Private Equity CHRO and Team

Company

This private equity backed mid-sized manufacturing organisation was going through considerable transformation and a cultural integration following recent international acquisitions. With its headquarters in the United States and manufacturing operations split between North America and Europe, the company was in need of a CHRO who could help scale the business and build a robust HR team and platform for future profitable growth.

Challenge

With a retiring incumbent, there was an immediate need for a new CHRO to build a clear HR strategy linked to business needs, to drive culture change and retention strategies, to upgrade the quality and quantity of talent joining the organisation at all levels, and to drive robust succession planning for all critical leadership roles. Below the leadership level, due to recent challenges in the manufacturing organisation, the company had struggled with high employee turnover. In addition, there is and remains a scarcity of world-class HR and leadership talent within and around the headquarters location.

Search

The primary focus was on HR leaders with deep private equity experience or the business acumen and cultural capability to be successful in a demanding, performance-driven PE environment. We were looking for a transformative, hands-on individual with deep talent, leadership coaching and development and OD capabilities. We focused on internationally experienced HR leaders from world-class organisations who we knew to be agile, deeply resilient and temperamentally a fit.

Outcome

After initially providing a range of qualified benchmark profiles for calibration, we were able to further refine our search and deliver a diverse slate of finalists, all of whom were familiar with the location and willing to relocate. Once client assessments and referencing were completed, the successful candidate was selected and hired. Subsequently the same organisation has asked us to be of service in hiring direct reports (and potential successors) to the CHRO in HR Business Partnering (3 country/regional head of HR roles), and a head of Talent. Each of these hires are thriving and proving to be very successful. Our work with this organisation continues to be rewarding for both sides today.