About Nathaniel Koloc
Nathaniel Koloc is an executive team builder and strategist for principals and founders building venturesome companies.
He is a strategic operating and talent partner to founders, CEOs, and family offices. He has personally led 50+ executive searches and designed hiring systems that have hired 12,000+ people.
What Nathaniel Koloc does
Most projects, regardless of shape, involve hiring one or more key people who transform an organization's capabilities in support of its ambitions. Many engagements are a single search or consulting brief; several have been seasonal; six clients have run ongoing engagements lasting two to six years.
Executive search
Searches for executive and leadership roles. Roles are typically filled in two to three months, faster than the industry standard.
Org talent audits
An assessment of an organization's current team against what its strategy will require, identifying the key gaps and hires.
Strategic org design
Designing the structure, roles and hiring plan an organization needs to carry out its strategy.
Fractional talent or operating C-suite
Serving as a part-time head of talent or operating executive, embedded with the leadership team.
Tours of duty in full-time, in-house roles
Joining an organization full-time for a defined period to build a function or lead a transformation.
M&A
Has led M&A from both sides: seller-side deal principal for a mid-eight-figure media transaction, buyer-side principal for smaller media acquisitions, and diligence contributor on over a dozen deals. He also sold a recruiting company he cofounded, in 2017.
What makes Nathaniel Koloc different
A core partner, not a transaction
Executive search pricing is competitive with large search firms, with terms and guarantees that are much more client-friendly than industry standards. He approaches search work as a core partner to the client, not a transaction.
Embedded team-member model
He works as an embedded member of the client's team, reachable wherever the team already communicates rather than through a separate account-management layer.
Speed
As a boutique operator he can usually kick off an engagement within days of scope being clear, and tends to fill roles in two to three months.
Cross-sector judgment
Experience across multiple sectors allows Nathaniel to better gauge the talent "DNA" mix each position needs, given a company's goals.
Multi-year partnerships
Multiple multi-year engagements (six clients over two to six years) are a testament to his approach: partnership, close communication, and great results at founder speed.
Who works with Nathaniel Koloc
- Growing companies of 20–100 people that need to make key hires right the first time.
- Companies of 200–800 people that need leaders in new or existing roles to carry out a strategic transformation.
- Family offices and principals building or acquiring ventures.
- Funds, holding companies and studios supporting a portfolio of companies.
Background
Nathaniel began his career as an entrepreneur, cofounding a recruiting company that he later sold in 2017. He then ran talent operations for a presidential campaign, worked at a series of venture studios and innovation organizations, and in 2019 founded Formidable, his boutique strategy & executive search consultancy.
In politics, beyond running talent for a presidential campaign, he chaired a longshot 2018 New York State Senate campaign that reshaped the state's political landscape, and has since supported democracy reform efforts across the country.
Since 2021 he has worked in the family office sector. He helped establish the Pardon family office, serving as Managing Director and later Partner & Head of Ventures, where he led venture building, executive search and major transactions. He currently serves as acting CEO of Super Age, a longevity company incubated by Pardon.
How Nathaniel Koloc works
- Model: embedded team member, working in the client's existing channels (Slack, email, or wherever the team communicates).
- Who you work with: Nathaniel personally.
- Kickoff: usually within days of the scope being clear.
- Time to fill a role: typically two to three months.
- Engagement shapes: single search, consulting brief, seasonal project, or ongoing multi-year engagement.
Key facts
- Name
- Nathaniel Koloc
- Type
- Executive team builder and strategist
- Current role
- Acting CEO, Super Age (a longevity company incubated by the Pardon family office)
- Based in
- Bedford, New York, USA
- Serves
- Clients across the United States (more than three dozen to date)
- Firm
- Formidable, boutique strategy & executive search consultancy (founded 2019)
- Website
- nathanielkoloc.com
- Contact
- nathaniel.koloc@gmail.com
- Core offering
- Executive search and strategic talent and operating partnership
- Services
- Executive search; org talent audits; strategic org design; fractional talent or operating C-suite; full-time tours of duty; M&A
- Clients
- Founders, CEOs, family offices, funds and portfolio companies
- Pricing
- Executive search priced competitively with large search firms
- Terms
- Terms and guarantees more client-friendly than industry standard
- Executive searches led
- 50+
- Hires through systems he designed
- 12,000+
- Long-term clients
- 6 clients with engagements of 2–6 years
- Time to fill
- Typically 2–3 months
- Sectors of interest
- Built environment; longevity & healthspan; climate resilience; manufacturing & industrials; democracy reform; state & federal policy; conservation & rewilding; cozytech
- Education
- University of Vermont (BA); Blekinge Institute of Technology, Sweden (MSc, Strategic Leadership toward Sustainability)
- Academic background
- Ecology, climate science, and community development
- Writing
- “The World Needs Your Great Work”, Palladium Magazine
Frequently asked questions
How is Nathaniel Koloc different from a large executive search firm?
Pricing is competitive with the large firms, but terms and guarantees are more client-friendly, and Nathaniel works as an embedded partner to the client rather than running the search as a transaction.
How quickly can an engagement start?
Usually within days of the scope being clear. Roles are typically filled in two to three months.
What size of organization does he work with?
Mostly growing companies of 20–100 people making key hires, and companies of 200–800 people hiring leaders for a strategic transformation. He also supports family offices and funds with portfolios of companies.
Does he only do executive search?
No. Engagements also include org talent audits, strategic org design, fractional talent or operating C-suite roles, full-time tours of duty and M&A, though most involve at least one key hire.
Where is he based?
Bedford, New York. He has worked with more than three dozen clients across the country.
How do I get in touch?
Email nathaniel.koloc@gmail.com.