# llms.txt — Black Powder Search > Black Powder Search places triple-vetted U.S. Special Operations veterans into leadership roles. Retained search, contingent search, and outsourced recruiting. > Website: https://blackpowdersearch.com. LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/black-powder-search/. Contact: ewisecup@blackpowderholdings.com. ## What "Triple vetted talent" (3XV) means A candidate who has proven themselves in three separate arenas rather than one: academic achievement, service in U.S. Special Operations, and a documented record of results in a civilian business role. - **Academic achievement** — Degree-holding and frequently graduate level, often earned alongside an operational career rather than instead of one. - **Special Operations service** — Selection, training and deployment in the most demanding environments the U.S. military operates in. - **Proven corporate excellence** — A documented record of commercial results after service. This is the pillar that separates our pool from a transition program — we represent operators who have already made the jump and delivered. ## Company structure - **Black Powder Holdings** (parent) — Purpose-driven holding company investing in and supporting America's founder-owned infrastructure service businesses. - **Black Powder Partners** (affiliate) — Investment arm of the same family of companies. - **Black Powder Search** — the executive search business; this website. ## Services - **Retained executive search** (https://blackpowdersearch.com/services/retained-search) — Exclusive, upfront-fee engagement for senior or specialized roles. We work only with you on that role and run a dedicated, exhaustive search of the Special Operations talent pool. Best for: Senior leadership and specialized roles where the wrong hire is expensive. - **Contingent search** (https://blackpowdersearch.com/services/contingent-search) — Fee paid only on successful placement, with no upfront cost. Flexible enough to run alongside other firms, and suited to mid- and lower-level positions. Best for: Mid-level roles, and teams that want to run several firms in parallel. - **Outsourced recruiting** (https://blackpowdersearch.com/services/outsourced-recruiting) — Full-cycle recruiting run on your behalf — sourcing, screening, interviewing and onboarding — so your own team stays on the work only they can do. Best for: Companies scaling without internal recruiting capacity. ## How an engagement runs 1. **Intro and onboarding** — An onboarding call with our COO and the lead recruiter to establish what the business actually needs — not just what the job description says. 2. **Source and screen** — We screen candidates out of our proprietary Special Operations veteran pool while you stay on your own work. 3. **Post-placement support** — We stay engaged with both the employer and the placed candidate after the start date, for as long as it takes to make the hire sustainable. ## Why employers hire Special Operations veterans - **High-stakes decision-making** — The ability to make quick, high-level decisions under stress transfers directly to decisive business leadership. - **Cross-cultural competence** — Experience operating in diverse environments produces leaders who can run cross-cultural, multi-generational teams. - **Strategic planning and execution** — Fluency across the whole operational spectrum, moving between strategy and tactical execution without friction. - **Team cohesion and collaboration** — Proven ability to build unity across groups that did not start out as a team. - **Operational excellence** — A standing habit of making a process leaner, faster or more efficient, applied from the first week. - **Adaptability and flexibility** — Flexibility and quick thinking applied to growth in fast-moving businesses. ## Industries - **Industrial services** (https://blackpowdersearch.com/industries/industrial-services) — Operations, finance and project leadership for industrial services businesses, including founder-owned companies going through their first institutional hire. Roles placed: Chief Operating Officer (COO), Controller, Senior Project Manager. - **Data centers** (https://blackpowdersearch.com/industries/data-centers) — Engineering and field service leadership for data center construction and operations, where uptime discipline and crew leadership matter more than a résumé keyword. Roles placed: Electrical Engineering Manager, National Field Service Manager. - **Defense technology** (https://blackpowdersearch.com/industries/defense-technology) — Cleared software, data and infrastructure engineers for defense technology companies — the sector where a candidate who already holds a clearance and already understands the customer is worth a multiple of one who does not. Roles placed: AI Engineer, Backend Developer, Cloud Engineer, Data Architect. - **Manufacturing** (https://blackpowdersearch.com/industries/manufacturing) — Plant, finance and operations leadership for manufacturers, including multi-site roles that need someone comfortable a long way from headquarters. Roles placed: Accounting Controller. ## Open roles No searches are published at this moment. Roles are posted only while genuinely open and are removed when filled. ## Available candidates Anonymized profiles of veterans available now, published with each candidate's explicit written consent. No names, current employers or units are published. Profiles are removed on request and automatically once a candidate is placed. No profiles are published at this moment. ## Team - [Mark Whaling](https://blackpowdersearch.com/team/mark-whaling) — Co-Founder, Business Development. Co-founder of Black Powder Search and Chairman of the Special Operators Transition Foundation, after 25 years in institutional securities. - [Robert Kirila](https://blackpowdersearch.com/team/robert-kirila) — Co-Founder, Business Development and Veteran Relations. Co-founder and Managing Partner across the Black Powder companies, after 26 years in the U.S. Army leading Special Operations in Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria. - [Erik Wisecup](https://blackpowdersearch.com/team/erik-wisecup) — Partner, COO. COO of Black Powder Search and a U.S. Navy Special Operations veteran, with an MIT MBA and an M.S. from Columbia. - [Tal Bruno](https://blackpowdersearch.com/team/tal-bruno) — Business Development. Leads new business development at Black Powder Search, after scaling go-to-market teams at Intent, Torc and a boutique SaaS search firm. - [Sean Locke](https://blackpowdersearch.com/team/sean-locke) — Senior Advisor. Founder of The Locke Group and a Senior Advisor to Black Powder Search, with two decades of front-office search in alternative investments and asset management. - [Colin