Go beyond CVs, references and standard checks. Neotas analysts investigate the conduct, interests and connections behind senior candidates, so you know who you are appointing before the offer goes out.
“Neotas searches go deeper than traditional due diligence checks by 'spidering out' across the entire internet and their proprietary AI technology helps them analyse vast quantities of data at speed.”
“They were incredibly thorough, and the way the information was presented made it easy to assess risks and manage for the production.”
“Neotas present investigative findings in an easily digestible format. They are responsive to our business requirements and flexible in the way they approach our engagements.”
Neotas Recognised by Chartis as Best-of-Breed in Adverse Media MonitoringRead the announcement
Executive risk sits in appointments you cannot fully verify from a CV. We investigate the candidate, the companies they have led and the people they are connected to.
Conduct, reputation and leadership record at past companies, plus litigation and media history in every market they have worked in.
Integrity, regulatory history, insolvencies linked to past roles and undisclosed financial interests.
Other directorships, conflicts of interest, PEP exposure and public statements, checked before the board appoints.
Evidence on honesty, integrity and reputation for fit and proper assessments, alongside regulatory references.
Senior hires below board level, and a first rated look at any shortlisted candidate.
Founders and management teams you inherit through an acquisition or place into a portfolio company.
How this fits your hiring process: Standard background checks confirm identity, right to work and criminal records. A Neotas report tells you what the public record shows about conduct, interests and reputation. Use the findings to probe in final interviews, set offer conditions or decide not to proceed. Need identity and right-to-work checks too? Neotas Employment Screening runs them on the same platform.
A regional director and a group CEO should not get the same check. Our three enhanced due diligence report levels let you scale depth to seniority and risk.
A fast, rated risk overview.
Depth of investigation: 1 of 3
Senior managers below board level, and a first look at shortlisted candidates.
Premium risk databases, sanctions and PEP screening, adverse media, internet and social media searches, and a RAG rating.
1 to 2 working days
Book a scoping callA full integrity and reputation review.
Depth of investigation: 2 of 3
C-suite, non-executive directors and regulated senior roles.
Everything in Level 1, plus directorships and shareholdings, legal and regulatory history, an all-media review and an analyst-written narrative.
3 to 5 working days
Book a scoping callAn investigation that goes beyond the candidate to their network.
Depth of investigation: 3 of 3
CEOs, Chairs, high-profile or cross-border appointments, or red flags raised at Level 1 or 2.
Everything in Level 2, plus associations, networks and connections, deep and archived web sources, and wider jurisdiction and language coverage.
5 to 7 working days
Book a scoping callExpedited delivery is available for urgent appointments. Not sure which level fits?
Tell us about the role on a short scoping call and we will recommend one.
Analysts run every screen on the Neotas investigative platform. The platform searches at scale; an analyst confirms and owns every finding.
Tell us the role, the countries the candidate has lived and worked in, and the standards the appointment must meet.
The candidate is informed and consents where local law requires. We fix the level, jurisdictions and delivery date.
Analysts search corporate registries, court records, licensed risk databases and local-language media, plus the wider web and social media.
We confirm identity, remove namesakes and separate verified facts from allegations. Only role-relevant findings go forward.
You receive a RAG-rated report with a source for every finding, and a walkthrough with the lead analyst.
Built around your appointment timeline. Delivery dates are agreed at the outset, so the report lands before final interviews or the offer.
A structured view of the candidate, their interests and their network, with a source for every finding.
Scope depends on the report level and the jurisdictions involved.
The conclusion first, with the reasoning behind every rating.
Roles, titles, dates and qualifications tested against company filings, media coverage and public profiles.
Current and past company interests, including undisclosed links to competitors, suppliers or counterparties.
Matches confirmed or ruled out, including family members and close associates where relevant.
News, archived pages and public posts in the original language, reviewed for conduct that signals a material risk. Lawful personal views and protected characteristics are excluded.
Court cases, insolvencies and judgments linked to past roles, plus regulator actions, bans and disqualifications.
Who the candidate does business with, mapped across companies and jurisdictions.
Every source searched, what was found, and what could not be checked.
A report is a snapshot. Leaders take on new directorships, attract litigation and make headlines after they join. Monitoring keeps the picture current.
New sanctions designations, adverse media, directorship changes and litigation.
Daily, weekly or monthly by role seniority, with high-risk alerts escalated immediately.
Use new findings to start a board conversation, an internal review or a deeper report.
Due diligence does not end at appointment. Monitoring is available on every report level.
Need help choosing a report level and monitoring scope?
Discuss your requirementsTeams that need to know who they are appointing before the offer, the announcement or the regulator's approval.
Vetting CEO, Chair and non-executive candidates before an appointment becomes public, with a documented record of what was checked and why.
Senior hiring where a CV, references and standard checks are not enough. Findings feed final interviews and offer conditions.
Evidence for fit and proper assessments in financial services and healthcare. Regulators expect firms to show how they assessed honesty, integrity and reputation. Our reports document what you checked and what you found.
Assessing founders and management before an investment or acquisition, and leaders placed into portfolio companies.
Investing? See management due diligenceShare the third party, the country and the decision you face. We will recommend the right report level, scope and delivery date.
Something else? Ask us on a scoping call.
Executive background screening is an in-depth check on a C-suite, board or senior management candidate before appointment. It goes past identity, criminal record and credit checks to test integrity, reputation, conduct, conflicts of interest and fitness for a regulated role, using open-source intelligence, court and corporate records, and analyst review.
A Neotas report covers career and credential verification, directorships and shareholdings, sanctions, PEP and watchlists, adverse media and online conduct, and litigation, insolvency and regulatory records. Level 3 adds associations and networks. Every finding is rated Red, Amber or Green with a source and the analyst's reasoning.
Standard screening confirms identity, right to work, qualifications and criminal or credit history against national databases. Executive screening adds independent research into conduct, reputation, conflicts and networks across many jurisdictions and languages, with analysts judging relevance to the role. Most organisations run both.
As a guide, Level 1 suits senior managers below board level, Level 2 suits C-suite, non-executive and regulated senior roles, and Level 3 suits CEOs, Chairs, high-profile or cross-border appointments, or cases where an earlier level raised a red flag. We confirm the level on a short scoping call.
Level 1 takes 1 to 2 working days, Level 2 takes 3 to 5 working days and Level 3 takes 5 to 7 working days. Expedited delivery is available for urgent appointments, and delivery dates are agreed before work starts.
They should. Telling candidates that background checks will take place, and obtaining consent where local law requires it, is good practice and a legal requirement in many countries. Neotas confirms the requirements for each jurisdiction at scoping and reports only role-relevant findings.
Yes, publicly available content only. Analysts review it for conduct that signals a material risk, such as threats, harassment or discriminatory abuse. Lawful personal opinions and protected characteristics are excluded from the report.
Yes. Financial services and healthcare regulators in many countries require firms to assess the honesty, integrity and reputation of senior individuals. A Neotas report gives you documented, sourced evidence for that part of the assessment, alongside regulatory references and competence checks.
Neotas investigations cover more than 200 jurisdictions, and analysts research in more than 30 languages so regional media and records are read in the original. This matters most for candidates who have lived or worked across several countries.
Yes. Continuous monitoring tracks new sanctions designations, adverse media, directorship changes and litigation at a daily, weekly or monthly cadence, with high-risk alerts escalated immediately. Monitoring is available on every report level.
