U.S.–Mexico Executive Search
Charlie Solorzano — Executive Search
U.S.–Mexico executive placement for owners, founders, investors, and boards evaluating C-suite and board leadership.
I diagnose the conditions surrounding a leadership mandate before evaluating candidates against it — because credentials alone don't tell you whether an executive will succeed in a specific organization at a specific moment.
With more than 20 years focused on U.S.–Mexico cross-border executive search, I place C-suite leaders — COOs, CFOs, CTOs, CPOs, CHROs, and CEOs — for companies navigating founder transitions, nearshoring, cross-border expansion, and institutional growth.
The Methodology
The Race Conditions Model™
In Formula 1, teams don't select strategy on driver talent alone. They diagnose track conditions — temperature, grip, tyre degradation, race distance — because the right strategy for one set of conditions is wrong for another.
Leadership works the same way. Two capable executives with similar credentials can produce very different outcomes depending on the organization they enter — its founder dynamics, its governance reality, its pace, and its authority structure. Conditions shape whether an executive can actually perform.
The Race Conditions Model™ is the diagnostic framework I use to assess those conditions before evaluating candidates against them. It examines six dimensions — five that read the organization, one that reads the executive.
Founder Phase
Where the founder is in their evolution, and whether their involvement currently accelerates or constrains the organization.
Track Surface
Whether the organization is running a sprint, an endurance stint, or a turnaround — and what that requires operationally.
Boundary Architecture
Whether authority and decision rights are clear enough for an incoming executive to act with confidence.
Transition Readiness
Whether the organization is genuinely prepared to evolve beyond its current leadership.
Governance Reality
What is actually happening at board level, beneath the formal structure.
Executive Calibration
Whether a specific candidate's operating style — decision speed, risk tolerance, and communication approach — fits these particular conditions.
The Search Process
How It Works
Diagnose the Conditions
Before candidate identification begins, I assess the organizational conditions the mandate exists within — founder dynamics, operating pace, authority structure, transition readiness, and governance reality. This shapes the search strategy.
Calibrate the Executive
I evaluate how a candidate actually operates — not just their credentials — and assess whether that operating profile fits the conditions diagnosed in step one.
Support the Transition
Leadership changes carry risk beyond the hiring decision. The transition is considered as part of the search so the mandate, authority, expectations, and organizational conditions are clear before the executive steps in.
Executive Search & Advisory
Ways to Work Together
U.S.–Mexico Cross-Border Executive Search
C-suite leaders who can operate across U.S. headquarters expectations and Mexican operating realities — labor dynamics, regulatory environment, and dual-market governance. More than 20 years working in both markets.
Relevant when: opening Mexico operations, relocating manufacturing under a nearshoring mandate, or building leadership across both markets.
Learn More →Executive Search & C-Suite
C-suite placements for companies navigating founder transitions, institutional growth, or cross-border expansion across technology, manufacturing, life sciences, hospitality, and other sectors.
Relevant when: institutionalizing a founder-led company, building an executive team for cross-border operations, or navigating a generational transition.
Learn More →Board & Governance Search
Independent directors, committee chairs, and advisory board members who bring sector expertise and governance judgment — evaluated for how they behave under real conditions, not just how their credentials read.
Relevant when: preparing for institutional funding, strengthening fiduciary governance, or adding directors with operating credibility.
Explore Board & Leadership Roles →International Reach
Alder Koten is the U.S.–Mexico partner within IMD International Search Group — more than 40 offices in 25 countries. Searches extending beyond North America are coordinated through that network.
IMD International Search Group →Industry & Role Practices
Search organized by sector — including life sciences, hospitality, sports, manufacturing, technology, mining, automotive, and aerospace — and by leadership seat, from CEO to functional VP.
About Charlie
Executive Search Across Two Markets
Managing Partner at Alder Koten, an AESC member firm. More than 20 years leading C-suite and board search across the U.S. and Mexico, working from between Guadalajara and Houston.
Current focus spans life sciences, hospitality, sports and media, manufacturing, technology, and cross-border industrial companies — with particular emphasis on founder transitions and family-enterprise institutionalization.
Latest Thinking
Recent Articles
Current writing on executive search, founder transitions, cross-border leadership, governance, industry change, and The Race Conditions Model™.
Resource
The Executive Hiring Timeline
A stage-by-stage guide to when different C-suite roles may become relevant, from early-stage through growth, with compensation ranges for U.S. and Mexico markets.
View the Guide →Frequently Asked Questions
Executive Search, Leadership Transitions & Cross-Border Hiring
A few common questions about executive search, leadership structure, U.S.–Mexico mandates, and The Race Conditions Model™.
What is The Race Conditions Model™?
The Race Conditions Model™ is the diagnostic framework I use to assess the organizational conditions surrounding a leadership mandate before evaluating candidates against them.
It considers founder dynamics, operating environment, authority structure, transition readiness, governance reality, and the operating profile of the executive being considered. The objective is to understand the conditions in which a leader will actually have to perform, rather than evaluating credentials in isolation.
When does a company need a CFO?
There is no single funding round or employee count that automatically determines when a CFO is required.
The need usually becomes clearer when financial decisions become materially more complex — for example, when the company is managing institutional investors, significant capital allocation, multiple operating entities, acquisitions, sophisticated reporting requirements, or a more demanding board and governance structure.
The question is less “What stage are we?” and more “What financial complexity does the organization now need someone to own?”
What makes U.S.–Mexico cross-border executive search different?
Cross-border executive search requires more than bilingual capability. Leadership mandates can operate very differently depending on ownership, labor dynamics, regulatory environment, headquarters relationships, governance expectations, and the way decisions are made locally.
An executive may have strong experience in one market and still require a different operating approach in the other. The search therefore has to evaluate both professional capability and the conditions the executive will be entering.
How do I know if a founder has become a constraint on growth?
One signal is that decisions, relationships, or operating knowledge remain so concentrated around the founder that the organization cannot move effectively without their direct involvement.
The issue is not that founder involvement is inherently bad. In many companies it remains essential. The question is whether the same behavior that helped build the organization is now limiting delegation, institutionalization, or the authority of incoming leaders.
The Founder's Paradox™ is the framework I use to examine that transition.
When does a company need a COO instead of several functional leaders?
A COO becomes relevant when the problem is no longer the performance of individual functions, but the coordination between them.
If sales, operations, product, finance, and customer teams are individually capable but cross-functional decisions remain fragmented, the organization may need a leader with authority across the operating system rather than another functional specialist.
The answer depends on the mandate, the CEO's role, the company's stage, and how much decision authority the COO would genuinely receive.
What is the difference between a CTO and a VP of Engineering?
The titles overlap considerably across companies, so the distinction should begin with the mandate rather than the label.
A CTO often carries broader responsibility for technology direction, architecture, technical strategy, and the relationship between technology and the business. A VP of Engineering is more commonly accountable for engineering execution, team leadership, delivery, and development process.
In some organizations one executive can do both. In others, scale, complexity, product architecture, or organizational demands make the separation useful.
Start a Conversation
If you're evaluating a leadership hire, a board appointment, or a transition that needs more than a résumé match, the first step is understanding the conditions the executive will be operating in.
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