Attracting a CEO to Fulfill The Expectations of The Board
Challenge
An Atlanta-based private equity firm, White Oak Group, invested in Bay West, a reputable and successful environmental services firm providing solutions to Federal, State, Municipal, and Commercial/Industrial sectors based in Minnesota.
After a few years of successfully growing the business, the CEO of Bay West decided to retire. When a CEO wants to retire, many factors and decisions must be accounted for, and expectations must be fulfilled.
In light of the current CEO’s retirement, the search for a new CEO for the Minnesota-based company presented a considerable challenge. The primary hurdle facing the search committee is the diverging criteria of the PE firm and the leaders of Bay West.
The hardest part? The client wanted the candidate to be based in Minnesota.
Furthermore, searching for a new CEO requires a comprehensive evaluation of the candidate’s leadership style and strategic vision to ensure that the chosen candidate aligns with the goals and values of both Bay West and White Oak Group. The search committee must carefully evaluate the candidate’s experience and achievements and demonstrate in-depth knowledge of the industry and market dynamics.
In light of the challenges inherent to the CEO search, the search committee must employ a more nuanced and conscientious approach to find a candidate who can fulfill the needs and expectations of all stakeholders. The high stakes dictate that the search committee conducts the process with the utmost care, transparency, objectivity, and professionalism.
The Search Partner
TRANSEARCH had a strong relationship with the PE firm. When they invested in Bay West, they partnered with TRANSEARCH to fulfill several executive roles within the organization.
The first placement was for the VP Commercial, State, and Municipal Markets role. The CEO was impressed with the professionalism and expertise demonstrated by the TRANSEARCH team during the initial engagement, ultimately leading to a successful placement.
The CEO’s positive experience with TRANSEARCH paved the way for additional collaborations in the future, including the successful placement of the VP Federal Markets and General Manager role. The TRANSEARCH team demonstrated their exceptional understanding of the industry landscape and ability to identify and engage top-tier talent in a highly competitive market.
As a result of the strong relationship built between the companies and TRANSEARCH, they chose TRANSEARCH as the search partner to backfill the CEO role upon retirement.
Solution
Within a few weeks of interviewing different executives, TRANSEARCH found the perfect candidate. The only catch is that she wasn’t in Minnesota, so the search had to continue.
However, despite scanning through several applicants and conducting extensive screenings, the organization could not find a suitable candidate who ticked all the required boxes while also being willing to relocate to Minnesota.
In keeping with its commitment to excellence and dedication to its clients, TRANSEARCH chose to continue scouting for other executives who could fit the bill. However, none of the candidates measured up to the initial candidate’s unique skill set and characteristics, which made their search even more challenging.
Drawing on its wealth of experience, TRANSEARCH offered to revisit the first candidate who had impressed them so much but was located in a different state. Despite initial hesitations, TRANSEARCH encouraged White Oak and Bay West to consider lengthening the applicant pool and examining their interest in the role despite the location differences.
With the onset of the COVID pandemic and the introduction of remote working capabilities, relocation has become less of a requirement. The current CEO also worked from a different location, meaning the organization could adjust to support a remote workforce. As such, the management team evaluated the situation and decided to be flexible on the relocation issue.
Fortunately, the candidate, who had a daughter on the verge of graduating high school, was willing to wait until her daughter’s graduation before relocating. This presented the perfect solution to the issue at hand, thus allowing the organization to secure the skillset required for the CEO role.
Results
The new CEO was placed in May 2021. To ensure that the new CEO would be the ideal fit, TRANSEARCH conducted a Hogan Assessment, revealing important insights into the personalities and insights of White Oak Group’s CEO and Bay West’s new CEO.
TRANSEARCH also used the Hogan Assessment for the entire team to understand better their behavioral patterns, roles, skills, strengths, and weaknesses. Overall, the assessment helped to highlight the areas that needed improvement and to identify where the new hire could help fill in any gaps.
After the successful placement of the new CEO, there was no doubt that TRANSEARCH found the right people who not only met the requirements but also fit in well with the team.
White Oak Group and Bay West were satisfied with the process, people, and tools employed by TRANSEARCH and continued to use their services for future searches.
Overall, TRANSEARCH’s comprehensive approach ultimately resulted in a successful placement for their client, establishing a foundation for a robust and committed team.
