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.
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 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
The job description and information prior to my first meeting were very descriptive, it was very thorough. It was refreshing to see the detail and the information that was needed to really make an assessment prior to that first call.
Andrew Lockerbie, VP of Health Plans
PDHI
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
I felt I was prepared and it did give me a little bit of an advantage knowing some of the details about the role and where they were going with this opportunity and where the company was going as a whole.
Fred Tort, Senior Talent Acquisition Recruiter
Placed with our client InTegrum Resources
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
We partnered with Naviga for a number of reasons. First, they were excellent communicators. They already had knowledge of the commercial industry, but they quickly got a sense of our business by listening to us and asking great questions. Next, the Naviga team was professional, approachable, and knowledgeable. Specifically, they had an extensive grasp of the European market with a specialization in sales. They also have a team of skilled recruiters and use a proven recruiting process based on years of experience and expertise. And finally, Naviga really formed a partnership with ITN. They were consultative and took the time to understand our needs without overselling.
Heike Tobin
Senior Recruiter, ITN Productions
The change has been night and day, quality and quantity, since bringing on the 4 Sales Managers Naviga found for us. We are now focused on strategic areas and are in front of our customers repeatedly, driving the sales force, retention of clients and frequency – the sales hires lived up to their word, couldn’t be better, we’re having double-digit growth year after year.
Michael O’Neill
President, WERMA-USA
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
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
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 received a lot of information about the company.
I found it to be really helpful to work with a recruiter. It takes some of the pressure off to have someone that you can ask more in depth questions.
Sara Staszak, HR Generalist
Placed with our client Sammons Warehouse Solutions
Helping You Navigate Your Career or Talent Search
Research & Insights from Naviga's Blog
Building a High-Growth Business Development Function
The Client RL James Exteriors is a private equity-backed specialized contractor expanding across the state of Florida and beyond. They work in a niche industry focused on delivering services to property managers and Homeowner Associations (HOAs). The Challenge: Ground-Up Business Development in a Niche Market As RL James Exteriors set
Why Boutique Executive Search Beats Big-Box Bureaucracy
Naviga Recruiting Executive Search is redefining the executive search landscape by offering a boutique aIn the world of executive recruitment, there is a fundamental difference between filling a vacancy and building a strategic partnership. While the industry’s “SHREK” giants (Spencer Stuart, Heidrick & Struggles, Russell Reynolds, Egon Zehnder, and Korn
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