How Corporate Navigators Began…and Where It’s Going
90 Days and A Dream: Corporate Navigators Celebrates 25 Years
Twenty-five years ago, in November 1999, Mitch Golob quit his day job with only 90 days to launch his own recruitment research firm. This is his story.
In the late 90s, Mitch was a Research Associate at the global executive search firm Heidrick & Struggles, where he had an excellent learning experience and thorough training on helping clients with recruitment needs. The demand for research was high, making workloads heavy. In these instances, the firm would need to outsource some recruitment research tasks to third-party firms.
“To be honest, I was often not impressed with the information we received. We should have had on-target and usable results, but it was too common to receive data that lacked quality,” said Mitch.
This lack of quality prompted him to circle back and dig deeper for better research, but this seemingly endless cycle revealed a deep need in the recruitment industry: reliable, useful, and on-target information. He was also shocked at the prices other firms were charging for the quality of information delivered. “I just knew that there was a market for better research that’s not just good, but timely and affordable,” he said.
Sticking to The Fundamentals
Sticking with the principles of quality and customer satisfaction that Heidrick & Struggles instilled in him, Mitch thought, “If I started a recruitment research firm, I’d do it in a better way. I’d make it about quality.”
With that idea in mind, Mitch left his position as a Research Associate at Heidrick & Struggles with the dream of starting his own recruitment research firm. Inspired by the efficient and diligent management model employed at Hedrick, he wanted to emulate the same quality and attention to detail at his own company.
“I wanted to start a firm that provided results that made the client happy. After all, we are only as good as our last project. Throughout the years it’s been fun, sometimes stressful, but an exciting experience in which we grew and evolved, and continue to adapt to an ever-changing market.”
A 90 Day Timeline
Giving himself a 90 day timeline to launch his own firm or go back to his day job, Mitch knew that time was of the essence. With that in mind, he took the chance and quickly established Corporate Navigators, making it an official company by February 1, 2000. Coming full circle, his very first client was the company he worked for, H&S, asking Mitch to continue a search he was working on while he was an employee there. From there, a strategic partnership took off, expanding to other executive search firms and then expanding to corporate clients.
“Over these past 25 years, there have been a lot of ups and downs. We’ve been through the .com bust, the aftereffects of September 11, and the economic boom before the great recession. Business would ramp up and down, but no matter what we would come out on the other side. We have had busy years and slower years, navigating unique labor trends like the tech sector boost alongside our clients’ growing list of needs. Over the years, their needs compelled us to formalize and diversify service offerings,” says Mitch.
From a Single-Service Firm to Many Offerings
When Corporate Navigators started, recruitment research was its only service offering. In this hunt for talent, Corporate Navigators researchers dove deep to understand what the client was looking for, so they could find the (proverbial?) needle in the haystack. By understanding their client’s metrics for success, they could identify candidates with the specific attributes that will make their organization most likely to grow. Keeping these values at the forefront, it became natural to expand offerings as client needs grew.
“We are always looking for ways to directly partner with clients to help them identify candidates that they might not be able to find on their own. As the industry evolves, what we offer is also becoming more complex and specialized. Our ongoing mission is to add value to an organization, to have them hire the best possible team and talent.
“When a client comes to us with a unique request, I will start with a ‘yes’ and try to see if we can meet their needs. Initially we just did research and name gen. But then one day a client asked if we could reach out to the list of names we generated. At that time, we didn’t have candidate development. But that didn’t stop us from seeing if we can meet the client’s needs. I said, ‘we don’t do that today but let’s see if we can build that out for you,’” said Mitch.
Bringing in trusted recruiters to perform candidate screening through live calls, Mitch’s team was able to honor the client’s requests and deliver a list of candidates who were pre-screened and verified for qualification and interest. After that, Mitch expanded Corporate Navigators to officially include this kind of service, calling it Candidate Development.
Growth with Client Needs
Next, someone came to them and asked if they could map out the organizational structure of a competitor company. Even though Corporate Navigators didn’t have org chart development listed as an official service, it soon became canon as they expanded the capabilities of their researchers and recruiters. Thereafter, Competitive Intelligence was added to the list when more and more clients requested deep dives into different areas like data analytics, information about a competitors budget, spend, location, and other particulars.
“It’s been very gratifying to provide information that would guide leadership teams to make strategic decisions about where the company is going to go. That’s why I like to take on challenges. I don’t think there are a lot of companies that do what we do. We actively engage with live sources inside the company to obtain good valuable data and can get really specific,” said Mitch, “We get to do some cool stuff behind the scenes, acting like a secret weapon finding in depth information in a quick and efficient manner. I like running this company. I like seeing how we can make it grow and take it in different directions. Therefore, every time I speak with a client, I ask, “how can we help you today? What are you looking for and what do you want to do better?”
A Dynamic Journey, 25 Years & Counting
Mitch Golob’s journey from launching Corporate Navigators in 2000 to celebrating its 25th anniversary is a testament to his commitment to quality, innovation, and adaptability. What began as a one-service firm focused solely on recruitment research has evolved over the years, thanks to the company’s responsiveness to the specialized and ever-changing needs of clients. Each service expansion—from candidate development to competitive intelligence—was born out of a client request that challenged the firm to pivot and diversify.
Call it “expansion upon request,” but every step of this evolution has reinforced the company’s core principle: delivering precise, actionable, and reliable information to help clients succeed. Through both triumphs and challenges, Corporate Navigators has proven that staying agile and focusing on customer satisfaction can turn obstacles into opportunities, ensuring its continued growth and relevance in a dynamic market.
