David runs every Beacon leadership search personally, with retention-focused uncontrolled references as standard.
A bad hire at any level is costly. A bad VP of Engineering hire is compounding, because they shape every hire that comes after them, every architecture decision the team lives with for years, and whether your strongest engineers stay.
Why it compoundsA weak VP of Engineering hires other weak leaders and managers, because they either can't spot the difference or feel threatened by candidates who are stronger than them.
Bad technical direction set at the leadership level becomes the foundation everyone else has to build on top of, for years.
Senior engineers can tell within weeks whether a new leader is credible. If the answer is no, they start quietly updating their resumes.
Other leaders end up covering for a weak VP, which distorts everyone's actual job and slows the whole organization down.
The standard interview process misses this risk constantly, because a bad VP of Engineering candidate can often talk convincingly about leadership in the abstract. The only reliable check is uncontrolled references, specifically asking former direct reports whether people stayed under this person and why, not asking the references the candidate hands you.
Ask the reference directly whether people stayed under this person. Vague praise is a signal to dig deeper, not a green light.
David runs every Beacon leadership search personally, with retention-focused uncontrolled references as standard.
Book a 15-minute call. We'll tell you what the market looks like and how we vet for real leadership depth.
Book a call