Situation
For this multinational subsidiary of a global industrial group, the mission was to find and on-board a new General Manager to succeed the interim GM.
Solution
We started by delineating specific and new requirements for the position, including international experience, business growth successful track record, and product development skills.
We conducted a global external search based on a tight and focused position profile, including specific language and cultural skills that were key requirements. In the process, we screened and evaluated internal candidates, including the incumbent interim GM.
Results
The Global Division’s leadership considered our recommendation of 5 finalists for the position which included the interim GM and another internal candidate. After carefully reviewing our detailed personality and professional skills analysis and ratings for each recommended candidate, and discussing our sensitivity analysis on key requirements across candidates, the Division's Executive team decided to promote the interim GM, a Company veteran with high technical expertise, very strong management skills, excellent leadership skills, and outstanding personal qualities. Acknowledging our reservations regarding this person's lack of practical experience with Asia and emerging markets (one of the key requirements for the position), the Executive team agreed to a special training and immersion program to accelerate this person's learning curve.
The interim GM stepped up to the challenge, succeeded on the job, and has since then moved on to further global functional responsibilities back at the headquarters.