Portland, OR Executive Search Firm

National Executive Recruiters from Portland! This is where it all began for us.

Cowen Partners Executive Search is the only executive search firm in the Pacific Northwest nationally recognized by Forbes, and the only nationally ranked executive recruiting firm headquartered in Oregon and SW Washington. We provide clients with access to the top 1% of human capital — the leaders who accelerate growth, create value, and shape the next chapter of Pacific Northwest business.

The Only Nationally Ranked Executive Search Firm in Oregon & SW Washington

Cowen Partners is a retained executive search firm advising boards, CEOs, and investors on C-suite and senior leadership recruitment for public companies. The firm is ranked among the Top 50 Executive Search Firms by Forbes, Business Insider, and Hunt Scanlon.

Search engagements are led by senior partners and supported by total market access to proven executive talent. Through a rigorous search process, Cowen Partners delivers qualified candidate slates in an average of three weeks from kickoff.

The firm has completed more than 500 executive placements nationwide and maintains a 99% candidate retention rate.

What sets Cowen Partners Executive Search apart is its reach without distance: national candidate access, Pacific Northwest roots, and a retained search process that delivers three times as many qualified candidates than other Portland firms.

Proven Executive Recruitment in Portland & SW Washington

With our proven processes and guaranteed results, we have successfully placed hundreds of candidates in industries including technology, manufacturing, CPG, commercial real estate, private equity, healthcare, financial services, sales, and finance.

Investing in Oregon’s Future: Proud Sponsors of OMSI

Cowen Partners Executive Search is proud to sponsor OMSI’s annual gala, celebrating science, education, innovation, and the next chapter of Oregon’s growth.

At Cowen Partners Executive Search, we believe Oregon’s future will be built by leaders willing to invest in education, innovation, and the generation coming up behind them. Supporting OMSI is one way we put that belief into practice — and a reflection of how we approach our work for clients across the region: identifying the leadership that moves Oregon forward.

Supporting the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra

Cowen Partners Executive Search was proud to sponsor the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra’s 2026 Gala, an evening celebrating music, community, and the cultural institutions that shape life across SW Washington and the greater Portland metro.

Shawn Cole, President and Founding Partner, and Jacob Gamble, Principal and Head of Family Office Practice, attended on behalf of the firm. Held at the Hilton Vancouver Washington, the gala featured performances by the orchestra’s musicians under the direction of Music Director Salvador Brotons. For more than four decades, the VSO has been a defining cultural presence in the region — performing more than 20 concerts a year and running education programs that introduce thousands of students to classical music.

Our sponsorship reflects how we approach the Pacific Northwest as a whole: as one connected region whose strength comes from the people, organizations, and institutions investing in its future. The same conviction shapes our executive search work — identifying leaders who don’t just take roles, but build the businesses and communities Oregon and SW Washington will depend on for the next generation.