Hitch Ignite Apex
(beta)
AI-Driven CISO Hiring
Hiring your next CISO?
Hitch Ignite Apex delivers an exclusive, vetted shortlist of top security leaders - FAST
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High-Visibility, High-Impact Leadership
Hiring a CISO is one of the most high-stakes decisions a company can make. The right leader safeguards the business, aligns security with strategy, and builds trust. Leadership excellence isn’t optional—it’s critical.
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Ignite the Search. Skip the Drag
For companies running searches internally—or without deep security leadership expertise—Hitch Ignite Apex delivers the network and know-how to accelerate results. It’s the ideal solution for organizations that want a strong start without committing to a full retained search.
How Hitch Ignite Apex Works
We combine advanced AI search with deep domain knowledge.
Intake to Impact (ITI): We align your team on priorities and success criteria before sourcing begins.
Curated CISO Candidate List: Within 1–2 business days post-ITI, we deliver a list of 25 pre-vetted, ranked candidate listing for your team to target.
Enablement: Your team can use the list to pattern match and expand outreach.
No-Risk Guarantee: If you don’t see immediate, actionable value in our shortlist, you don’t pay a dime.
Optional Retained Search Credit: Apply your fee toward a fullly retained search if needed.
Pricing and Guarantee
💰 Flat Rate: $15,000
✅ 25 Pre-Vetted CISO Candidate Listing Delivered in 1–2 Business Days
📌 CISO & Security Role Success Profile + Alignment
📌 Internal Talent Team Enablement
📌 Retained Search Credit if Needed
💯 Pay Only If You're Satisfied
Why Hitch Ignite Apex Works
Hitch Ignite Apex is powered by the same domain expertise that’s made Hitch Partners the go-to search firm for security leadership.
🚀 10+ Years Focused on Security Hiring: We’ve placed 100+ CISOs, Deputy CISOs, and Security Leaders across all industries.
🧠 We Know What Great Looks Like: Our team understands the nuances internal teams may miss—credibility, leadership, and technical depth.
🎯 Real-Time, Vetted Results: We pair AI sourcing with human judgment to filter out noise and deliver real, pre-vetted leaders.
🤝 Trusted by the Best: We’re the firm security leaders trust when stakes are high and time is tight.
Early Access to What’s Next
By joining the Hitch Ignite Apex beta, you gain exclusive early access to a new platform developed by the same team that organizations trust for their most critical security leadership hires. Hitch Ignite combines proven executive search experience with AI-driven efficiency—giving you a faster, smarter way to build high-performing security teams.
HitchBase: The Engine Behind Hitch Ignite Apex
HitchBase® is the power source behind Hitch Ignite Apex—our proprietary platform that delivers faster, smarter, and more precise security leadership hiring.
At its core is the finest collection of curated security leadership talent on the planet:
🌍 ~14,000 security leaders across North America, Europe, and APAC
🧠 40+ data points per profile, including career trajectory, industry experience, and technical depth
⏳ 10+ years in the making, built through trusted relationships and targeted executive searches
⚙️ Analytics + ML-enabled, helping us quickly identify ideal matches for any security leadership need
We don’t just manage a database—we have deep knowledge of the full picture. HitchBase® allows us to surface the right talent with speed and precision. As part of Hitch Ignite Apex, we’re now passing this advantage along to you—for a fraction of what a full search would cost.
ROI Analysis
The Business Case for Hitch Ignite Apex
👥 Talent Team ROI: Scale Smarter, Hire Faster
🧠 Skip the niche research—we bring deep security hiring expertise so your team can stay focused on the 30+ roles already on their plate.
🎯 Access top-tier, passive candidates who won’t show up in your inbound funnel.
⚡ Lighten the load and accelerate time-to-fill by plugging into a ready-to-go pipeline.
🔒 Reduce risk by avoiding mis-hires in critical security leadership roles.
💰 CFO ROI: High-Value Hiring with Predictable Costs
🤝 We understand that internal recruiting can stretch teams—leading to delays, misalignment, and lost momentum. We're here to ease the load and help you hire the right leader, faster.
🔍 Hitch Ignite Apex offers a faster, more strategic path. Powered by HitchBase—our proprietary network of ~14,000 vetted security leaders—and 10+ years of relationships, we surface top talent that isn’t actively looking.
📈 For a flat $15,000 fee, you get speed, precision, and predictability—without the traditional search overhead.
CISO Hiring ROI, Unlocked
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Generating a high -quality candidate list internally can take 6–8 weeks. Conservatively, we’ve estimated 1 month of a technical recruiter’s time as follows:
Base Salary: $94,641/year
Benefits & Overhead (~30%): $28,392
Fully Loaded Annual Cost: $123,033
Monthly Cost:$10,252
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CISO team members often lose time interviewing candidates who don’t meet the bar. Here’s the cost breakdown:
Estimated Salary per Security Team Member: $200,000
Fully Loaded Cost (+30%): $260,000/year
Hourly Rate (2,080 hours/year): $125/hour
Interview Cost (3 team members × 2 hours): $750 per candidate
Built for companies that want to move fast, while knowing the deepest results come with our retained model.
FAQs
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They can—but you’ll be inundated with unqualified applicants. Hitch Ignite Apex eliminates wasted time by delivering 25 best-fit CISO candidates within a few business days. Hitch will save your company at least one full month of recruiting time.
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Hitch has developed a Machine Learning-powered matching system which searches thousands of pre-scored security leaders in Hitch’s proprietary database to evaluate real-world expertise, leadership potential, and industry alignment. By factoring in specific job requirements, our system ensures precise matches tailored to your organization's unique needs.
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Your Hitch Ignite Apex investment applies toward a retained search. No wasted budget.
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Within just 1-2 business days of our ITI and CISO strategy sessions.
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Hitch values ML for its efficiency in research, but our expertise ensures a targeted approach. That’s why we validate the list before sending it to you.
“We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.”
—Albert Einstein
