Off-market Executive, AI/Technical, Product and Marketing search for Australian and New Zealand tech founders hiring into, or out of, Silicon Valley, and for US companies hiring their first ANZ Regional Lead. 2-3 candidates in 5-10 days.
Perpetuate is one of the only search firms built specifically for the corridor between Australia, New Zealand and Silicon Valley. Founded in 2020 by Stephen Tung, and joined by Sophia Philippou in 2024, the firm runs off-market, Craft-led searches for Executive, AI, Engineering, Product and Marketing seats at venture-backed, opinionated tech, AI-native and deep-tech companies hiring across multiple markets. It also places the first ANZ Regional Lead or Country Manager for US companies opening in the region. 2-3 candidates in 5-10 days. No job ads.
56, and counting, High Stakes Senior Placements across 34 client companies, spanning venture-backed tech, AI-native and deep-tech companies in Australia, New Zealand, and the US.
placements since Jan 2025
client companies
of clients hired again
US generalist search firms rarely have a real bench in Australian and New Zealand technical talent pools. Australian firms rarely know what actually clears a Silicon Valley hiring bar. Perpetuate was built to sit in the gap between the two.
The US Search Firm Problem
Large US search firms cover Silicon Valley deeply, but their Australian and New Zealand networks are thin. A founder expanding into the US, or a US company hiring its first ANZ Regional Lead, gets a shortlist built on LinkedIn keyword search, not genuine pattern matching against the local bench.
The AU Search Firm Problem
Australian recruiters can source strong local engineers, but few have calibrated what a Silicon Valley board or a US-market-facing tech company actually expects from a CTO, VP Engineering, or Head of Product. Candidates get put forward who would clear an ASX-listed hiring bar, not a venture-backed Silicon Valley one.
Where Perpetuate Sits
Stephen Tung and Sophia Philippou run every cross-border search personally. Perpetuate doesn't franchise the Silicon Valley side to a US partner office or the ANZ side to a junior researcher. The same two people who understand the Australian and New Zealand technical bench also know what clears a Silicon Valley hiring bar, because they've placed into both.
Perpetuate, under Stephen's guidance, has consistently matched and delivered talent exceptionally. Almost every candidate seems to bring unique value to the team, fitting more into a yes or not yet rather than a no, indicating a deep understanding of our specific requirements.
Jess Flanagan, Co-Founder at Deckard
ex-Qualcomm Engineering Lead, Series A
The clearest signal a search firm understands a market is not the first placement. It is whether the same client comes back.
Ex-Palantir Founders - Blackbird-Backed
Atticus builds AI verification software for the world's largest law firms and listed companies. It is Perpetuate's most repeated client: five placements since March 2025, spanning platform engineering, LLM product engineering, and senior product design.
Perpetuate Hired: Platform Engineer, Product Engineer (LLM), Senior Product Designer, Staff Software Engineer (LLM), Senior Software Engineer.
Ex-NASA Founders - Series D
Liquid Instruments builds software-defined test and measurement hardware, founded by a team out of NASA. Perpetuate placed a Lead Test and Manufacturing Engineer in early 2025, then returned in 2026 for a Strategy and Manufacturing Lead as the company scaled.
Perpetuate Hired: Head of AI Product, Lead Test and Manufacturing Engineer, Strategy and Manufacturing Lead.
The product design hire came through Perpetuate's Product practice, led by Sophia Philippou. The engineering hires came through Stephen Tung's AI/Technical practice, with CTO, VP and regional-lead seats running through his Executive practice.
Explore the Product practicePerpetuate
The same low-friction process, whether you are an Australian or New Zealand founder hiring into the US, or a US company hiring its first ANZ Regional Lead or Country Manager.
Step 1
One Founder Call, Wherever You're Based
20-30 minutes with Stephen, or one focused hour with Sophia, over video. We learn the company, the domain, the hiring bar you're actually solving for, and whether the mandate sits in Australia, New Zealand, the US, or all three.
Step 2
We Map Both Talent Pools Against Your Bar
Signal and pattern matching across the Australian and New Zealand technical bench and the Silicon Valley calibre your investors or US customers expect, run by the same two people, not handed off between offices.
Step 3
2-3 Candidates in 5-10 Days
Off-market, pre-vetted, and briefed on the cross-border context: time zones, relocation, and what a US-facing or Australian-facing hiring bar actually means for this role.
No. Perpetuate runs its cross-border searches from Australia, not from a Silicon Valley office. Every US-facing search is run directly by Stephen Tung and Sophia Philippou, drawing on relationships with Australian and New Zealand founders who have scaled into the US, and with US companies hiring in the region, such as Deckard and Zapier.
Yes. Perpetuate runs searches for Australian and New Zealand VC-backed tech, AI-native and deep-tech companies hiring executive, technical or product leaders who are US-based, US-experienced, or need to operate credibly with US customers, investors, or boards, using the same off-market, founder-led process as its domestic searches.
The hiring bar. A Silicon Valley-facing CTO or Head of Product needs to be credible to US customers, US-based investors, or a board with Silicon Valley reference points, not just to an Australian engineering team. Perpetuate pattern-matches candidates against that specific bar, not a generic seniority checklist.
The same 5-10 day timeline as its domestic searches. After a single founder call, 20-30 minutes for Stephen's searches and one focused hour for Sophia's, Perpetuate builds the pitch and runs off-market outreach across both talent pools, typically returning 2-3 pre-vetted candidates within 5-10 days.
No. Perpetuate's thesis is specific and contrarian: it serves emerging Silicon Valley and irrefutable track-record founders who recognise the structural Alpha of Australian and New Zealand technical talent. Its clients are VC-backed tech, AI-native and deep-tech companies, from venture-backed startups through to scaleups growing from $10M to $50M+ ARR. Deep tech is one segment, not the whole book. It does not run generalist technology searches, which is why its cross-border network is concentrated rather than broad.
Large US search firms are built for volume across the whole US market, with Australian and New Zealand coverage that is usually thin. Perpetuate is a boutique practice built for one specific corridor: Australian and New Zealand technical talent matched against a Silicon Valley hiring bar, run personally by its two partners. That includes a US company's first hire in the region. An ANZ Regional Lead or Country Manager runs through Stephen Tung's Executive practice, sourced off-market from Operators already embedded in serious work here.
Whether you are an Australian or New Zealand founder hiring into Silicon Valley, or a US company hiring its first ANZ Regional Lead, Perpetuate runs the search personally, off-market, in 5-10 days. Stephen's brief takes 20-30 minutes; Sophia's takes one focused hour.
Brief Stephen on Your Cross-Border SearchExplore the Executive practice