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Sales Manager for Middle East – Wood and Forestry
IRC Global Executive Search Partner
HOFIREK CONSULTING, IRC Global Executive Search Partners - Czech RepublicSearch:
Sales Manager for Middle EastClient/Industry:
Wood and ForestrySituation:
Top management of the client introduced a plan of enlarging export activities to a new territory – the Middle East region. For the export of wood, it was a new region for Czech companies. For a brief prior period, our client had established cooperation with their partner in Saudi Arabia. At that time there had been neither a Key Account Manager nor an Export Manager in the company capable of operating in the market or able to relocate to Kuwait. Our client had already begun the process of finding an adequate office and a showroom in Kuwait City. There was a need to find a Czech employee to ensure cooperation with Czech producers from the group.Assessment:
The Middle East territory was a traditional market for Czech companies primarily in the engineering, chemical and military industries. In the early 90’s business relations with the region had broken down due to the Gulf War, restructuring within Czech industry, termination of Czech military production, etc. Since the end of 90’s trade contacts have been re-established in these traditional markets.Challenge:
The challenge lay in finding individuals with experience in foreign trade, preferably with experience in the Middle East territory, with an understanding of the market issues and local mentality. There was a need to relocate to Kuwait City. The ideal candidate should be fluent in English and French or Russian. An advantage would be proficiency in Arabic language and experience in the wood industry or related fields. Responsibility was for ensuring all business activities in the territory, maintaining business relations with current clients, acquisitions of new partners and coordinating logistics liaison with the Czech Republic.Methodology/Solution:
HOFIREK CONSULTING, in cooperation with the client, prepared 2 different strategies for finding suitable candidates. The first strategy involved researching Czech and Slovak companies exporting to the Middle East markets. The second strategy was focused on wood or wood products producers. The long list involved export/import managers with responsibility for several non European markets. Some contacts were established in cooperation with the Czech Chamber of Commerce. After an extensive research and many phone calls, a long list of potential candidates was identified and personal and phone-call interviews were undertaken. This resulted in a short list of candidates from the Czech and Slovak Republic, some of which were working abroad at the time. Six candidates were introduced to our client, three of them from wood or related industry, two candidates familiar with Arabian markets and one candidate with experience from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic. Ultimately, the client decided to hire two candidates instead of one intended.Candidate:
The first successful candidate had an excellent educational base with a combination of degrees in foreign trade and social science. He had worked for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic for seven years in the positions of Head of Commercial andEconomic Section – Riyadh/Saudi Arabia and Head of the Embassy / Chargé d´ affaires in Sana´a/The Republic of Yemen. He had experience in developing strategic partnerships and alliances with the top partners from the Middle East.
The second successful candidate had a master degree in international relations. He had worked for five years in foreign trade, the last three years in the position of Export and Logistics Manager in the dairy products field with responsibility for the territory of Northern Africa and the Middle East. The candidate had perfect knowledge of the local business customs, was fluent in English, French, Arabic and Spanish.