Working to an exacting brief and making sure an international Board were happy, we successfully recruited a new Group CFO
Having been selected to work with a Franchised Dealer Group in the AM100 top 30 to secure a new Group CEO, Southgate Consulting was subsequently retained by the Board of this international parent company, to assist in finding a CFO as the current, well respected, Financial Director was retiring after 30 years with the company.
We already had a deep understanding of the cultural and operational fit that would succeed in the CFO role, along with knowing the essential skills required. Throughout the process we worked closely with the Client, having mutually formulated and agreed an exact brief, with regular updates on the candidate identification and search process.
Negotiation and confidentiality
With a concise and clear idea of who we needed to approach, Southgate Consulting selectively approached individuals that met the essential and desirable criteria. One immediately relevant individual decided it was not the right time to look a career move. After they had conducted first stage interviews over several weeks, we advised our client before making a final decision we ought to re-approach our preferred candidate to establish if his circumstances had changed.
We confidentially re-approached our first-choice candidate, to see whether we could tempt him into a non-committal general conversation with the UK CEO, which after some though he decided to proceed with. This meeting went very well, and the candidate subsequently chose to move forward through the process, which consisted of three stages, and meeting with the UK CEO and international Board. Following on from these successful meetings, a job offer was prepared and made for the candidate, but was unfortunately below where he needed to be, financially. At this point Southgate Consulting conducted negotiations with the UK CEO, carefully explaining the needs of the selected candidate, whilst also having to politely steer them on basic salary requirements, as they hadn’t recruited for this role for many years.
With our selective approach Southgate Consulting was able to coach our Client, and after consideration, a revised offer was made substantially improving on the previous one. Our selected candidate accepted gratefully, joining the business after serving his required notice period, and has been a great success for the Group subsequently.
The above article is based on candidate placement for an AM100 Dealer Group. The candidate is enjoying the challenges and rewards in the role and is looking forward to growing with his new employer over the next few years.
If you are looking to add to your senior team, please contact us on 01235 863 525 and let us secure your ideal candidate shortlist.