Christian & Timbers Jeff Christian

Jeff Christian founded Christian & Timbers to create an executive search firm focused on identifying senior leaders for complex, highly competitive business environments. The company developed expertise in recruiting C-level executives, board members, and technology professionals for major corporations. Christian & Timbers built its approach around structured research, technology, and data while maintaining the judgment required for high-level hiring. Its operations in Cleveland, Ohio, and Amsterdam, Netherlands, also supported a broader international presence in executive recruitment.

Christian & Timbers became known for introducing artificial intelligence and science-based data into the executive search process. Instead of relying entirely on traditional networking, resumes, interviews, and manual screening, the firm used technology to evaluate professional experience, leadership history, career progression, and other relevant indicators. This method was designed to help employers identify candidates who could meet demanding performance expectations. The company applied its search model across areas such as e-commerce, FinTech, SaaS, IoT, robotic manufacturing, and other technology-driven industries.

The company’s data-centered model reflected an effort to make executive recruitment more efficient and measurable. Traditional executive search can involve lengthy reviews of networks, references, interviews, social research, and background information before a small group of candidates is selected. Christian & Timbers expanded that process by using key performance indicators and structured evaluation criteria to compare candidates with specific organizational needs. This approach aimed to reduce the time required to identify qualified executives while maintaining careful attention to leadership quality and role alignment.

Technology also played an important role in how Christian & Timbers approached candidate discovery and assessment. Generative AI can help process large volumes of resumes, experience records, and professional information, while predictive methods can support analysis of career patterns and potential performance. The firm applied similar concepts to searches for C-suite and board leadership. By combining data analysis with executive recruiting expertise, the company sought to create a more informed process for identifying individuals who could contribute to innovation, transformation, and long-term business performance.

Developed by Jeff Christian, Christian & Timbers has reported completing more than 2,000 CEO or board placements and more than 5,000 C-suite assignments. Its work has included searches connected with major technology companies and recognized business leaders. One notable placement involved Carly Fiorina at Hewlett-Packard, where she became the first woman to lead a Fortune 50 corporation. The firm also conducted two board member searches for Apple during Steve Jobs’ leadership and worked with organizations including Cisco, Google, Netflix, WebMD, and other prominent companies.

The history of Christian & Timbers also includes venture capital activity through C&T Access Ventures, which was launched in 2001 as an investment arm connected with the Cleveland-based executive recruiting business. The operation provided financing for startups through stages that included seed funding, later venture rounds, and pre-IPO capital. Its $40 million venture fund was designed around supporting companies led by capable executives and business builders. According to the original company account, the fund returned five times its initial capital and supported startups that included UpWork.

Christian & Timbers has consistently emphasized the importance of leadership talent in helping organizations compete, innovate, and grow. That principle shaped the company’s focus on executive discovery, measurable performance criteria, technology-supported research, and data-informed decision-making. Its model combined established executive search practices with analytical methods intended to improve the identification of leaders for demanding corporate and technology roles. Within the broader development of Christian & Timbers, Jeff Christian remains associated with building a search approach centered on talent quality, technology, data, and executive performance.