H-1B Visa CEO Jobs
CEO roles can qualify for H-1B visa sponsorship when the position requires a bachelor's degree or higher in a specific specialty field, such as business administration, finance, or a technical discipline. Boards and investors typically drive the sponsorship decision, making the employer's size, structure, and H-1B filing history key filters before you apply.
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Get Access To All JobsABOUT THE COMPANY
Our client is a high-growth, venture-backed clean beauty brand co-founded by an A-list celebrity and an experienced entrepreneur. Their mission is to redefine beauty through premium, high-performance hair products — with a particular focus on textured hair — serving consumers, salon professionals, and major retail partners.
The business is at an exciting inflection point: scaling brand presence, deepening community engagement, and expanding across retail, salon, and international channels. They are lean, ambitious, and moving fast — and they are looking for a CEO to match that energy.
This is a rare opportunity to step into a high-visibility leadership role at the intersection of beauty, celebrity, and culture.
THE OPPORTUNITY
As CEO, you will own the company's strategy end-to-end — from board-level vision to on-the-ground execution. You will work closely with the founding team to drive growth across all commercial channels: direct-to-consumer (DTC), retail, professional salon, and international distribution.
This is not a traditional CEO role. The ideal candidate is equally at home pitching investors, negotiating retail partnerships, developing launch strategies, and personally picking up the phone to place product on salon shelves. You will need to be a builder, a hustler, and a strategist — often all in the same day.
The role will be US remote, with up to 30% domestic travel expected.
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES:
Strategy & Commercial Growth:
- Strategic Leadership: Define and execute the company's growth strategy, balancing brand-building with operational and financial discipline.
- Go-to-Market Execution: Oversee and optimise multi-channel distribution across DTC, retail, professional salon, and international markets.
- Sales & Marketing: Drive awareness, sales, and retention through innovative marketing, storytelling, and high-impact partnership strategies.
Brand & Partnerships:
- Celebrity & Talent Leverage: Collaborate directly with the celebrity co-founder to build authentic, scalable campaigns that extend reach and brand credibility.
- Retail & Ecosystem Relationships: Cultivate and maintain strong relationships with key retail partners, distributors, agencies, and salon professionals.
Finance & Operations:
- Fundraising & Investor Relations: Lead capital-raising efforts and maintain transparent, data-driven communication with the board and investor community.
- Operational Oversight: Own the P&L, manage budgets, and oversee supply chain to ensure efficient and sustainable growth.
Team & Culture:
- Team Building: Recruit, lead, and inspire a lean but high-performing team — setting a culture of accountability, creativity, and pace.
IDEAL CANDIDATE PROFILE:
Experience & Track Record:
- Revenue Growth: Proven operator with a track record of scaling revenue from $5M to $20M+ in a consumer brand context.
- Industry Expertise: 10+ years of senior leadership in the beauty or personal care sector, with deep expertise in haircare — particularly for consumers of colour.
- Channel Experience: Demonstrated success across DTC, major retail accounts (Sephora, Ulta, Target), professional salon distribution, and international channels.
- Exit Experience: Has led or contributed meaningfully to a strategic exit or PE-backed growth journey.
Skills & Capabilities:
- Commercial Network: A strong, active network spanning retailers, distributors, influencers, and salon professionals across the beauty ecosystem.
- Marketing Savvy: Data-driven approach to brand-building, with fluency in digital marketing, community-led growth, and modern consumer acquisition strategies.
- Celebrity & Talent Partnerships: Proven experience leveraging talent and celebrity relationships to grow brands with authenticity and commercial impact.
- Financial Acumen: Comfortable owning a P&L, building forecasts, and presenting to investors and board members.
Character & Mindset:
- Entrepreneurial Drive: Thrives in fast-paced, resource-constrained environments; comfortable with ambiguity and energised by solving complex problems.
- Hands-On Execution: No task is beneath you — from refining a marketing brief to personally pitching a retail buyer or calling a salon owner.
- Leadership Presence: Ability to inspire and motivate a small team, foster accountability, and build a culture people want to be part of.
- Passion for Impact: A genuine commitment to sustainability, inclusivity, and disrupting the beauty industry for the better.
COMPENSATION & BENEFITS
This is a full-time role offering a competitive base salary commensurate with experience, alongside a meaningful equity stake in a high-growth venture-backed business.
