How do you find a CEO to head up a privately owned organisation, operating from a remote part of a former Eastern Bloc country, where there is no local entity, no information about the organisation in English and the Directors and the Owners do not speak your language?
For a TRANSEARCH consultant, it’s another exciting opportunity. In fact, early in the process we had to retain a local linguist with technical and sector knowledge to ensure we communicated effectively.
Here are my 6 Top Strategies for securing an executive for a parent company from a rare region:
Have respect for the client’s homegrown reputation, differing work practices and local regulatory standards.
Cultural and language barriers are sometimes the least of a client’s challenges: when they start mapping out audacious targets for their new hire, take time to allow them a reality check as you start sharing the local market realities.
Global accreditations and reputation is one thing, but building a local presence and distribution for products or services is another. As you’re learning about their region, help them understand a little about yours. In this case my client, a major international player with just over 50% market share in the sector in their own country, was seeking to expand their business in the Asia Pacific region. With a strong presence in Europe, they had recently launched in North America and were looking for a base in Sydney or Melbourne. Locally they would be up against established competitors with sizeable market shares.
Set realistic time frames. In this instance, searching the APAC region for a CEO with demonstrable startup experience in sectors supplying specialist FMCG products through omnichannel distribution routes was never going to be a simple task.
Attention to detail and high levels of candidate care will ultimately pay off.
Risk management is always a high priority in executive appointments and the new executive will need further support through the onboarding period and building their local team post hire.
Complicated by communication difficulties, I was fortunate that a few of our client’s senior executives had an intermediate level of English and a translator was available for our discussions. Over the course of my research for the assignment, I developed a deep understanding of the client, their business and its culture. On a broader scale, I was immersed in the business culture of another country, learning firsthand about how it thinks, works, behaves professionally and measures success.
Following this appointment, we continue to meet with the client and the CEO; I am pleased to hear their market entry initiatives are going well. We are already discussing the next mandate!
Have you procured goods or services internationally, provided or sought professional services across language and cultural boundaries or supplied emerging export markets? What are some of the challenges you experience in conducting international business in the not so obvious global markets?
This article was originally published on TRANSEARCH Executive Leadership Insights.
Republished with kind permission from TRANSEARCH International Australia.
