CLIENT
ENR Top 20 International General Contractor
Southwest United States
SEARCH ASSIGNMENT
+ Regional Senior Vice President
REFERRED BY
Our client was referred to us by FMI. We have remained on Fails Management Institute’s preferred executive search firm list for over 20 years.
CHALLENGES
Our client had entered a very provincial southwest market a number of years ago through an acquisition. The SVP that they hired after acquiring the company was underperforming and needed to be replaced.
Our client needed an executive search firm with a strong background in recruiting construction leaders in the southwestern United States. They also needed a firm who could conduct the search confidentially as they did not want the incumbent to know he was being replaced. The client needed a local candidate who knew the market and could gain instant credibility and hopefully a few new clients and personnel.
SEARCH PLAN + RESULTS
We needed to conduct the search confidentially in a market where reputation is everything and outsiders are not welcome. We sent out a confidential position and company profile and then talked with prospects about the opportunity without revealing our client’s identity. Before submitting our short-list we personally conducted a round of first interviews at an off-site location to maintain confidentiality. Only those candidates that fit the role and were interested were told of our client’s identity.
We were able to conduct the entire search confidentially. Our client was pleased with the short-list. They choose an established manager from a local competitor who has since integrated himself into the company and has become instrumental in helping them grow market share.
CLIENT
$200M Civil Paving and Structures Contractor
Louisiana
SEARCH ASSIGNMENT
+ Vice President Industrial Group
+ General Superintendent
REFERRED BY
This client was referred to us by another client who sits on their board of directors.
CHALLENGES
Our client is a leader with an impeccable reputation in their geographic markets they serve as well as their construction specialty of paving, roads and bridges. Part of their long range strategic plan was to diversify into other markets utilizing their reputation as a heavy civil contractor. The industrial market in their state has very few respectable contractors with the reputation and resources they have to offer. The issue became how to get into that market while maintaining the high quality of their core markets.
SEARCH PLAN + RESULTS
It would be understandably tough to convince established senior level and general superintendent level candidates with industrial experience to consider a company with very little industrial experience. To counter this, we kept the client’s identity confidential and focused on the opportunity to become a leader in a growing division. We targeted primarily “No.2” managers who were limited in advancement opportunities with their current employer. With a combination of the great opportunity and the client’s favorable reputation, they were able to attract and hire a Vice President for the group as well as General Superintendent.
CLIENT
200 Person AEC Firm
Midwest United States
SEARCH ASSIGNMENTS
+ Director of MEP Engineering
+ Director of Structural Engineering
CHALLENGES
Our client made a strategic decision to bring their MEP and Structural Engineering in-house. To do this they needed the support of their MEP and Structural Engineering suppliers. Before the search we were asked to meet and consult with the respective leaders of the two engineering firms as they would be involved in the selection process of the new in-house MEP and Structural leaders. Understandably this situation needed to be handled delicately. Both of the respective firm leaders had a vested interest in helping their client find the right person.
SEARCH PLAN + RESULTS
We first worked with the client to help them define the candidate profiles for the MEP and Structural Engineering searches. The candidates needed to come from local competitors with experience in the markets our client worked in. They needed to be creative solutions oriented engineers, proven managers, have superior communication skills, be client focused, be able to participate in BD, and most importantly have the motivation and ambition to build an engineering department from scratch.
We decided to take advantage of our client’s positive reputation to attract the best engineering talent in the market. We marketed the opportunity to firm principals and senior leaders who were attracted to the opportunity to build their own engineering groups while playing an integral part in defining the future of our client as a top AEC firm.
We conducted both assignments simultaneously marketing the opportunity to a local candidate pool. We successfully completed both assignments in less than four months.
- Strictly Confidential
-
CLIENT
ENR Top 20 International General Contractor
Southwest United States
SEARCH ASSIGNMENT
+ Regional Senior Vice President
REFERRED BY
Our client was referred to us by FMI. We have remained on Fails Management Institute’s preferred executive search firm list for over 20 years.CHALLENGES
Our client had entered a very provincial southwest market a number of years ago through an acquisition. The SVP that they hired after acquiring the company was underperforming and needed to be replaced.Our client needed an executive search firm with a strong background in recruiting construction leaders in the southwestern United States. They also needed a firm who could conduct the search confidentially as they did not want the incumbent to know he was being replaced. The client needed a local candidate who knew the market and could gain instant credibility and hopefully a few new clients and personnel.
SEARCH PLAN + RESULTS
We needed to conduct the search confidentially in a market where reputation is everything and outsiders are not welcome. We sent out a confidential position and company profile and then talked with prospects about the opportunity without revealing our client’s identity. Before submitting our short-list we personally conducted a round of first interviews at an off-site location to maintain confidentiality. Only those candidates that fit the role and were interested were told of our client’s identity.We were able to conduct the entire search confidentially. Our client was pleased with the short-list. They choose an established manager from a local competitor who has since integrated himself into the company and has become instrumental in helping them grow market share.
- Forging New Ground
-
CLIENT
$200M Civil Paving and Structures Contractor
Louisiana
SEARCH ASSIGNMENT
+ Vice President Industrial Group
+ General SuperintendentREFERRED BY
This client was referred to us by another client who sits on their board of directors.CHALLENGES
Our client is a leader with an impeccable reputation in their geographic markets they serve as well as their construction specialty of paving, roads and bridges. Part of their long range strategic plan was to diversify into other markets utilizing their reputation as a heavy civil contractor. The industrial market in their state has very few respectable contractors with the reputation and resources they have to offer. The issue became how to get into that market while maintaining the high quality of their core markets.SEARCH PLAN + RESULTS
It would be understandably tough to convince established senior level and general superintendent level candidates with industrial experience to consider a company with very little industrial experience. To counter this, we kept the client’s identity confidential and focused on the opportunity to become a leader in a growing division. We targeted primarily “No.2” managers who were limited in advancement opportunities with their current employer. With a combination of the great opportunity and the client’s favorable reputation, they were able to attract and hire a Vice President for the group as well as General Superintendent. - Built from Scratch
-
CLIENT
200 Person AEC Firm
Midwest United States
SEARCH ASSIGNMENTS
+ Director of MEP Engineering
+ Director of Structural EngineeringCHALLENGES
Our client made a strategic decision to bring their MEP and Structural Engineering in-house. To do this they needed the support of their MEP and Structural Engineering suppliers. Before the search we were asked to meet and consult with the respective leaders of the two engineering firms as they would be involved in the selection process of the new in-house MEP and Structural leaders. Understandably this situation needed to be handled delicately. Both of the respective firm leaders had a vested interest in helping their client find the right person.SEARCH PLAN + RESULTS
We first worked with the client to help them define the candidate profiles for the MEP and Structural Engineering searches. The candidates needed to come from local competitors with experience in the markets our client worked in. They needed to be creative solutions oriented engineers, proven managers, have superior communication skills, be client focused, be able to participate in BD, and most importantly have the motivation and ambition to build an engineering department from scratch.We decided to take advantage of our client’s positive reputation to attract the best engineering talent in the market. We marketed the opportunity to firm principals and senior leaders who were attracted to the opportunity to build their own engineering groups while playing an integral part in defining the future of our client as a top AEC firm.
We conducted both assignments simultaneously marketing the opportunity to a local candidate pool. We successfully completed both assignments in less than four months.