- Meaningful equity stake
- Performance-based bonus structure
- Health, wellness, and beauty product benefits
- Medical, Dental, and Vision Insurance
- 401(k)
Final compensation will be determined based on experience, skills, and location but will sit in a range of $250,000 - $300,000.
HOW TO APPLY
This search is being managed exclusively by Zero Hiring. To be considered for this role, please submit your CV and a brief covering note outlining your relevant experience and commercial track record.
Zero Hiring is an equal opportunity recruiter. We actively encourage applications from candidates of all backgrounds, identities, and experiences.
ABOUT THE COMPANY
Our client is a high-growth, venture-backed clean beauty brand co-founded by an A-list celebrity and an experienced entrepreneur. Their mission is to redefine beauty through premium, high-performance hair products — with a particular focus on textured hair — serving consumers, salon professionals, and major retail partners.
The business is at an exciting inflection point: scaling brand presence, deepening community engagement, and expanding across retail, salon, and international channels. They are lean, ambitious, and moving fast — and they are looking for a CEO to match that energy.
This is a rare opportunity to step into a high-visibility leadership role at the intersection of beauty, celebrity, and culture.
THE OPPORTUNITY
As CEO, you will own the company's strategy end-to-end — from board-level vision to on-the-ground execution. You will work closely with the founding team to drive growth across all commercial channels: direct-to-consumer (DTC), retail, professional salon, and international distribution.
This is not a traditional CEO role. The ideal candidate is equally at home pitching investors, negotiating retail partnerships, developing launch strategies, and personally picking up the phone to place product on salon shelves. You will need to be a builder, a hustler, and a strategist — often all in the same day.
The role will be US remote, with up to 30% domestic travel expected.
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES:
Strategy & Commercial Growth:
- Strategic Leadership: Define and execute the company's growth strategy, balancing brand-building with operational and financial discipline.
- Go-to-Market Execution: Oversee and optimise multi-channel distribution across DTC, retail, professional salon, and international markets.
- Sales & Marketing: Drive awareness, sales, and retention through innovative marketing, storytelling, and high-impact partnership strategies.
Brand & Partnerships:
- Celebrity & Talent Leverage: Collaborate directly with the celebrity co-founder to build authentic, scalable campaigns that extend reach and brand credibility.
- Retail & Ecosystem Relationships: Cultivate and maintain strong relationships with key retail partners, distributors, agencies, and salon professionals.
Finance & Operations:
- Fundraising & Investor Relations: Lead capital-raising efforts and maintain transparent, data-driven communication with the board and investor community.
- Operational Oversight: Own the P&L, manage budgets, and oversee supply chain to ensure efficient and sustainable growth.
Team & Culture:
- Team Building: Recruit, lead, and inspire a lean but high-performing team — setting a culture of accountability, creativity, and pace.
IDEAL CANDIDATE PROFILE:
Experience & Track Record:
- Revenue Growth: Proven operator with a track record of scaling revenue from $5M to $20M+ in a consumer brand context.
- Industry Expertise: 10+ years of senior leadership in the beauty or personal care sector, with deep expertise in haircare — particularly for consumers of colour.
- Channel Experience: Demonstrated success across DTC, major retail accounts (Sephora, Ulta, Target), professional salon distribution, and international channels.
- Exit Experience: Has led or contributed meaningfully to a strategic exit or PE-backed growth journey.
Skills & Capabilities:
- Commercial Network: A strong, active network spanning retailers, distributors, influencers, and salon professionals across the beauty ecosystem.
- Marketing Savvy: Data-driven approach to brand-building, with fluency in digital marketing, community-led growth, and modern consumer acquisition strategies.
- Celebrity & Talent Partnerships: Proven experience leveraging talent and celebrity relationships to grow brands with authenticity and commercial impact.
- Financial Acumen: Comfortable owning a P&L, building forecasts, and presenting to investors and board members.
Character & Mindset:
- Entrepreneurial Drive: Thrives in fast-paced, resource-constrained environments; comfortable with ambiguity and energised by solving complex problems.
- Hands-On Execution: No task is beneath you — from refining a marketing brief to personally pitching a retail buyer or calling a salon owner.
- Leadership Presence: Ability to inspire and motivate a small team, foster accountability, and build a culture people want to be part of.