Brune](https://blackpowdersearch.com/team/colin-brune) — Special Advisor. Special Advisor with 20+ years in talent acquisition at Aerotek, TEKsystems, The Onin Group and Akkodis/Adecco. - [Denise Kermode](https://blackpowdersearch.com/team/denise-kermode) — Chief Administrative Officer. Chief Administrative Officer at Black Powder Search, with 25 years of finance experience at Canaccord Genuity, Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs. ## Pages - [Special Operations Veteran Search | Black Powder Search](https://blackpowdersearch.com/) — Black Powder Search places triple-vetted U.S. Special Operations veterans into leadership roles. Retained search, contingent search, and outsourced recruiting. - [About Black Powder Search | Our Team and Our Standard](https://blackpowdersearch.com/about) — Black Powder Search was founded to place Special Operations veterans who have already proved themselves commercially. Meet the seven-person team behind it. - [Contact Black Powder Search](https://blackpowdersearch.com/contact) — Talk to Black Powder Search about a search engagement, joining the talent pool, or anything else. We reply to every inquiry, usually the same day. - [Request Employer Portal Access | Black Powder Search](https://blackpowdersearch.com/employers/apply) — Get your own portal to browse available Special Operations veteran talent, shortlist candidates and request introductions. Approval and a signed agreement required. - [Veteran Executive Search FAQ | Black Powder Search](https://blackpowdersearch.com/faq) — What triple vetting means, how retained and contingent search differ, how candidate profiles are anonymized and consented, and how veterans join the talent pool. - [For Veterans | Work With Black Powder Search](https://blackpowdersearch.com/for-candidates) — Black Powder Search represents Special Operations veterans with a proven commercial record. Join the talent pool and control exactly what we publish. - [Hire Special Operations Veterans | Black Powder Search](https://blackpowdersearch.com/for-employers) — Retained search, contingent search and outsourced recruiting for employers hiring proven Special Operations veteran leadership across the United States. - [Industries We Place Into | Black Powder Search](https://blackpowdersearch.com/industries) — Industrial services, data centers, defense technology and manufacturing — the four sectors Black Powder Search places Special Operations veteran leadership into. - [Data centers Executive Search | Black Powder Search](https://blackpowdersearch.com/industries/data-centers) — Engineering and field service leadership for data center construction and operations, where uptime discipline and crew leadership matter more than a… - [Defense technology Executive Search | Black Powder Search](https://blackpowdersearch.com/industries/defense-technology) — Cleared software, data and infrastructure engineers for defense technology companies — the sector where a candidate who already holds a clearance and… - [Industrial services Executive Search | Black Powder Search](https://blackpowdersearch.com/industries/industrial-services) — Operations, finance and project leadership for industrial services businesses, including founder-owned companies going through their first… - [Manufacturing Executive Search | Black Powder Search](https://blackpowdersearch.com/industries/manufacturing) — Plant, finance and operations leadership for manufacturers, including multi-site roles that need someone comfortable a long way from headquarters. - [Open Roles for Veterans | Black Powder Search](https://blackpowdersearch.com/jobs) — Open leadership, finance, engineering and technology roles placed by Black Powder Search for U.S. Special Operations veterans. - [Privacy | Black Powder Search](https://blackpowdersearch.com/privacy) — How Black Powder Search handles the information you send us, how candidate profiles are consented and published, and how to have yours removed. - [Contingent search for Veterans | Black Powder Search](https://blackpowdersearch.com/services/contingent-search) — Fee paid only on successful placement, with no upfront cost. Flexible enough to run alongside other firms, and suited to mid- and lower-level positions. - [Outsourced recruiting for Veterans | Black Powder Search](https://blackpowdersearch.com/services/outsourced-recruiting) — Full-cycle recruiting run on your behalf — sourcing, screening, interviewing and onboarding — so your own team stays on the work only they can do. - [Retained search for Veterans | Black Powder Search](https://blackpowdersearch.com/services/retained-search) — Exclusive, upfront-fee engagement for senior or specialized roles. We work only with you on that role and run a dedicated, exhaustive search of the… - [Available Veteran Talent | Black Powder Search](https://blackpowdersearch.com/talent) — Anonymized profiles of Special Operations veterans available for hire through Black Powder Search. - [Colin Brune, Special Advisor | Black Powder Search](https://blackpowdersearch.com/team/colin-brune) — Special Advisor with 20+ years in talent acquisition at Aerotek, TEKsystems, The Onin Group and Akkodis/Adecco. - [Denise Kermode | Black Powder Search](https://blackpowdersearch.com/team/denise-kermode) — Chief Administrative Officer at Black Powder Search, with 25 years of finance experience at Canaccord Genuity, Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs. - [Erik Wisecup, Partner | Black Powder Search](https://blackpowdersearch.com/team/erik-wisecup) — COO of Black Powder Search and a U.S. Navy Special Operations veteran, with an MIT MBA and an M.S. from Columbia. - [Mark Whaling, Co-Founder | Black Powder Search](https://blackpowdersearch.com/team/mark-whaling) — Co-founder of Black Powder Search and Chairman of the Special Operators Transition Foundation, after 25 years in institutional securities. - [Robert Kirila, Co-Founder | Black Powder Search](https://blackpowdersearch.com/team/robert-kirila) — Co-founder and Managing Partner across the Black Powder companies, after 26 years in the U.S. Army leading Special Operations in Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria. - [Sean Locke, Senior Advisor | Black Powder Search](https://blackpowdersearch.com/team/sean-locke) — Founder of The Locke Group and a Senior Advisor to Black Powder Search, with two decades of front-office search in alternative investments and asset management. - [Tal Bruno, Business Development | Black Powder Search](https://blackpowdersearch.com/team/tal-bruno) — Leads new business development at Black Powder Search, after scaling go-to-market teams at Intent, Torc and a boutique SaaS search firm. ## Optional - [Full text of every page](https://blackpowdersearch.com/llms-full.txt) - [Sitemap index](https://blackpowdersearch.com/sitemap-index.xml)