European Marketing Director
The Role:
Client Confidential
The Client:
Due to our track record in the consumer products market, Moon Executive Search was delighted to be recommended to the Managing Director of an International B2B consumer technology Firm who are award winning market leaders in their field, with an impressive portfolio of innovative technical products and services.
Our Client was seeking to appoint a commercially-minded and confident marketing leader to drive a divisional re-structure across Europe. This significant organisational transformation needed to be navigated sensitively and as such we were seeking candidates who could steer the European team through the changes carefully, demonstrating commercial acumen, and influencing and negotiation skills in equal measure.
The Challenge
Simon Quinn, Director of Executive Search, comments, ‘Right from our first meeting with this Client, we understood confidentiality and cultural sensitivity would be high on our agenda when managing this search.’
Our challenge was to find candidates who could impress us by displaying the right balance of change management skills, coupled with a track record of embedding creative and innovative marketing solutions, which would ultimately convince us they could operate both at a strategic, and at a tactical implementation, level.
We also sought to shortlist candidates who were comfortable with an extremely high level of European travel and who could operate across borders, quickly establishing rapport and trust with a wide variety of stakeholders and remote team members.
Lastly, it was also crucial to the ultimate success of this search that we only considered established Marketing Directors who clearly demonstrated strong fact-finding, listening and analytical skills with an ability to explain complex technical issues in simple terms.
Our Approach
We conducted two pre-search planning meetings with the Managing Director to establish the appropriate search protocols.
Firstly, we agreed to operate under strict Non-Disclosure Agreements, due to the sensitivity of the timing of the announcement regarding the European re-structure. Secondly, we were briefed on our ‘off-limit’ Companies for the search based on the technical components involved and the wide supply chain for each product.
Armed with this information, we drew up a longlist of candidates displaying the requisite hard skills for the search and commenced our approaches to screen for the crucial cultural alignment for the business. At our subsequent candidate meetings, we interviewed using scenario-based questions to draw out each candidate’s reasoning, business skills and leadership styles and supplemented those questions with an examination of each candidate’s technical competence.
The Solution
By exploring not only the UK market but also considering candidates operating across Europe, we were able to reach those candidates with a genuine international mindset and an appreciation of the different cultural challenges faced when implementing a change transformation programme. By undertaking this forensic analysis of the market, we were able to provide our Client with valuable market information and a well-researched and detailed shortlist of candidates.
We arranged initial Skype calls with the Senior European Leadership Team, before inviting the successful candidates to a face to face second stage interview process in the UK, which included psychometric assessments, a presentation and a panel interview.
The search resulted in the successful appointment of a European Marketing Director who brought a track record of business success in the travel, retail and consumer products industries, with an expertise gained in business transformation, managing strategy and planning to direct performance marketing, brand development, e-commerce and customer experience across multiple markets.Armed with this information, we then began to map the UK market, adopting a thorough national search and focusing on the main key criteria of the role. In addition to this, we published a branded advertisement on various executive recruitment websites to draw the best talent to the opportunity. We reported weekly on response rates and also updated on our progress with regards to the bespoke proactive search undertaken.
Once we had selected a longlist of candidates, we provided candidate briefing packs with essential information to assist their own research and offer context to the appointment. Next, we moved to meet those candidates for a thorough screening. This allowed us to reduce our selection to an appropriate shortlist of candidates who we then presented to apetito, together with detailed interview notes showing insight into the candidate’s strengths, capabilities, experience and suitability, including their motivations.
The Solution
Following a structured interview process which involved the completion of psychometric tests and various meetings with apetito’s Recruitment Manager, Director of HR and senior managers from across the business, Moon was pleased to conclude the search successfully and assist with the on-boarding requirements.
Simon Quinn, Director of Search said:
‘Our Client trusted us from the outset to examine the market for them and take the time to understand their unique history and significant opportunity. We were pleased to talk to a broad range of highly competent marketeers across Europe about this search and the attraction of our client’s brand was evidenced by the flexibility candidates showed throughout the process.’
Our Client, who remains confidential, commented:
‘Completing an assignment of this magnitude so professionally speaks volumes for Moon’s approach to Executive Search. We had not worked with the business previously, but they came highly recommended and we were pleased to have been introduced.’
Moon Executive Search provide bespoke solutions for clients, using our extensive expertise and knowledge gained from twenty years of recruiting to find your perfect candidate. If you are looking to appoint a senior leader to your Board, visit Build Your Board to get started, or call us on 01275 371200.
News, Insights and Trends
Find out more about Moon Executive Search and the articles, roles and thought-leadership from the business and non-profit landscape.