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.
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
Naviga has a team of good listeners and asked some great questions when learning about us. They had the desire and ability to customize a search to our needs. Naviga listened to our ideas and were able to overlay them with their expertise to find us some great salespeople.
Sven Kins
Managing Director, Cook M&A
Working with Naviga made me feel like I had a partner who was very invested in me and that made the entire experience simple. Someone who could reach out to the company so I didn’t have to do all of the legwork. I could really focus on what mattered to me.
Robyn Spanier, Senior Director of New Business Intake
Placed with our client DLA Piper
Working with Naviga really made the hiring process easy for me. I was fearful of getting back out there and looking for something but they really made it a pleasant experience.
Mina Patel, Director of Business Development
Placed with our client Nix United
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
Our recent Director of Sales hire is doing amazing – a rock star! He’s a true coach, cheerleader, and he has fun with his team. He’s bringing in more than impressive numbers Q1 – ranked as #1 across the entire company.
John Makarewicz
President, Mark Spain Real Estate
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
I was very impressed with Naviga’s services; they screened good quality candidates and really understood the scope of the available position. I feel I received a fitting candidate and I’m very excited!
Tim McHugh
Regional Sales Manager, SimplexGrinnell
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
The quality of candidates Naviga presented to us were superb. We did not receive any random or unqualified candidates, and the ones that were submitted met all our needs. There was great communication during the process and resulted in two great finalists for our position.
Rich Vecchio
Recruiting Manager, PGA Tour
Working with Naviga made me feel like I had a partner who was very invested in me and that made the entire experience simple. Someone who could reach out to the company so I didn’t have to do all of the legwork. I could really focus on what mattered to me.
Jamy Parker, Sr. Sales Executive
Placed with our client Selerix Systems
To move your company in a new direction from where it’s been before, you need someone outside of your network and even outside of your industry. That’s where we received a lot of value from hiring Naviga as our sales executive search firm. They were able to cast a wide net and give us the confidence to know that we were finding the best Sales Leader. We got exactly what we were hoping for.
Craig Anderson
Vice President of Strategic Partnerships, Student Connections
Helping You Navigate Your Career or Talent Search
Research & Insights from Naviga's Blog
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As home to over two dozen Fortune 500 headquarters and a magnet for major corporate relocations, the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex represents one of the most dynamic yet sprawling economic engines in North America. From the corporate towers of Downtown Dallas and Uptown to the booming corporate parks in Plano, Frisco,
Boston Executive Search Strategy: Navigating Innovation and Leadership Across Greater Boston
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Austin Executive Recruiting Playbook: Scaling Leadership in Central Texas
Across the Greater Austin area, from Silicon Hills tech campuses to downtown corporate headquarters, organizations face a continuous challenge: securing high-impact executive leadership capable of navigating rapid growth and shifting market conditions. A question central Texas business leaders frequently ask us is: “How do you consistently attract elite executive talent