Australia's only AI specialist recruitment firm

Your business runs on people. The ones who build AI are the ones worth hiring now.

CAO Partners finds, vets, and places dedicated AI operators inside Australian businesses. Not consultants. Not agencies. People who embed, build, and stay accountable.

6-DIM
Candidate assessment
0
Output multiplier
6 wk
Time to first impact
AUS
Specialist AI recruitment
Zero
Generic shortlists
FencepacTerritory Water SolutionsPhlat ConstructionsVitale ProjectsNorthwearNGU Real EstateOne Life Clubbeard.comADCOComplete Refrigeration & AirH&L ConstructionsPavscorp HomesThe LAP CollectiveProjxWillship InternationalBrisbane Pump ActionEZYAIRStriking PoolsHive Property FencepacTerritory Water SolutionsPhlat ConstructionsVitale ProjectsNorthwearNGU Real EstateOne Life Clubbeard.comADCOComplete Refrigeration & AirH&L ConstructionsPavscorp HomesThe LAP CollectiveProjxWillship InternationalBrisbane Pump ActionEZYAIRStriking PoolsHive Property
Tools your CAO will deploy from day one
The Role

One person. Every function. Rebuilt AI-first.

Most businesses try to bolt AI onto the side of how they already work. That is the mistake.

A Chief Agent Officer joins your business as a full-time operator. They map every workflow, identify where AI creates the most leverage, and build the systems that run in production. Not a pilot. Not a proof of concept. The real thing, while the business keeps moving.

They report directly to you. They own the outcome. They stay.

Business operations
Automating
Sales
0%
Ops
0%
Finance
0%
Support
0%
6wk
Typical time to first measurable impact from placement.
100x
Productivity multiplier across a business with one strong operator.
$0
Day rates. No retainers. No scope creep. One hire. Your employee.
4+
Business functions typically automated in the first 90 days.
Founders

Started by operators who actually built it.

Emil Juresic

Emil JuresicCo-Founder

Chairman of NGU Real Estate. $4B+ in annual sales. 16 offices. $500M+ in developed property. Founder of Prestige Finance, Juresic Family Office, and Level X Fitness. Co-founder of One Life Club. 500+ people across his businesses.

Emil is currently running a CAO across his entire group. Automating ops, scoring every sales call, managing finance workflows. The whole infrastructure. Rebuilt from the ground up.

"Within days of deploying AI agents, processes that used to take weeks were taking minutes. Agents catching mistakes. Improving systems. Serving every arm of the business with precision. We are rebuilding how business is done, with AI in every layer. Prepare accordingly."
Simon Beard

Simon BeardCo-Founder

I started Culture Kings with my wife Tahnee from a market stall on the Gold Coast. We built it to a $600M exit on the New York Stock Exchange. 100% bootstrapped. No investors. No debt. No outside capital.

Today I run AI agents across eight businesses. $500K+ in weekly ad spend scored. Every sales call analysed. Operations running 24/7. I started CAO Partners because after rebuilding my own businesses around agents, I saw the same gap in every company I advise.

"For the first time, one person can sit at a terminal and control end-to-end operations. Deploy an agent workforce. Multiply output across every function simultaneously. The Chief Agent Officer is the most important hire I have ever seen. Get this one right and the whole business accelerates."
Testimonials

What our clients are saying

Placed candidates
CAO Partners placed me into an amazing opportunity. If you're an engineer or automation expert you have absolutely nothing to lose by giving them a try.
Simon KPlaced AI Orchestrator
I worked with the team at CAO Partners, they were quick to land me a full time AI role with an organisation matching my goals. Wouldn't hesitate to work with them again. Highly recommended if you want job security in this massive technology shift.
Kasun DPlaced AI Orchestrator
CAO are extremely professional and excellent at what they do. They have a real knack for pairing quality businesses with really skilled consultants for an amazing experience.5 stars all the way
Aaron BPlaced Chief Agent Officer
Clients
Michael at CAO Partners took the time to really understand what we needed before presenting anyone. He found us a CTO with exactly the right technical mindset for a complex, high-stakes project. The process was straightforward, personal and efficient. I would not hesitate to work with Michael again.
Chris VVitale Projects
Michael and the team at CAO Partners were excellent to deal with from start to finish. They were responsive, straightforward and really understood the type of person we needed.The talent they connected us with has been second to none and has already been genuinely game-changing for our company. I would highly recommend CAO Partners to any business looking for high-quality AI talent and a recruitment team that actually delivers.
Ed MNorthwear & Kingston Con
We have hired an AI Architect through CAO Partners and it was a great decision. Rebuilding systems around AI will put us in front of the competition. Be first or be last.
Hugh PH&L Construction
The team at CAO Partners were great, simple process, fast and delivered a high quality AI operator. Thanks Simon and Jonathan, would highly recommend.
Chris MStriking Pools
We had an outstanding experience working with Gulliver. He took the time to understand our business, culture, and the highly specialised capabilities we needed. They then introduced us to an exceptional AI agent specialist. The entire process was professional, efficient, and thoughtfully managed.
Samantha MHive Property
What they actually do

