Leadership isn't found, it's designed.
We architect creative leadership teams for companies building what's next.
Twenty years.
One specialized focus.
Complete strategic approach.
About Hive Talent Advisors | Executive Recruitment for Creative & Product Leaders
We Don't Recruit. We Architect.
The best teams aren’t hired — they’re designed.
Hive Talent Advisors was founded on a simple belief:
when a hire changes how a company operates, you don’t start with resumes — you start with the system.
For over 20 years, we’ve specialized exclusively in creative leadership, helping companies design, evaluate, and install design, product, and brand leaders who scale with the business — not outgrow it.
We’re not recruiters who dabble in design.
We’re talent architects who understand that every role, structure, and mandate either accelerates growth or quietly constrains it.
Built for the moments that shape modern teams
Most companies don’t call us when things are calm.
They come to Hive at inflection points:
A product pivot or strategic shift
A reorg or rapid scale
A stalled or underperforming function
A critical leadership departure
The realization that what worked before won’t work next
These moments are high-stakes. Teams are stretched thin. Decisions can’t be wrong — and traditional search approaches fall apart.
Posting a job description won’t solve a system problem.
Speed doesn’t matter if the structure is wrong.
Before we ever source a single candidate, we help companies design the leadership system required for their next phase — so when the hire is made, it sticks.
This is the foundation of our Talent Architecture™ approach.
The Hive Five
Our Values
1. Clarity Over Comfort
We believe clarity creates better decisions.
Even when it’s uncomfortable. Especially when the stakes are high.
2. Craft Is Non-Negotiable
We believe creative leadership requires discernment, rigor, and taste — not shortcuts, templates, or volume.
3. Long-Term Thinking Wins
We believe the best outcomes are designed for durability, not speed.
What works today should still work tomorrow.
4. Integrity in Partnership
We believe trust is built through honesty — about fit, feedback, pricing, and process.
No posturing. No surprises.
5. People Before Placements
We believe leadership decisions affect humans, not just org charts.
Care, respect, and responsibility are part of the work.
Why Hive is Different
Because creative leadership requires specialization — not generalist search.
Most search firms treat creative leadership like any other executive hire.
Post the role. Move fast. Fill the seat.
That approach fails when the hire is expected to change how the organization operates.
Creative leadership, across design, product, and brand — requires deep specialization.
The ability to evaluate portfolios, understand craft, influence, and operating models. We know the difference between what looks impressive and what actually scales.
That’s why Hive is different.
Specialized exclusively in:
Design Leadership
Product Leadership
Brand & Marketing Leadership
Twenty years in creative leadership means we know the market, the talent, and the nuances others miss.
Led by a Design Insider
Hive is led by Kate Bannister, a trusted advisor to companies and creative leaders navigating high-stakes moments of growth and change.
For more than two decades, Kate has worked at the intersection of design leadership and organizational decision-making, partnering with companies when what got them here won’t get them there.
She brings a rare dual perspective:
Understanding what companies actually need from senior creative leadership
Knowing how exceptional leaders think, operate, and scale impact
That perspective shaped Hive’s core belief: the best teams aren’t hired — they’re designed.
Kate founded Hive to be the partner she always wished existed, one that brings clarity, rigor, and care to leadership decisions that shape entire organizations.
She is known for seeing what others miss: when a role is mis-scoped, when a structure will fail, and when a leader is right or wrong, for the moment.
Hive reflects that same standard.
Thoughtful. Exacting. Built for what’s next.
Connect on social:
What leaders say
“Kate helped me turn a scattered resume into a powerful narrative. Two weeks later, I had three interviews lined up — and one of them became my dream role.”
SVP, Brand Creative — Large Children’s Hospital System
“We needed to fill a global design leadership role fast — Hive delivered. Within two weeks, we had a vetted shortlist, hired our ideal Experience Design Lead, and built a pipeline that will fuel our next phase of growth.”
SVP, Experience Design — Global Customer Experience Firm
“After our coaching sessions, I finally stopped underselling myself. I negotiated a 22% salary increase and felt genuinely confident walking into every conversation.”
VP, Product — Healthcare Technology Startup
“Working with Hive shifted how we hire entirely. We went from 4 months of stalled searches to landing our ideal Marketing Lead in half the time — and we’re still using their framework today.”
CEO — Regional Logistics & Transportation Company
Ready to Work Together?
Whether you’re making one critical leadership hire or scaling an entire function, every engagement starts with a conversation — not a pitch.
Based in Dallas–Fort Worth. Working globally.