- Passion for Impact: A genuine commitment to sustainability, inclusivity, and disrupting the beauty industry for the better.
COMPENSATION & BENEFITS
This is a full-time role offering a competitive base salary commensurate with experience, alongside a meaningful equity stake in a high-growth venture-backed business.
- Meaningful equity stake
- Performance-based bonus structure
- Health, wellness, and beauty product benefits
- Medical, Dental, and Vision Insurance
- 401(k)
Final compensation will be determined based on experience, skills, and location but will sit in a range of $250,000 - $300,000.
HOW TO APPLY
This search is being managed exclusively by Zero Hiring. To be considered for this role, please submit your CV and a brief covering note outlining your relevant experience and commercial track record.
Zero Hiring is an equal opportunity recruiter. We actively encourage applications from candidates of all backgrounds, identities, and experiences.
See all 51+ H-1B Visa CEO Jobs
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Get Access To All JobsTips for Finding H-1B Visa Sponsorship in CEO
Verify your degree supports specialty occupation
CEO petitions are scrutinized for specialty occupation because the role is broad. USCIS requires your degree field to directly connect to the executive duties. A business, finance, or industry-specific degree strengthens that connection significantly.
Target companies with board-level sponsorship authority
At the CEO level, sponsorship requires board or investor approval, not just HR sign-off. Prioritize VC-backed startups and public companies where the board has previously authorized H-1B filings for senior leadership roles.
Search verified H-1B filers on Migrate Mate
Use Migrate Mate to filter CEO openings by employers with confirmed H-1B LCA filing history. This eliminates companies that may offer the role but lack the infrastructure or willingness to sponsor at the executive level.
Check prevailing wage tier for your market
CEO prevailing wages are classified at Level III or IV under DOL guidelines. Use the OFLC Wage Search to confirm the wage tier for your metro area before negotiating an offer, so the LCA can be filed without delay.
Negotiate filing timeline into your offer letter
H-1B cap-subject petitions can only be filed for an October 1 start date. If your offer is extended outside the filing window, get a written commitment on timing and ask whether the employer will file for premium processing to minimize uncertainty.
Prepare an organizational hierarchy document early
USCIS frequently issues RFEs for CEO petitions questioning who supervises the role. A clear org chart showing board oversight, executive reporting lines, and the business rationale for the position addresses this before the petition is filed.
H-1B Visa CEO: Frequently Asked Questions
Does a CEO role qualify as a specialty occupation for H-1B purposes?
It can, but it isn't automatic. USCIS evaluates whether the specific duties of your CEO role require a bachelor's degree or higher in a directly related field. Broad executive titles without a clearly defined degree requirement are vulnerable to RFEs. Employers strengthen the case by documenting that the industry or technical complexity of the business makes a specialized degree necessary.
Which employers are most likely to sponsor H-1B visas for CEO positions?
VC-backed startups, private equity-owned portfolio companies, and publicly traded corporations with established immigration programs are the most active sponsors at the CEO level. These entities have legal counsel experienced in executive H-1B filings and boards accustomed to approving sponsorship decisions. You can find employers with confirmed H-1B filing history for senior roles on Migrate Mate.
Can a CEO be both an H-1B worker and an owner of the sponsoring company?
Yes, but USCIS applies additional scrutiny to owner-employee petitions. The employer-employee relationship must be genuine, meaning the company, typically through its board or investors, must retain the right to hire, fire, and supervise the petitioned worker. Sole proprietors generally cannot self-sponsor, but majority shareholders in a corporation with an independent board may qualify.
What happens to my H-1B status if I'm removed as CEO before the petition period ends?
Losing the sponsored position triggers the end of your authorized status. You have a 60-day grace period to find a new H-1B sponsor, transfer to another visa status, or depart the country. If a successor employer files an H-1B transfer petition during that 60-day window, you can begin working for them once USCIS receives the petition, without waiting for approval.
How does the H-1B cap lottery affect CEO-level hiring timelines?
Cap-subject CEO petitions are subject to the annual lottery, with an October 1 start date. USCIS accepts registrations in March, and selection results are announced before April 1. Employers planning to sponsor a CEO hire must align offer timing with this calendar. Cap-exempt employers, such as universities and certain nonprofits, can file at any time and are not subject to the lottery or the 85,000-slot cap.