Sara Noble has worked independently, on a retainer basis, since 1996 with top-tier strategy firms, corporations, and individual Fortune 500 CEOs, filling positions across a wide spectrum within content, communications and marketing.

Her career began in media, holding editorial and business management positions at Time, The Atlantic, Inc., and Harvard Business Review. While at Time, she received her MBA from Columbia University, followed by a stint in strategy consulting, working as a consultant for a spin-off from Boston Consulting Group. Over the years in media, she worked with the best and brightest in the field, which served her well when she set up her own search firm over 25 years ago.

Over the years, Noble developed a reputation as the “go-to recruiter” for high-level thought leadership talent, retained regularly by Bain, McKinsey, and BCG, and others, to find their top editors and digital directors. Simultaneously, Noble became known as a patron saint of “lost search causes,” with her regular clients referring her to their own clients, corporations, and individual CEOs who had frustratingly little success finding high-caliber candidates using the large search firms. Many searches went well beyond the remit of thought leadership: Eric Lander, of Human Genome fame and CEO of The Broad Institute; Indra Nooyi, Chairman and CEO of PepsiCo; Jim Whitehurst CEO of Red Hat, now IBM, are three examples. All demanding and deserving of the best talent.

Being independent has worked to Noble’s clients’ advantage. Hiring Noble, you get Noble — no junior associates to be kept busy addressing the P&L concerns of a firm. She will only take on a limited number of searches at any given time in order to devote herself 100% to each client. On average for every search, 200 or more sources are contacted by Noble directly. She goes the depth in sourcing and brings the instincts to detect true intellectual rigor and superior skill sets, given her career experience and the high standards of her clients. Equally important, a crucial part of any hiring equation is reading chemistry and culture fit. Noble has a 98% success rate, with hires staying in their positions at least 5 years or more, with consistently favorable reviews from organizational leadership.