Executive hire for Private Equity investment going international
Our client had recently received Private Equity investment and was looking to expand internationally. Initially a UK based construction platform covering the design, supply and construction of the built environment needed a recruitment partner to map out the Canadian market and find them their Country Manager to lead their next phase of growth in an international market. Freshminds were able to provide a full market map of prospective candidates and assess these down to a final three candidates of whom they then successfully offered one.
Key Challenges
The key challenges the client faced were the lack of familiarity with the Canadian market as well as having the capacity to assess the hundreds of prospective candidates. Due to the nature of the role, the candidate could be based anywhere in Canada which meant that a whole market map was required.
Freshminds were therefore tasked with providing a market map of the main hubs in Canada and from target companies, finding the right level of people
with the right blend of experience and the correct skillset. Following a considerable number of screening calls (around 100 candidates) then narrowing down to a shortlist of 15 candidates.
Being based in London, this involved a lot of late-night Skype calls so we could still get a sense for the candidates’ personality and ensuring we were able to confidently understand the right culture fit. Following this, we submitted our recommendations for the first-round interview and aligned catch up calls every week to keep abreast of progress.
Moving into the following month, this shortlist went through the interview process, with regular feedback from client and candidates, we were able to refine and keep on track of what was and wasn’t working in the search.
What Freshminds did
Following an initial briefing session and internal strategy meeting, Freshminds began to understand the key deliverables and project requirements. After a follow-up meeting with the team’s dedicated candidate managers, the search was kicked off.
Results
Our Client now has their Country Manager in Canada in place and ready to take positive strides into their international journey.
Moving forwards
Our team has now established a network of Country Managers within Canada and looks forward to replicating our methodology with clients who are facing
similar expansion issues. Freshminds completed the search form kick-off to accepted offer in less than two months and thoroughly enjoyed placing such a
pivotal role in a fantastic, growing firm.