The appointment is public
An announcement invites immediate scrutiny of the person’s online history.
Executive & Board Candidate Screening
Executive & Board Candidate Social Media Screening
When you announce a new executive or director, journalists, employees and investors start searching. Ferretly reviews a finalist’s public online conduct before the announcement, so your committee reviews available public-conduct findings and has time to ask about them.
Book a demoWhy senior appointments need their own process
Employment-purpose reviews follow the applicable employment-screening framework regardless of seniority. Board appointments require the appropriate purpose-specific process. What changes is the stakes:
The footprint is wider
Senior candidates often have years of interviews, commentary and press coverage, sometimes across several countries and languages.
Surprises cost more
A post that surfaces after the announcement can force a withdrawal, a public statement or a board conversation that belonged before the offer.
What your committee gains
Review before the announcement
Finalists are reviewed before the press release is drafted, while a question can still be asked privately.
A view beyond the candidate’s own profiles
Ferretly covers news, forums and the open web as well as social platforms, in text and images, across multiple languages. That matters for leaders with an international or long public record.
Designated reviewers
Limit access to designated reviewers under your organization’s access policy, such as the CHRO, the committee chair or general counsel.
How it works with your search
Scope it
With the search lead or committee chair, choose the behavioral categories relevant to the role and add custom keywords such as prior employers, competitors or issues already raised in interviews.
Follow the right framework
Employment-purpose reviews follow the applicable employment-screening framework regardless of seniority. Board appointments require the appropriate purpose-specific process. Your organization runs that process.
Ferretly reviews public content
Across social platforms, news, forums and the open web.
A defined group reviews and decides
Your committee reviews the findings. Ferretly Analyst Assistant is available as an option, depending on your plan and service agreement.
What the committee receives
- Findings organized by behavioral category
- The underlying public content, for context
- Public information only, with nothing from private accounts
- No appointment recommendation: the decision stays with the committee
What executive screening doesn’t do
- It doesn’t decide who to appoint.
- It doesn’t set your standards. Configure role-relevant screening criteria and keep protected beliefs and characteristics out of decisions.
- It doesn’t access private accounts or ask for passwords.
- It doesn’t replace references, regulatory fitness assessments or legal due diligence. It adds a view of public conduct alongside them.
Where it fits
The examples below are illustrative scenarios, not customer results.
CEO and C-suite searches
A company screens its two finalists for chief financial officer after final interviews and before references are complete.
Board appointments
A nominating committee reviews an independent director candidate before the proxy statement is drafted.
Portfolio leadership
A private equity firm screens a proposed portfolio-company CEO as part of approving the hire.
Institutional leaders
A university or health system screens finalists for president, whose public statements will speak for the institution.
Questions, answered
Frequently asked questions
What is executive social media screening?
A review of a senior candidate’s publicly available online content, including social media, news and the open web, to surface conduct that could create reputational, governance or workplace risk before appointment.
When in the search should finalists be screened?
Usually at the finalist or pre-offer stage, after interviews narrow the field and before an announcement is drafted.
Is executive screening different from employee screening?
Employment-purpose reviews follow the applicable employment-screening framework regardless of seniority, including disclosure, authorization and adverse action requirements. Seniority doesn’t permit broader or deeper screening. Board appointments require the appropriate purpose-specific process. What usually differs is the process around the review: role-specific keywords, the stage at which screening happens, and a smaller, more senior group reviewing the findings.
Who should see the findings?
Limit access to designated reviewers under your organization’s access policy, such as the CHRO, the committee chair or general counsel.
Does Ferretly decide whether a candidate is suitable?
No. Ferretly supplies findings. Your committee decides.
Screen finalists before the announcement, not after
See how screening would fit your next search or board appointment, from scoping to the findings your committee reviews.
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