Strong Search has always believed that the best GTM talent does not respect borders. The companies we work with are building global businesses, hiring across EMEA, APAC, and North America, and they deserve a partner that matches that ambition.
Today, we are taking a significant step towards delivering on that belief.
We are delighted to welcome Larry Sanford as Managing Director, North America.
This appointment is more than a new team member joining the business. It is a deliberate investment in becoming the global GTM talent partner that the world’s most ambitious SaaS companies, PE firms, and VCs need.
Over the past two decades, the Strong Search team has accumulated over 50 years of combined experience placing top GTM performers at SaaS companies from seed stage through to Series D and PE-backed scale-ups. We have worked across EMEA, APAC, and the US, supporting companies at every stage of their growth journey. Our placement retention record is one of the strongest in the specialist search market, and our average time from brief to qualified shortlist is twelve days.
What we have always known is that to serve our clients at the highest level globally, we need dedicated expertise on the ground in the markets that matter most. North America is the largest and most competitive GTM talent market in the world. It deserves a dedicated leader.
Larry Sanford is that leader.
Larry brings over two decades of experience operating at the heart of US enterprise SaaS. His career has taken him through some of the most significant companies in the space, including Coupa Software, Icertis, and Clari, where he held senior roles spanning GTM strategy, revenue operations, sales enablement, and talent acquisition.
What makes Larry’s background particularly valuable is that he has not observed the US GTM landscape from the outside. He has operated inside it. He has built teams, scaled functions, and seen first-hand the difference between a hire that transforms a business and one that sets it back. That operational perspective is exactly what Strong Search’s clients need from a US-based partner.
More Coverage
With Larry leading the North America practice, Strong Search now has dedicated leadership across the key GTM talent markets globally. This means deeper market mapping, more comprehensive candidate outreach, and access to passive talent in the US that was previously harder to reach from a UK base alone.
Deeper Connections
Larry’s network spans the US SaaS, PE, and VC ecosystem. Combined with Strong Search’s existing global network, this creates a connectivity advantage that is genuinely differentiated. For clients, it means access to talent, market intelligence, and introductions that go well beyond a traditional search mandate.
A Stronger Portfolio
Strong Search now works with an even broader range of ambitious companies across both sides of the Atlantic. From US-headquartered SaaS companies scaling their domestic GTM teams, to European companies making their first US hires, to PE firms building GTM capability across portfolio companies in multiple geographies, the breadth and depth of the portfolio has never been stronger.
One Partner, Globally
Perhaps the most significant benefit is simplicity. Companies that are building global GTM teams no longer need to manage separate recruitment partners in different markets. Strong Search can now serve as a single, trusted partner for GTM talent worldwide. One relationship. One standard of quality. One methodology. Across every market that matters.
If you are a US-headquartered SaaS company scaling your GTM function, Larry’s appointment means you now have a specialist search partner with a US-based Managing Director who has operated inside companies at exactly the stage of growth you are navigating. Whether you are hiring your first VP of Sales, building out a presales function, or scaling an enterprise sales team, Strong Search brings a methodology and a track record that is built for this moment.
If you are a European company planning or executing your US expansion, this announcement is particularly relevant. The firm that has supported your EMEA hiring now has a dedicated US presence. You do not need to find a new partner. You do not need to start a new relationship. You can work with a team that already knows your business, your culture, and the standard you hold for talent, and that now has a US-based partner who knows the market you are entering intimately.
If you are a PE or VC firm with portfolio companies that need GTM talent, Strong Search now offers a genuinely global capability. Whether your portfolio companies are US-based, European-based, or both, there is now a single partner with the reach, the depth, and the operational understanding to support the full GTM talent journey across geographies.
This is just the beginning. Larry’s appointment is the first step in a broader commitment to deepening our global capability and building the strongest GTM talent network in the world. We have ambitious plans for 2026 and beyond, and we cannot wait to share more in the months ahead.
For now, we want to say: welcome, Larry. We are proud to have you on the team.
And to our clients, partners, and network: thank you for your continued trust. The best is yet to come.
It means more coverage, deeper connections, and a stronger global capability. Existing clients who need US GTM talent now have a dedicated US-based partner leading that work. Existing US relationships are strengthened, not disrupted.
Yes. Strong Search works with PE and VC firms to support GTM talent acquisition across their portfolio companies. The addition of a dedicated North America practice makes this capability significantly stronger for firms with US-based or transatlantic portfolios.
Strong Search specialises in GTM talent across first and second line sales leadership, presales, customer success leadership, revenue operations, and the IC teams that report into them. The focus is SaaS companies from seed stage through to Series D and PE-backed scale-ups.
The average time from brief to qualified shortlist is twelve days. This reflects a methodology that front-loads the work: thorough market mapping on day one, followed by a focused, consultative outreach to the right candidates.
Yes. That is precisely the point of this investment. Strong Search can now serve as a single GTM talent partner for companies hiring across EMEA, APAC, and North America. One relationship, one standard, one outcome.
Larry Sanford, Managing Director, North America
larry.sanford@strongsearch.us | LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/tolarrysanford
Strong Search
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