AUKUS-fluent partners
Our consultants have led searches across all three AUKUS nations for senior candidates with Pillar 2 capabilities.
We place
the people
AUKUS needs.
Itel Defence is a partner-led executive search firm for the Australia–UK–US contributing base. We brief, vet and place senior leaders across air, sea, land, cyber and space — at programme speed, to clearance.
01.00PROCESS · TIMELINE
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Six phases.
Eleven weeks, typical.
A retained, partner-led process. Every phase produces a written artefact you can review with stakeholders — no black-box pipeline.
Mandate brief
Programme context, success criteria, clearance gates and stakeholder mapping captured in a written engagement brief.
Market scan
Discreet research across our network plus targeted out-of-network discovery. Long-list of 30–60 prospects.
Vetting
Structured competency interviews, defence-specific reference work and clearance-pathway confirmation if required.
Slate present
Curated short-list of 4–6 candidates with written assessments and references.
Offer · close
Negotiation support, counter-offer planning and signed acceptance. Average 11 weeks elapsed.
Land & embed
90-day onboarding partnership including stakeholder reviews.
The next mission
is unmanned.
From sovereign UAV programmes to undersea autonomy, we place the engineering leaders who deliver the autonomous edge AUKUS partners are racing to field.
02.00WHY · ITEL
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Defence focused, Executive search.
Discreet by default
We work to programme-grade confidentiality protocols. No public role advertisements; no shop windows.
Outcome-aligned fees
Retained search with milestone-based commercial structure and a 6-month replacement guarantee on every senior placement.
The fifth domain
is contested.
AUKUS Pillar-2 puts cyber, signals and cleared software at the front line. We place the architects, operators and engineering leaders who defend — and operate in — contested networks.
03.00PARTNERS · ROSTER
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Partner-led. Always.
Itel's partners are former defence executives, programme leaders and intelligence-community officers. Every senior search is partner-led, end to end.
Mark Kearney
Managing Partner
Cyber and high-tech innovation recruiter. 30+ years of executive search experience.
Vic Allen
Partner
Advanced manufacturing technologies recruiter. 35 years of executive search experience.
Peter Norman
Senior Military Advisor
Former Colonel, Royal Marine Commandos. Global head of security for a leading financial institution.
04.00REQUEST · BRIEFING
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Contact Us.
A partner will respond to your contact request within one business day.