Chief Geologist – Energy

IRC Global Executive Search Partner

HOFIREK CONSULTING , IRC Global Executive Search Partner - Czech Republic

Search:

Chief Geologist

Client/Industry:

Energy

Situation:

As a result of our work in search for the quality department of one of the new local American investments, the manager was so impressed with our abilities to find (and motivate) experienced candidates in a region almost without any industry, that he recommended our services to the manager of the only oil and gas company in the Czech market. This company has been having problems with finding a senior Geologist. They had been luring and recruiting all the possible professionals from the faculty of geology and could not find any other potential candidates.

Assessment:

No one was surprised they had such problems, because they built the company in the county, a well known area famous for its vineyards, but too far from any “civilization”, big cities, airports etc. Also, they needed a geologist, with experience from abroad and at the same time, one wouldn’t mind signing a contract with a quite small (compared to big well known oil and gas companies) company. They required experience and knowledge of the following: geological interpretation of well log and seismic data, sequence stratigraphy, subsurface mapping, statistical calculations of reservoirs properties for prospect analysis, assessment of the potential quality of hydrocarbon resources and resource classification & estimation.

Challenge:

Finding individuals with the appropriate experience was a challenge. Geologists are usually specialized in one area – e.g. 3D modeling, or stratigraphy or logging. The searched for candidate had to have all the above described requirements, together with experience from big international projects and motivated to work in a relatively small company in the middle of Europe.

Methodology/Solution:

To begin with, one of our consultants, Jana Meixnerova, had to go through a 3-day training called “Geology for Non-geologists” in order to be able to understand the field well. With significant help from professors on the University in Leoben, Austria, we got many contacts and many phone calls were made. We contacted geologists working in the Middle East, Canada and Australia. The situation was complicated more by the fact that many geologists work offshore and for many weeks they are without a telephone connection. It took a lot of effort and quite a long time to present the two selected candidates to the client.

Candidate:

The final candidate has an excellent educational background and previous experience includes both big and small projects in India, Australia, Middle East, Russia and various offshore projects. He has previously worked in managerial positions.
The final interview (and in fact, first meeting face to face) hasn’t taken place yet, because he is working on a project in Mexico at the moment and until now it has been extremely difficult to find a date that would be suitable for both parties.
The selection has in fact already been made, as there have been many phone interviews with HR managers, General Manager and members of the board. The expected personal meeting should finally take place soon where the final details should be discussed and it is expected that the candidate will be offered the contract.

Post-mortem:

This was unquestionably one of the most challenging and interesting searches and an excellent example of how a committed search partner can support a clients needs.

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