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About us
About us

Rochester was born as an independent Executive Search firm and has evolved into an Executive Advisory company. Founded in London in 1982, we work on behalf of a select number of clients on an international basis, and we have been operating in Italy since early 2002.

We discover and elevate leaders to advance responsible growth.

This is all to do with a leadership state of mind, which derives from in-depth ability to read people and organizations, consistently across all that we do.

Our Services

We create value through people, for people

Rochester-Circle-W-mini

Executive Search

Market Intelligence

Executive Assessment & Development

Career Counselling

When we met the first time I was the CHRO of a Client of Rochester, and I was in a demanding execution phase. The way they came across: quickly grasped the big picture, delivered the right ideas, with no overselling attitude. This cemented mutual respect that evolved in being colleagues

Chiara Piatti

Meeting Rochester, their philosophy and way of working, made me reconsider the Executive Search industry, after a 25-year career. The team at Rochester believes in finding a mutual fit between the company and the person, centred on the purpose and the how, not just on the what. This approach allows Rochester to be leadership-driven, not task-driven.

Federico Tonetti, CEO

The long-lasting value of an effective executive search relationship goes far beyond a specific vacancy and its intrinsic transactional value. It takes time, curiosity and professional competence to understand the individual deeply, to address and to dig motivations and values, on top of the direction forward. This is what I feel when I interact with Rochester, and is definitely the added value of the relationship with them.

Luca Scavo, CFO

CACIB Milan has been working with Rochester since years on various projects with great success. They have deep market knowledge, can reach out people consistently, work with velocity. They listen to our needs and work hard to understand our culture and fit, at all times. With focus on quality over quantity, they also build value “thinking outside the box” and suggesting solutions that may not seem the obvious, yet would be the right for us. It’s a pleasure working with them!

Roberta Sormani – MD HR CACIB Milan

My experience with Rochester was positive in every respect. Valeria and her team have constantly proved to be professional, knowledgeable and attentive to my needs. The selection process was well-structured, transparent, with frequent and valuable feedback: the care and passion that makes Rochester a modern and highly qualified headhunting company shines through.

Dario Giannoccaro, Group Organisation Director, Group HR Director

My candidate experience with Rochester was truly like no other. I feel that they really took the time to not only understand the chronology of my employment history, but by taking a deeper dive into what has driven my career path and establish the real success factors at every stage, this built a greatly enhanced picture of my employment credentials and key skills. At times, the process was thought provoking and challenging, but this truly prepared me for every step of the recruitment process with both the Company and the PE Fund.

Richard Jessup, Chief Commercial Officer

Rochester is a trusted partner in the business transformation. Polished thinking, methodological rigour and a rare ability to distil human elements underpin the culture with which they operate and contribute to value generation.

Matteo Pallaver, Chief People Officer

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