VP Marketing - Global consumer products company

IRC Global Executive Search Partner:

Madison MacArthur, IRC Global Executive Search Partners - Canada

Search:

VP Marketing

Client/Industry:

Market leading Global consumer products company

Situation:

The client company had gone through an organizational change, moving from having an SVP of Sales & Marketing, to splitting the functions with a VP for each area. In making this change, the client initially embarked on conducting their own search for the VP of Marketing role, posting the opportunity on multiple sites and evaluating the resumes of respondents. While the client did receive a few resumes from viable candidates that were actively looking for opportunities, they wanted to ensure that they were also tapping into passive candidates, so as to have a selection of the very best candidates available. The client contracted Madison MacArthur (IRC Canada) to conduct a more comprehensive search.

Assessment:

The company in this case is the prominent player in its field, extremely well run and highly profitable. The company realizes ongoing, exceptional growth through product innovation and strategic acquisitions. They are a lean and agile organization that is able to develop and bring products to market much more quickly than many consumer products companies. The company enjoys extremely low staff turnover, sets a very high bar in hiring and enjoys a very strong collegial culture that they work diligently at maintaining. The company historically develops their executive talent by moving them into progressive roles internationally. This was an exceptional opportunity for a marketing professional that was open to an initial relocation domestically and eventually internationally.

Challenge:

The challenge was in sourcing candidates that both met the exacting standards that the client organization had set out and that would be willing to relocate immediately domestically, and again in the future, internationally. As the client company had such a strong culture, and did not frequently hire external candidates for senior management roles, it was critical that the successful candidate fit well into a collaborative, respectful and collegial culture. The candidate would need to bring strong leadership skills, extensive experience in innovation, expertise in marketing through multiple channels and have a global perspective on business.

Methodology/Solution:

The Consumer Products Consultant developed a comprehensive search strategy involving looking at other top tier consumer product companies in both Canada and the USA. A particular focus was put on companies that marketed through multiple channels and that were known for product innovation. Within five weeks, Madison MacArthur was able to provide the client with a shortlist of candidates that included three Marketing VP’s in Canada and 3 from the USA, all currently successful in their roles with consumer products companies that had similar standards and cultures.
The client had determined that only one candidate from their own search was really viable and they became the benchmark against which the candidates sourced by Madison MacArthur would be compared. Through the interview process it became evident that the three strongest candidates were two in the USA and one in Canada that Madison MacArthur had presented. The client sourced candidate was eliminated from the process and the 3 finalist candidates were further vetted with a clear favourite and a very strong backup rising to the top.

Candidate:

The successful candidate, a Canadian living in the USA, brought a wealth of marketing and management experience working for top tier companies on both sides of the border. The candidate had extensive experience in product innovation and marketing through varied channels. Their current role as a Global marketing lead had provided them with broad exposure to other international markets that would serve them well in the future with our client. A key aspect was also the potential fit into an organization that was very collaborative and collegial and the candidate was seen to have the qualities that would work well in their strong culture.

Postmortem:

As this is a very recent hire, the candidate is currently in the process of moving his family back to Canada from the USA.
In their post-hire Search Performance Appraisal, the client gave us very high marks and stated that they would recommend our firm for its professionalism and market knowledge. The client’s first experience with Madison MacArthur was such that they have already engaged the firm for another VP level search.

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