The client is a well branded successful independent family owned brewery and retailer with a turnover of over £50m.
The current Financial Director was approaching retirement and the Managing Director wanted to recruit a high-calibre replacement to work with the board. The objective was to recruit a well educated Finance professional who could contribute strategically while maintaining a hands-on approach. Ideally, the client wanted a Financial Director who had previous large company experience yet could fit comfortably into a family owned business. In keeping with the values of the company the appointment was to be for the long term, ideally until the person reached retirement themselves, so it was essential we found an individual who shared this view.
Instead of focusing on existing Finance Directors, our method was to focus our search on the tier of management below director level in larger organizations. Using our existing network of contacts and targeted headhunting we spoke with and interviewed many potential candidates to assess their experience, aspirations and motivations.
The result was the client interviewed five candidates, who were then short-listed down to three. A though interview process followed that enabled both parties to get to know each other. In the end the board agreed unanimously on the preferred candidate who accepted their offer.