General Manager – Latam. Global Consumer Business
The Challenge
Our Client is a privately owned consumer business with a European Head Office. They had a $30 million export business in South America and wanted an experienced Commercial Director/GM to start operating in country to maximise growth and build a team. This was a new role and the person would need to quickly establish trust with their European colleagues.
The Approach
We met with the Managing Director who identified that it was key for the individual to have expert knowledge of the distributors across the region and the role would most likely be based in Brazil. The person would initially be working in isolation but would need to present to their European colleagues on a quarterly basis so English was essential.
We identified a long list of global competitors but concentrated our time on medium sized business who operated a distributor model in the region. Our ideal candidate would have worked in a large corporate in an early part of their career but would have moved to a more entrepreneurial environment. This would ensure the balance between structured training and being able to work in isolation from a European HO.
Eight candidates were longlisted and reduced to five after interviewing.
All shortlisted candidates were tested for personality, numeracy and verbal reasoning to ensure they reached the set levels of the business.
The Outcome
After an initial round of Skype interviews, three were chosen to fly out to Europe for a two-day trip which involved interviews and social engagements to measure cultural suitability.
2 candidates were considered suitable for offer. The first candidate was offered the position but was bought back by their current business and promoted. Thankfully the back-up candidate had been kept fully informed of the situation and was delighted to accept a couple of weeks later.
The candidate conducted a full review of the distributors and the region has grown 16 % in the first year.
Global Supply Chain Strategy Director – US Food Sector
The Challenge
Our client is a globally established business in the branded food category. We were instructed to recruit a senior Director to ensure that customer service, delivery and quality were not compromised in the need to create a leaner supply chain with cost extraction in mind.
The Approach
The business has globally recognised brands and a truly global landscape. We needed to find someone who understood export operations and had experience of working with major multiples across the globe. Ideally someone who had spent time in an FMCG environment across complex, high SKU categories with a strong understanding of Asian, American and European culture. Someone with a previous background in the 3rd Party Logistics (3PL) environment would also have been beneficial.
As a result, we targeted the leading 3PL community and the consumer sector, particularly food. We identified international profiles who could demonstrate clearly they had developed and deployed strategy leading to improvements in service and delivery.
A shortlist of candidates from Europe, Asia and the US was put forward.
The Outcome
An Asian national based in Europe was ultimately hired and would need to relocate to the US. Due to the complexity of the person’s background, we worked closely with the client to ensure the Visa sponsorship process, family relocation and general on-boarding took place as smoothly as possible. This resulted in a successful placement for the client, the candidate and the candidate’s family.