Business case
Chief Transformation Officer and Head of M&A
INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTS
SCENARIO
Our Client is a private industrial Group, recently backed by a leading international PE Fund: they are market-leaders in high-mix, low-volume PCBs (Printed Circuit Board) manufacturing. With headquarters in Italy and production facilities across Europe, North America, and Asia, the company provides customized solutions to multiple industries worldwide.
Following PE backing, the organization had to prepare itself for a new championship: the new ambitions required an intentional direction, and a significant primary transformation.
While the first steps were about being taken, we proactively proposed a senior profile, with pedigree in the international M&A space as a banker and as investor, combined with specific corporate experience in value creation roles.
The role of Chief Transformation Officer & Head of M&A was ultimately built around the proposed profile, following a process that involved ad convinced both the PE Fund and the CEO of the group.
CHALLENGE
The role was designed to be CEO-1, with the goal to: 1) orchestrate and implement all transformation initiatives on one side, in close collaboration with the PE partner and a Tier 1 Strategy firm, and – on the other – 2) lead the organization through its next phase of its global expansion, by organic and inorganic growth initiatives and through a necessary organisational step up.
Core Mission:
- Transformation – Drive continuous cross-functional transformation, across all streams identified for improvement, encompassing infrastructure and customer experience, in close collaboration with the CEO, the PE Partners and the appointed Strategy Consultants
- M&A Leadership – Lead end to end M&A projects, to accelerate growth through strategic acquisitions; and lead Post Merger Integration phases in close collaboration with the leaders of all relevant functions.
Profile: A strategic thinker and doer, with real life experience and demonstrated returns track record, and a combination of:
- Strategic Vision – Ability to plan, deliver, and articulate compelling change initiatives with strong analytical and numerical capabilities
- Executive Presence – Business judgment to present qualified recommendations to executives and stakeholders, with the ability to create value across disciplined process, strong coordination, relevant negotiations and distinctive relationship attitudes
- Results Orientation – Action-driven approach with demonstrated sense of urgency, to support the newly born Executive Team and the PE Fund in the execution of the strategy.
STRATEGY
This project presented a unique opportunity that exemplified the value of our long-term relationship-building approach in Executive Search.
In the absence of a thorough analysis process, a clear job description or an understanding of the opportunities and criticalities of the group, we suggested just one name from our established network, based on our understanding of the PE Fund expectations and the ‘DNA’ of the people they do want on board. The proposed name was confirmed as the right fit for a job, whose scope went beyond pure M&A to embrace the transformational mission ahead.
The strategy had nothing to do with designing an executive search process to develop the initial idea and compare the name with other potential options.
In this case, strategy was all about supporting the progressive understanding of counterparts, addressing points of relevance for both sides and preparing the ground for the candidate to ensure effective meetings.
The appointed candidate had a distinctive and rare combination of 1) an investment banking background and 2) experience as an investor, coupled with proven M&A and transformation leadership skills in corporate environments. This dual expertise was of significant value to the portfolio and was perfectly aligned with the client’s need to cover both operational transformation and acquisition-driven growth.
RESULTS
In addition to possessing rock-solid hard skills, the brainpower to contribute to new strategic framework and an unquestionable real-life track record that was thoroughly evaluated, the candidate also demonstrated a range of distinctive soft skills and leadership qualities. These proved to be the turning key of the assessment, and included emotional intelligence, communication, and entrepreneurship, as well as a suite of personal and ethical values that aligned well with those of complex stakeholders.
This appointment confirms our ability to understand people deeply, looking beyond the obvious and the title, and to offer valuable suggestions to demanding counterparts. This is rooted in an attitude of lateral thinking, as well as knowledge of the market, connecting the dots at the beginning and building an equity story as things become clearer.
A hallmark of our approach to executive search, which resulted into value creation for stakeholders.
