them on the outside looking in. Financial incentives make this even worse. Access, intel, and opportunity are restricted by the need for credit. You won't do it if you don’t get credit (aka paid) for that intro or transaction. But what if an executive had access to everything that might help them? And what if a company had access to any executive who might be relevant to the problem they were trying to solve?
I definitely wasn’t the first to think about it, but maybe I was one of the first to obsess over it. Starting in 2018, I carried an old-school 3-ring binder and constantly drew pictures. How could you build something that wasn’t just another consulting firm? We could draw on the lessons of marketplaces like Zillow and Uber, but also the prestige of some of the most high-quality service companies in private banking, talent agencies, art collecting, and concierge medicine. What could the “CAA/IMG” look like if it were built for the corporate world?
It was a blast from the start.
2020 was all about testing the model, seeing what we could do for our first group of CEOs and executives; as well as how open the major gatekeepers and influencers in the current system would be to making it all work better. This included early adopters from the executive search firms (large to boutiques), investors (PE, Growth, and VC), and corporate leaders (Board, CEO, HR).
From the start, we wanted to reshape everything. A core part was removing the notion of credit and instead focusing on access, "liquidity," and creating systems of generosity. So, in 2021, we started building the Banff Platform - a technology platform to help us be in the middle of everything. We worked to make the search firms close searches faster, to help investors make better decisions, and to help corporations know things earlier.
But we never only focused on “placement.” Building a job seeker business would be transactional and short-lived; building a highly curated ecosystem would mean we had to provide value throughout an executive's journey and those who covet them. Looking back, 95% of our clients from our first years are still clients—they have bought into the value of having a lifelong guide, connector, and advisor.
It’s been a great ride so far. We’ve worked with over 2,200 executives - from our Private Advisor service to our unique Executive Network Service to the incredible work the team does with nominated up-and-coming stars in our BanffNext program. We also get so much joy from the incredible men and women transitioning from service careers (military, agencies, government) via our BanffTransition service. Our Banff Platform private marketplace includes over 700 investors and corporate and search firm partners, all gaining value through having curated and high-touch access to executives and insights.
What’s to come? We will obsess over our executives. They are the core of everything we do. We will build out our services to our enterprise partners to scale our platform and access. We will continue to build on our three value pillars: Guidance, Connections, and Intelligence. And we will never forget one of the things we first wrote down in 2020: a life’s impact is too meaningful to be left to chance.
David Boehmer
