Finding A CEO In 44 Days

Our Client acquired a €2Bn Luxembourg based BOPP Films business from a global energy major and wished to appoint a young and energetic CEO to lead the growth story. For an Executive Search team like ours, the challenges were many, e.g. the fact that CXOs in Europe typically carry 6-month notice periods. Also, given that the holding company was based in India, and was not known to be aggressive, the available pool of interested candidates was bound to shrink dramatically. The biggest challenge being that we had to fulfil the mandate in less than 60 days as the incumbent had to be relieved at the earliest.

We began the exercise by mapping the European market and enlarging the candidate pool by including heads from the Sales & Marketing, Commercial, and Business Development functions apart from CEOs and General Managers filtered through the age range and experience as specified by the Client. Of the 17 shortlisted after a thorough due diligence, we reached out to each candidate and responded to their queries regarding the role, the holding company, the growth ambition etc., convincing most of them to go through the process that culminated in the appointment of a ~40 year old CEO of a €1Bn business as the selected candidate. 

We took just 44 days from the date of being given the mandate to the acceptance of the offer, thus filling the position 16 days before our deadline – an achievement as anyone in the recruitment business in the UAE will tell you. Our Client expressed happiness at having found the right fit candidate for the critical role of the CEO, a make or break position that would justify the acquisition.