Leadership
Tom Citera
President & Founder
Tom Citera is a veteran recruiting professional with more than 35 years of experience helping organizations identify, attract, and retain top talent. Throughout his career, he has successfully completed searches across a wide range of industries, including legal, healthcare, life sciences, banking and financial services, marketing, nonprofit, and professional services.
Known for his consultative and relationship-driven approach, Tom has built long-standing partnerships with employers ranging from boutique organizations to national firms. His expertise spans retained and contingency search, executive recruiting, attorney placement, business development, and strategic talent acquisition.
As President of Center Stage Search LLC, Tom works closely with clients throughout the United States, providing personalized recruiting solutions tailored to each organization's unique goals and culture. His commitment to integrity, communication, and results has earned him the trust of both clients and candidates over a career spanning more than three decades.
Drawing upon extensive recruiting experience and a strong background in presentation, networking, and relationship building, Tom continues to help organizations grow by connecting them with exceptional professionals who make a lasting impact.
30+
Years of industry experience
Referral-Based
Majority of new clients come through referrals
Passive Talent
Access to candidates not actively job seeking
Nationwide
Search capability across all major markets
About Us
Built on Relationships.
Defined by Results.
Center Stage Search LLC is a boutique executive search firm founded on a simple belief: the best placements come from genuine relationships — not database searches or resume floods.
We partner with law firms, corporate legal departments, and growth-stage organizations in healthcare, life sciences, and AI-driven technology to identify and place high-impact professionals who aren't on the open market.
Our approach is consultative, confidential, and built for the long term. We don't measure success by volume — we measure it by the careers advanced and the organizations strengthened through every engagement.
Precision recruiting with long-term impact. We don't just fill seats — we help organizations build the leadership they need to grow.
What We Stand For
The Principles That Guide Every Search
Relationship Over Transaction
Every engagement begins with listening. We invest time understanding your organization — its culture, leadership dynamics, and long-term vision — before we ever present a candidate.
Quality Over Volume
We don't flood your inbox. We bring you a curated shortlist of highly vetted professionals who are genuinely aligned with your needs — not just available.
Access to Passive Talent
Our most valuable candidates aren't on job boards. They're high-performing professionals who trust us to surface the right opportunity at the right time.
Confidentiality as a Standard
Whether you're a candidate navigating a sensitive career move or an organization conducting a discreet search, we operate with the highest level of discretion.
Long-Term Alignment
We measure success not by placements made, but by careers advanced and organizations strengthened. Our referral-based network is built on outcomes that last.
Deep Domain Expertise
We don't recruit across every industry. We go deep in legal, healthcare, life sciences, and AI-driven technology — which means we understand the nuances that generalist firms miss.
Why Boutique
The Boutique Advantage
Large recruiting firms operate on volume. Their model depends on sending as many candidates as possible and hoping something sticks. That approach wastes your time and erodes trust.
As a boutique firm, we take on a limited number of searches at any given time — which means every client gets our full attention, every candidate gets a thoughtful process, and every placement reflects our reputation.
Dedicated Attention
You work directly with Tom — not a junior recruiter or account manager. Every search gets senior-level focus from start to finish.
Curated Shortlists
We present a small number of highly vetted candidates, not a stack of resumes. Every name we bring forward has been thoroughly evaluated.
Trusted Network
Our referral-based model means the majority of our clients and candidates come through trusted introductions — a testament to the quality of every engagement.
Ready to Work Together?
Whether you're looking to build your team or explore your next career move, we'd welcome a confidential conversation.