Roles we hunt
Chief Technology Officer (CTO) Recruitment
A CTO (Chief Technology Officer) owns a company’s technology: what gets built, what gets bought, how it’s secured and who does the work. That now includes the AI call. Which models to use, whether to build or buy, where the data goes and what it costs to run are CTO decisions, so the job is as commercial as it is technical.
How AI has changed the CTO job
Five years ago you could judge a CTO mostly on delivery. AI has made projects cheap to start and expensive to run badly. Usage bills grow with every customer, vendors change models with little notice, and a prototype that impressed the board can fall over with real users. The CTO decides which AI is worth running in production, and answers for it.
What does AI fluency look like in a CTO?
You’re testing their judgement more than their stack. Probe whether they can:
- Explain a technology choice in money terms: what it costs and what it earns.
- Show AI work shipped to real users, and what they learned when it didn’t work.
- Say how they keep AI running costs and customer data under control.
- Keep an engineering team while AI changes how it works.
Ask about an AI project they stopped: why, what it cost, what they did instead. Be wary of a CTO who wants to rebuild everything in year one, or can’t say what they’d stop doing.
Should you headhunt a CTO or post a job ad?
Senior technology people get approached often and rarely answer job ads, so you go to them.
Headhunt when the hire will shape the product for years, when it’s confidential, or when you need a rare mix such as fintech plus AI plus scale-up experience. That mix rarely shows up cleanly on a CV, which is why we don’t use keyword screening or a candidate database. See how the search works, how to hire a CTO, or compare with a Chief AI Officer hire.
What does a CTO earn?
Over the last five years Headhuntly has placed 5 roles in its Technology and product group. Base salary ran from $140K to $360K, with a median of $180K.
Based on Headhuntly placements over the last five years. Small sample, base salary only, not a market survey. The full table is in the salary guide.
How does Headhuntly run a CTO search?
Like every Headhuntly executive search, it’s exclusive: one client, one role, complete focus. Before we approach anyone, we define three profiles, your company, the role and the person. If the brief isn’t settled yet, we help you set the KPIs and a 30, 60, 90 day framework first.
Then we go after people who aren’t looking. Based on the Gold Coast, hunting Australia-wide. Overseas too, when the right person is there. A typical search takes 3 to 6 weeks.
We charge 15% of the placed candidate's base salary plus super, plus an engagement fee, the placement fee on signed employment contract, the engagement fee upfront, which we walk you through on the first call. If the placement doesn’t work out during probation, we start the hunt again. The detail is on how it works.
Related roles
Questions, answered
Do we need a CTO or a Chief AI Officer?
Most businesses need a CTO first. A CTO owns all technology, including AI. A separate Chief AI Officer makes sense when AI changes the whole business model and needs its own owner at the top table.
How long does it take to hire a CTO?
Usually 3 to 6 weeks, depending on how complex the role is and how sharp the brief is. If the brief isn't ready, we help you define it first.
What does Headhuntly charge to find a CTO?
15% of the base salary plus super, paid on signed employment contract, plus an engagement fee upfront, which we walk you through on the first call. If the placement doesn't work out during probation, we run the search again.
Hiring a CTO?
Tell us about the role. We’ll tell you straight whether it needs a headhunt, and what the search would look like.