CISO recruitment agency and headhunters
your next CISO, in safe hands.
We combine our data, our sector experts and our AI algorithms to identify the most relevant headhunter for your role, from a small company's first CISO to a large enterprise's board-level CISO.
- no startup fees, payment on hire
- replacement guaranteed
they recruit their tech profiles with muzzo
how to recruit a CISO with a recruitment agency?
A good CISO brings security policy to life, not just documentation. Muzzo assigns your role, from a small company's first CISO to a large enterprise's CISO, to headhunters who recruit most in this field: they test the ability to defend a security topic at board level. Commission of 5 to 30%, paid on hire, guarantee 3 months.
how it works
you only pay if you recruit
01
you describe the role
Using the form above: the role, your company, your scope. The rest is scoped at your first chat with the Muzzo team.
02
our data chooses the headhunters
AI selects those who have recruited most CISOs, among over 2,500 selected headhunters.
03
you meet the best profiles
Approached and qualified by information security experts. You choose who you see.
04
you recruit, then you pay
Not before. If the hire leaves within 3 months, we relaunch the search for free.
they recruited with muzzo
Muzzo's strength is the diversity of its recruiters: there is always someone listening to our needs.
With Muzzo, I get the reactivity of a marketplace and the quality of a search firm.
let us talk about your recruitment
Antoine and the Muzzo team help you scope your role and choose the right headhunters. Describe your role in the form: we call you back to discuss.
Antoine GigomasCEO and co-founder of Muzzo
last question?
With Muzzo, you set the commission, between 5 and 30%, and you only pay it on hire: no deposit, no fixed fees. A small company's first CISO and a large enterprise CISO who runs a security committee do not require the same search. The commission reflects this difficulty, and the Muzzo team helps you set it.
You have a double guarantee. If the hire leaves within 3 months, for example because the actual scope does not match the brief, we relaunch the search for free. If no replacement is found within 4 months, we refund 50% of the fee. On average, 94% of Muzzo hires are still in role after 3 months.
security headhunters are ready to start
A hire signed in under 26 days, paid only on hire.
the situation
a CISO is judged by what their board decides because of them
a good CISO is deep in an audit, not on job boards
They are preparing a board meeting, running a compliance overhaul or managing an ongoing alert. They are not looking for a role. A security headhunter knows when and how to approach them.
written policy does not make a CISO
The role requires bringing policy to life: convincing a board, arbitrating a budget, training teams who are not technical. The headhunter tests this dialogue, not just known frameworks.
a hiring mistake shows up at the first audit or incident
Policy not applied, board poorly informed, incident discovered too late. The headhunter checks board meetings led and security plans run before introducing you to someone.
the roles
the security governance profiles our headhunters will find for you
From a small company's first CISO to a large enterprise's CISO, each search goes to a headhunter who has already recruited for this position.
CISO
They direct security policy, run the risk management plan and lead team awareness. The most sought role in the field.
Chief Information Security Officer
Same role, at large enterprise level: they sit on the board and report cyber risk to governance bodies.
compliance and security manager
They run compliance rollout against a framework (ISO 27001, NIS 2) and prepare the resulting audits.
data protection officer
They ensure GDPR compliance of data processing, often in close liaison with the CISO.
information security risk manager
They map information system risks and prioritise the security investments that follow.
first CISO of a small company
They build the security function from scratch, often alone, and must convince management who do not yet have a dedicated budget.
the method
a security headhunter, not a generalist agency
A CISO is judged by what their board decides because of them. The method therefore starts from what the role must move.
we define what the role must move
Compliance overhaul, risk management plan, first security budget: the brief describes the decisions the CISO will drive and to whom.
a headhunter who recruits CISOs
Among over 2,500 selected headhunters, your role goes to those who recruit most in information security governance.
a board presentation tested before interview
The headhunter asks the profile to describe how they have driven a security topic to a board: the issue raised, the decision obtained, what followed. Then they cross-check with referees.
the figures
CISO salary in figures
source: Apec, Remuneration of managers in the private sector across 111 job families, 2025 edition, p. 56 (information security) (opens a new window), 2025 data
source: Apec, Remuneration of managers in the private sector across 111 job families, 2025 edition, p. 56 (information security) (opens a new window), 2025 data
source: Cybermalveillance.gouv.fr, 2025 Activity Report, assistance to companies and organisations (opens a new window), 2025 data
recruiting a CISO: what you need to know
why trust a headhunter with recruiting a CISO?
The CISO directs security policy, compliance and risk management, and brings these topics to the board. Good profiles are in roles, busy running an audit or compliance overhaul, and do not reply to ads.
A security headhunter knows how to approach them and ask the right questions: which perimeter, which boards led, which budget managed, which frameworks followed. This page covers security governance; for daily operational security, see our cybersecurity engineer page.
CISO, Chief Information Security Officer or data protection officer: which profile to recruit?
A CISO directs security policy and the risk management plan for a company. A Chief Information Security Officer holds the same role at large enterprise level, with a board seat. A data protection officer ensures GDPR compliance of data processing, often in close liaison with the CISO but without the same scope.
This choice sets the role budget. According to Apec, the median for information security managers rises from 59 k€ without management responsibility to 92 k€ with team supervision: set the responsibility level in the brief before talking salary, not the other way around.
how to evaluate a CISO at interview?
The CV lists frameworks followed: ISO 27001, NIS 2, GDPR. The interview must show something else: the ability to get a non-technical board to approve a security budget and to get teams unfamiliar with it to adopt a policy.
A short practical case works well: a risk scenario, five minutes to present it as to a board. The headhunter does this first screening before introducing you to someone, and checks with referees the boards led and security plans run.
first CISO of a small company or CISO of a large enterprise: what changes?
In a small company recruiting its first CISO, the role often starts from zero: no formalised policy, a budget to build, management to convince of urgency. You need a profile who is self-reliant, able to prioritise and prove themselves quickly. In a large enterprise, the CISO joins an established function, with procedures, a security committee and dedicated teams.
Remuneration follows this scope gap: according to Apec, information security managers who run a budget earn 79 k€ median, versus 55 k€ without discretionary budget. The role level is set first by this scope, not the title.
why does the market push companies to strengthen their CISO?
The threat driving the role is escalating. According to Cybermalveillance.gouv.fr, payment fraud, which targets company financial processes, entered the top three threats for companies and organisations in 2025, with 13.5% of assistance requests and a 93% rise year-on-year.
This rise directly affects a CISO's scope: raising finance team awareness, double-approval procedures, incident response plan if fraud occurs. It is a strong argument to fund the role with reluctant management.
your questions on recruiting a CISO
According to Apec, information security managers with management responsibility earn 92 k€ gross per year at median, versus 59 k€ without team supervision (2025 edition). Those who manage a budget are at 79 k€ median, and 80% earn between 52 and 118 k€.
Slightly, but the gap is modest. According to Apec, the median for information security managers is 63 k€ gross per year in major urban areas, versus 57 k€ elsewhere (2025 edition). The budget managed and responsibility level weigh more than the region.
The CISO directs security policy, compliance and risk management of the information system. The CIO heads all IT means: infrastructure, projects, teams, technical budget, of which security is only a part. For this profile, see our CIO page.
Good knowledge of these frameworks helps scope the role, but compliance overhaul remains a company project, not a one-size-fits-all answer from the candidate. Ask them how they have already led a compliance drive to a non-technical board, rather than a list of texts mastered.