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.
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
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
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
Throughout the whole process, Naviga was super organized and really provided a lot of great background information.
Jennifer Folsom, Sr. Sales Executive
Selerix 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
Naviga was the first recruiter I had ever worked with and they set the bar high. I had a very positive experience working with them. I can tell that they really care about their candidates and that they really want them to succeed.
Cindy Dickens, Director of Brand and Culture
Richman Property Services
The wonderful part about working with Naviga is that I didn’t feel like just a number, I felt like a neighbor. I felt like they were equal parts advocates of me and an ambassador for the client which was a welcome surprise.
Amy Barkley, Director of Enterprise Sales
Spectrio
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
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
The difference between working with Naviga and other recruiting firms is that Naviga stuck with me the entire time and truly helped me along the path to making sure that I was successful.
TC Ford, Leader of Business Innovation
Placed with our Client D&H
Throughout the whole process, I felt so prepared by the Naviga Team. Everyone at Naviga was super helpful at prepping me to understand the purpose of the interview and who I was meeting with.
Jose Rios, Territory Sales Manager
Placed with our client HTS TentiQ
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
Helping You Navigate Your Career or Talent Search
Research & Insights from Naviga's Blog
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