A different kind of operator. A different kind of business.

01

Rebuilds workflows with AI agents, not around them

Maps every manual process across sales, ops, finance, and support. Deploys agents that replace the work, not just assist with it. The output is a different kind of business.

02

Delivers in weeks, not quarters

Starts with the highest-leverage problem and ships something that works. Then the next one. The pace is not consulting pace. It is founder pace.

03

Reports to the CEO, not the tech team

This is a strategic infrastructure role. Sits at the decision-making table. Does not wait for tickets or quarterly reviews to move.

04

Your employee. Your IP. Your advantage.

Employed by you. Everything they build belongs to your business. The knowledge transfers. When they leave, the systems stay.

Three tiers

Three tiers. One right fit.

Every business needs a different shape of operator. Salary bands, scope, and reporting lines are calibrated to where you actually are, not where a job board template says you should be.

Tier 1

CAOChief Agent Officer

Works at the executive level. Owns the AI roadmap, sets governance policy, and is accountable for measurable ROI. Reports directly to the CEO or Chairman. The person who makes sure AI becomes a competitive advantage, not a liability.

Multi-agent fleetsP&L accountabilityBoard reportingEnterprise security
Salary$180k - $250k+
Tier 3

AI OrchestratorHands-on implementer

Designs, builds, and runs AI workflows across your business. Delivers results faster than a dev team. Works best when given a clear problem - they bring the execution. Two profiles: self-taught young builders, staying ahead of the curve due to obsession, and mid-career professionals who've made a deliberate move into AI.

Workflow automationAPI integrationsPrompt engineeringAgent deployment
Salary$70k - $120k
Process

Three steps. Weeks, not months.

01

We scope what you actually need

We sit with your leadership team, map your operations, and identify where AI creates the most leverage. No generic briefs. No wasted time. We leave the first conversation with a clear picture of the role.

02

We match someone who can do it

We search our vetted pool and screen for your specific business. You only meet candidates who are genuinely qualified for your problem, briefed on your business before the first call.

03

They embed and build

Your CAO joins your business, reports directly to you, and gets to work. Six weeks to first measurable impact. Everything they build belongs to you. We stay involved through onboarding.

Vetting

Every candidate has been personally vetted.

No keyword screening. No generic shortlists. Every candidate is put through a structured vetting process before they enter the pool. If they are in there, they can do the job.

01

Application screening

Every applicant screened against minimum technical and operational thresholds before interview.

02

Structured candidate interview

A six-dimension assessment framework designed by a BBus (HRM) graduate, former Director of Operations, current Chief Agent Officer, with technical experience across IBM, Apple, Telstra, and Samsung. Technical depth, action bias, business acumen, communication, ethics, strategic thinking. Every candidate scored before they enter the pool.

03

AI-powered matching

Proprietary matching identifies candidates whose capabilities align with your bottlenecks, business context, and budget.

04

MD review before every shortlist

Every brief reviewed by the MD before it reaches you. No one goes forward unless we would place them ourselves.

05

Post-placement accountability

We stay involved through onboarding. Three-month replacement guarantee included as standard. If something is not right, we do not disappear.

For Candidates

Built something that actually works? We want to hear from you.

We place operators. Not consultants. Not theorists. People who have shipped production AI inside a live business.

01

Who makes the pool

You have deployed real AI systems. They ran in production. You have the receipts. You understand business operations end to end.

02

What placement looks like

Permanent roles inside Australian enterprise. $70k to $250k+ depending on tier. Matched to the business where your skills have the most impact.

03

How to apply

Register below. If you clear the minimum threshold, you move to a structured interview. Matched to opportunities as they come through.

Latest insights

The case for the CAO. No jargon.

Ready to rebuild?

Whether you are a business ready to move or an operator ready to lead, the conversation starts here.