Situation
We had assisted the Board in finding a new CEO in the wake of a takeover by new owners. Subsequently we were asked to search for a new CSO with overall responsibility for marketing. Now the time had come for us to assist our client with a search for a new COO.

The company, a consumer product manufacturer, is the market leader in its segment and was about to make substantial investments in the form of a new building development project, centralization of production and, in that context, the consolidation of a number of manufacturing companies in order to achieve a more effective and optimized production.

A major insurgence of manufacturers from low-cost countries had put competitive pressure on the company which, over the years, had developed methods of producing quality products. Consolidation and centralization were a necessity in order to sustain competitive edge. The consolidation of production and exploiting new and modern production methods also provided the company with the opportunity to develop and manufacture new products that would increase sales opportunities in new markets.

The new COO had to have considerable international experience and leadership skills in the production of consumer products. In particular, the ideal candidate would be finance-, result- and business-oriented, and have experience from major investment projects as well as production management from manufacturing companies providing customized solutions.

Search
Our search focused on candidates with a Masters degree in Engineering and a business degree such as a BSc or MBA. We also focused the search on people who could document exceptional results and who had successfully performed tasks involving the assurance of cost prices, product and delivery quality as well as competitiveness. We also looked for people with the right strategic mindset and strong involvement as the task facing the company and the new COO would demand considerable time and resources requiring a person of the right mettle.

Results
We identified and presented a number of extremely well-qualified international and experienced candidates with the ideal profile.

The candidates had previously performed similar assignments with operational responsibility in various companies and industries that were all relevant for our client.

We completed the assignment by finding a new COO to the complete satisfaction of the company management and the new COO appointment has been an unmitigated success with exceptional results.