How does a specialty differ from an industry?

An industry describes what the company makes. A specialty describes how the search runs — the ownership context (family, private equity), the delivery model (cross-border, maquiladora, nearshoring), and the operating stakes. A single engagement usually names both — for example, a plant leader for a family-owned automotive supplier in the Bajío names an industry (automotive) and a specialty (family enterprise).

Which specialty applies to a nearshoring project with a US parent?

Usually two — US–Mexico Cross-Border for the bilingual leadership and parent-reporting layer, and Nearshoring (or Maquiladora & Nearshoring if the operation runs under IMMEX) for the site build and steady-state operating leadership. The specialties compound; they are not mutually exclusive.

Are specialty searches priced or run differently?

Every search is retained and follows Alder Koten's seven-step process. The specialty shapes the market map, the assessment, and the corridor of candidates — not the commercial structure. Fees are engagement-based and scope-driven.

By Specialty

Specialties

The delivery contexts that shape how a search runs — family enterprise, private equity, US–Mexico cross-border, maquiladora, and nearshoring.

Silvia Flores leads retained executive search across the delivery contexts that cut through industries and roles. Specialty is how the search is run — the ownership structure, the delivery model, the reporting geometry, and the operating stakes — as distinct from what the company makes or which executive seat is being filled. As Managing Partner at Alder Koten, she delivers each engagement through the firm's footprint in Houston, Monterrey, Mexico City, and Guadalajara.

Five specialties anchor the practice: family enterprise, private equity, US–Mexico cross-border, maquiladora and nearshoring, and nearshoring. Most engagements combine one industry and one or two specialties — a family-owned Bajío automotive supplier looking for an external COO, a private-equity portfolio company launching a Mexico plant, a US parent hiring its first Country Manager.

Family Enterprise

Family-owned manufacturers, industrial groups, family offices, and multi-generational succession — where governance, family dynamics, and operating rigor have to hold together.

External CEO or Country Manager for a family-owned industrial group
Independent board directors and audit chairs for family enterprises
Non-family COO or CFO placed alongside a family principal
Generational succession searches — professionalizing the second-generation transition

Private Equity

Sponsor-backed operators, portfolio companies, and value-creation leadership — searches sized to a fund's hold period and value-creation plan.

Portfolio-company CEOs, COOs, and CFOs during hold and value-creation
Operating partners and industrial-operations advisors
100-day-plan hires — Manufacturing VP, Supply Chain VP, Commercial Director
Integration leadership for cross-border add-on acquisitions

US–Mexico Cross-Border

Leaders who operate across the border in both directions — bilingual, bicultural, and comfortable in US GAAP and Mexican operating reality alike.

Country Manager Mexico reporting into a US or global parent
US-based executives with real Mexico operating exposure
Bilingual CFOs, CHROs, and Commercial leaders across a corridor P&L
Cross-border M&A leadership and post-close integration

Maquiladora & Nearshoring

IMMEX operations and the nearshoring build-out — the regulated, customs-driven regime that runs Mexico's export manufacturing base.

Plant leadership for IMMEX / maquiladora operations along the border
Site launch leaders for new maquiladora build-outs
Trade compliance, customs, and IMMEX program leadership
Multi-site Directors of Operations across Reynosa, Matamoros, Juárez, Tijuana, and Mexicali

Nearshoring

Greenfield and expansion leadership for companies relocating supply chain to Mexico — from site selection through steady-state operations.

Greenfield Plant Director for a first Mexico site
VP of Manufacturing or Country Manager for a nearshoring expansion
Supply chain and procurement leaders rebuilding around a Mexico footprint
Commercial and engineering leadership to serve US and North American customers from Mexico

How the searches run

Every specialty engagement runs through The Dynamic Fit Method™ — Alder Koten's Ability, Capability, Capacity approach — delivered via the firm's seven-step retained search process. Pair a specialty with an industry and an executive role to see how the engagement takes shape. Return to the full practice overview for the complete picture.

Specialty practice questions

How does a specialty differ from an industry?: An industry describes what the company makes. A specialty describes how the search runs — the ownership context (family, private equity), the delivery model (cross-border, maquiladora, nearshoring), and the operating stakes. A single engagement usually names both — for example, a plant leader for a family-owned automotive supplier in the Bajío names an industry (automotive) and a specialty (family enterprise).
Which specialty applies to a nearshoring project with a US parent?: Usually two — US–Mexico Cross-Border for the bilingual leadership and parent-reporting layer, and Nearshoring (or Maquiladora & Nearshoring if the operation runs under IMMEX) for the site build and steady-state operating leadership. The specialties compound; they are not mutually exclusive.
Are specialty searches priced or run differently?: Every search is retained and follows Alder Koten's seven-step process. The specialty shapes the market map, the assessment, and the corridor of candidates — not the commercial structure. Fees are engagement-based and scope-driven.