When Our Customer Wins, We Win.
Guided by Values. Driven by Service. Powered by People.
Our Values
At Naviga, our values are the foundation of everything we do. Integrity drives how we build partnerships, fostering trust through transparent, honest communication and a commitment to long-term success. Honesty guides our interactions, ensuring clarity with both clients and candidates, even in difficult conversations, so solutions are reached efficiently. Ethics shape every decision we make, keeping our process fair, respectful, and principled, and ensuring we never compromise for short-term gains.
These values define how we operate, how we support careers and how we build lasting relationships with the businesses and people we serve.
Boutique Flexibility. Big-Firm Results.
Agility
Naviga Recruiting Executive Search combines boutique agility with the capability to execute high-caliber searches comparable to the Big-5 industry executive search giants; Korn Ferry, Spencer Stuart, Heidrick & Struggles, Russell Reynolds Associates, and Egon Zehnder (The SHREK). Unlike large firms with vast red-tape and less personalized service, we offer a deeply customized, hands-on approach and immerse ourselves in your culture, framework, and strategic goals.
Our Talent Acquisiton process delivers exceptional results with direct communication and rapid responsiveness, acting as a true extension of your team. Clients appreciate how our personalized partnership secures the right leaders to drive their future growth, an experience that often exceeds expectations.
Built to Win Together
Our Team
Redefining Talent Acquisition with Passion
Our History
Naviga was founded in Chicago,IL by CEO Kathleen Steffey, a corporate recruiter with a deep understanding of the corporate hiring landscape. Beginning as a solo-preneur’s passion, her talent acquisition approach soon captured widespread attention in the corporate market. Her professional but agile approach towards talent selection and the talent acquisition process was widely received by employers across the US.
This foundation of professional agility and personalized recruiting service has been carefully cultivated within our team as Naviga has grown. Each employee is trained to embody these core principles, ensuring consistency and excellence in every search. In turn, this disciplined yet flexible approach has allowed us to successfully extend our impact beyond the U.S., delivering tailored talent acquisition solutions to a global marketplace.
Empowering the U.S. Special Operations Forces
Community Impact
Naviga respects the leadership, resilience, and strategic mindset of U.S. Special Operations Forces. These exceptional individuals face unique challenges when transitioning from military service to civilian careers, and we are committed to helping them translate their invaluable experience into successful professional opportunities.
We achieve this through personalized, hands-on support including executive coaching, resume refinement tailored to military-to-corporate translation, mentorship, and direct introductions to employers who value veteran talent. By acting as trusted advisors and advocates, we help SOF veterans confidently navigate the recruitment process, ensuring their skills and discipline shine in every interaction.
Why Choose Naviga?
We Deliver. They Talk.
Naviga doing the vetting process, being selective with candidates and having reasonable fees is a benefit to me. There’s a true vested interest in being successful & I liked the proactive communication between Kathleen, Julia and myself.
Reid Wilson
HR Director, Briggs
The individualized service was the best part about working with Naviga. Between Kathleen and Gina we were able to zero in on exactly what I was looking for, they were able to understand what was important to me and the feedback was continual. I’ve had situations where companies go silent for a month and that was not the case with Naviga.
Mike Goddard
VP of Sales, Dekoron Unitherm
I felt very comfortable and confident in what Briggs was looking for. I could tell that you had worked with this company before and had a good feel for them. And that meant a lot.
David Fee, Sales Manager
Placed with our client Briggs Equipment
My biggest takeaway from working with Naviga was the communication piece. It was how professionally Naviga presented themselves. It was making sure they were also looking out for my best interest.
Leonard Trinidad, Vice President of Sales
Placed with our Client SolveHR
Once our new hire comes and rocks, we will hire another from you. You will always be my first stop.
PK Karunakaran
VP of Sales, Allsec Technologies
There are many recruiting companies out there, and Naviga seems to be a step above the rest—more professional, more straightforward, and truly concerned about the person they’re interacting with.
James Scott, Wholesale Sales Representative
Placed with our client C&B Equipment
Thank you for a job well done! Your hire is doing excellent. We will be contacting you for asssitance to recruit our Q4 sales rep hire in the next few months.
Executive Leader
Dimension Design
After my first conversation with Naviga, I had a really good feeling about Bounce Curl. Just to have someone be there for the candidate is a huge, huge deal. Otherwise, we’re just names on paper.
Blessly Thomas, Marketing Manager
Placed with our client Bounce Curl
I am a firm believer in communication and good communication really helped set Naviga apart from the other recruiting firms that I was working with. I was always in the know and any questions I had were always answered on the spot.
Jason Abbey, Director of Enterprise Sales
Spectrio
It felt like we were true partners with Naviga and that was really big. They took the time to understand who I was, who the firm was, what our needs were and our pain points. Instead of feeling like a business transaction, there was a partnership in Naviga helping us find the right person for the right reasons.
Nicholas Halar
Senior HR Associate, Forensic Risk Alliance
I really appreciated the way I could talk to the Naviga recruiter casually. She shared a wealth of information.
Diane Eakin, Territory Sales Manager
Placed with our client Pinpoint Information Systems
THANK YOU very much for all your help in discovering Tyler. He’s been fantastic! As a result, we would like you to work on another search for a different department ASAP!
Kaori Pearson
Interpreter/Translator, Mizuno
Helping You Navigate Your Career or Talent Search
Research & Insights from Naviga's Blog
Why Boutique Executive Search Beats Big-Box Bureaucracy
Naviga Recruiting Executive Search is redefining the executive search landscape by offering a boutique alternative to the world’s largest executive search firms. Naviga delivers the same high-caliber results as global giants such as Spencer Stuart, Heidrick & Struggles, Russell Reynolds Associates, Egon Zehnder, and Korn Ferry (the “SHREK” firms) but
Naviga Recruiting Executive Search: A Boutique Alternative to Global Executive Search Firms
Naviga Recruiting Executive Search is redefining the executive search landscape by offering a boutique alternative to the world’s largest executive search firms. Naviga delivers the same high-caliber results as global giants such as Spencer Stuart, Heidrick & Struggles, Russell Reynolds Associates, Egon Zehnder, and Korn Ferry (the “SHREK” firms) but
How Modern Leaders Drive Digital Value
When executive leadership treats technology purely as an “IT responsibility,” the result is almost always software sprawl: a bloated ecosystem of expensive, siloed platforms, low adoption rates, and disjointed data. To build a high-performing organization, modern C-suite leaders, COOs, CFOs, and Sales VPs, must act as the primary architects and
The Executive Search Symphony: How Hiring Leaders and Recruiters Align to Land Top Talent
When hiring an executive, whether a VP, an SVP, or a C-suite leader, the rules of engagement completely change. You aren’t just filling a vacancy; you are acquiring a strategic architect for your company’s future. Yet, many executive searches drag on for six months or longer, ultimately collapsing at the