What is retained executive search?

Retained search is an engaged, exclusive partnership to fill a senior role. Rather than sending résumés on speculation, we map the market, approach passive candidates, assess them against the reality of the work, and manage the process through offer and onboarding.

How is the practice organized?

In three categories that read the way clients actually hire. By Industry — the sectors that make and move physical products. By Role — the executive functions those companies are hiring. By Specialty — the ownership and delivery contexts (family enterprise, private equity, cross-border, maquila / nearshoring) that shape how the search runs.

Do you work across the US–Mexico border?

Yes. Cross-border work sits at the center. Silvia is bilingual and bicultural, and every search runs through Alder Koten's footprint in Houston, Monterrey, Mexico City, and Guadalajara — the operating corridor for nearshoring and US–Mexico industrial hiring.

Executive Search

Executive Search Practices

Retained search for the leaders who run US and Mexico manufacturing, supply chain, and industrial operations — organized by industry, by role, and by specialty.

Silvia Flores leads retained executive search for the leadership roles that make and move physical products across the US–Mexico corridor. As Managing Partner at Alder Koten, she delivers each engagement through the firm's footprint in Houston, Monterrey, Mexico City, and Guadalajara.

The practice is organized in three categories that reflect how clients actually hire. By Industry covers the sectors that manufacture, process, package, and move physical products. By Role covers the executive functions — from the board and the CEO through operations, supply chain, quality, commercial, and finance. By Specialty covers the ownership and delivery contexts — family enterprise, private equity, US–Mexico cross-border, maquila and nearshoring — that shape how the search itself runs.

By Industry

Physical-products industries across the US–Mexico corridor. Each page names the segments served, the roles placed, and the corridor geography that matters for that sector. See the full Industries hub.

Automotive — OEMs, Tier 1 and Tier 2 suppliers, EV, and battery operations.
Aerospace & Defense — airframe, engines, MRO, composites, AS9100 / NADCAP / ITAR.
Industrial Equipment & Machinery — capital equipment, rotating equipment, aftermarket.
Metals & Fabricated Products — steel, aluminum, castings, forgings, stamping, structural fabrication.
Plastics, Rubber & Polymers — injection molding, extrusion, tooling, engineered polymers.
Chemicals — specialty, industrial, petrochemicals, CASE, agrochemicals.
Packaging — rigid, flexible, corrugated, glass, metal, labels, sustainability.
Electronics Manufacturing — EMS, OEM, semiconductor back-end, industrial electronics.
Medical Device Manufacturing — Class I / II / III OEMs, CMOs, ISO 13485, FDA 21 CFR 820, MDR.
Food & Beverage Manufacturing — beverage, dairy, protein, bakery, snacks, SQF / BRCGS / FSSC 22000.
FMCG & Consumer Products — CPG brands, apparel, durables, retail-driven contract manufacturing.
Logistics, Transportation & Supply Chain — 3PLs, freight, warehousing, cross-border operators.
Energy, Infrastructure & Natural Resources — oil and gas, power, renewables, mining, EPC.

By Role

The executive functions those companies are hiring. Each page maps the mandate, the profile, and the trade-offs the search has to hold. See the full Executive Roles hub.

Board Directors & Chairs — independent directors and board chairs for industrial and family enterprises.
Chief Executive Officers — CEOs and Directores Generales.
CFO & Audit Chair — finance leadership and audit oversight.
Chief Operating Officers — the operator at scale.
Country Manager Mexico — the country leader for foreign parents.
CHRO & Human Resources — HR leadership for industrial settings.
Marketing & Sales — commercial leadership for industrial and consumer markets.
Supply Chain & Operations — VPs and Directors of Supply Chain, Manufacturing, and Operations.
Plant Director, Quality, and Engineering — the technical leadership that runs the plant floor.

By Specialty

Ownership and delivery contexts that cut across industries and roles. Each specialty names how the search runs, not what the company makes. See the full Specialties hub.

Family Enterprise — family-owned manufacturers, industrial groups, family offices, and multi-generational succession.
Private Equity — sponsor-backed operators, portfolio companies, and value-creation leadership.
US–Mexico Cross-Border — leaders operating across the border in both directions.
Maquiladora & Nearshoring — IMMEX operations and the nearshoring build-out.
Nearshoring — greenfield and expansion leadership for companies relocating supply chain to Mexico.

How the practice runs

Every search runs through The Dynamic Fit Method™ — Alder Koten's Ability, Capability, Capacity approach. We define the role in its real operating context, run a rigorous market map and assessment, and stay close through onboarding so the placement holds. The corridor geography — Monterrey, the Bajío, Guadalajara, Saltillo–Ramos Arizpe, and the border cities — is where the work actually happens.

Executive search questions

What is retained executive search?: Retained search is an engaged, exclusive partnership to fill a senior role. Rather than sending résumés on speculation, we map the market, approach passive candidates, assess them against the reality of the work, and manage the process through offer and onboarding.
How is the practice organized?: In three categories that read the way clients actually hire. By Industry — the sectors that make and move physical products. By Role — the executive functions those companies are hiring. By Specialty — the ownership and delivery contexts (family enterprise, private equity, cross-border, maquila / nearshoring) that shape how the search runs.
Do you work across the US–Mexico border?: Yes. Cross-border work sits at the center. Silvia is bilingual and bicultural, and every search runs through Alder Koten's footprint in Houston, Monterrey, Mexico City, and Guadalajara — the operating corridor for nearshoring and US–Mexico industrial hiring.