Alvisa — a large Russian production and trading company manufacturing spirits — assigned CONSORT Group to search for a Deputy General Director for Economics and Finance (CFO). The complexity of the task was augmented by the necessity to find a senior executive capable and prepared to carry out both operational activities and strategic planning, and also to manage change implementation. CONSORT Group’s Project Director, Irina Schavinskaya, successfully completed this search mandate. In July 2017, Alvisa selected Ulyana Murtazina from the list of candidates Irina had submitted to the client. We wish her success in Alvisa — a long-standing and valued customer of CONSORT Group!
Assisting our client’s strategic development
CONSORT Group is pleased to announce a successful completion in July 2017 of a search for the position of Head of Distributors’ Relationships Department for Lantmannen-Unibake. A working group led by CONSORT’s Project Director Alisa Efremova presented a pool of profiled candidates from which the most experienced and successful candidate was selected. Lantmannen-Unibake is one of the global leaders in the production of bakery products. The position filled is extremely important for the company’s development as it enhances the strategic approach to furthering relationships with distributors in Russia and CIS.
Thoroughness and efficiency are quite compatible
In June 2017, CONSORT Group’s consultants successfully completed the search for the Chief Financial Officer for an Italian company which is part of Italy’s leading healthcare holding. First off, an agreement was reached with the client that we “will not rush things”: it has long been proven that only meticulous work on the project leads to its successful completion and further long-term job tenure of the selected candidate. Despite the limited timeframe, the project was implemented using the Executive Search classic technology (long/short-listing of candidates, multi-stage interviewing, full reference checks, etc.) and managed on time. We were once again convinced (and convinced the client) that the thoroughness and efficiency were fairly compatible!
The service with an expanded area of responsibility
In June 2017, Aerzen RUS appointed CONSORT’s candidate Kirill Starshinov as their Head of Service Department. Aerzen RUS is the official representative in Russia of a large German manufacturing company Aerzener Maschinenfabrik, which sells screw compressors and blowers, spare parts and servicekits made by its German parent company. The highest degree of responsibility for finding the right candidate was due to the fact that the manufacturer’s warranty extends to the company’s equipment which is supplied not only to Russia but also to Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Ukraine. The after-sales customer service, therefore, plays a special role in the structure of the company.
The search was not easy but ultimately successful: a highly qualified English-speaking manager with experience in setting up a service department in an international company was selected to work for Aerzen RUS.
When warehousing is a key business area
In May 2017, CONSORT Group’s consultants successfully completed a project to find a candidate for the position of Warehouse Manager for the German company BARTEC. BARTEC implements sophisticated technological projects in the explosion protection of facilities around the world, including Russia. The complex technology solutions offered by the company presuppose special requirements for managers in the area of logistics and storage/warehousing whereby the Warehouse Manager is among the company’s key staff.
The search took quite some time but eventually BARTEC made an offer to the most appropriate specialist from the pool of our candidates. Challenging tasks have been set for that person to achieve complete re-structuring of the warehousing function.
A search “with four eyes”
In early 2017, a famous German company SICK, one of the world’s leading sensor manufacturers offering sensor-based solutions for industrial applications on automated lines, in logistics, and in the technological process automation, required an Area Sales Manager for Ekaterinburg. From the very beginning of the search our consultants were convinced of the client being right and were warned at the preliminary discussion stage that the selection criteria would be extremely stringent: in order to solve the tasks assigned to this manager, a candidate with a unique set of professional and personal qualities would be required.
The search was carried out by CONSORT Group’s Moscow and Urals offices. We were looking “with four eyes” to make the most complete profile of the candidate. It was necessary to combine in one person the experience of working to international business standards and the ability to interact with Russian customers, coordinate complex projects and be responsible for the company’s business in the Urals.
A well-coordinated effort of the two offices was crowned with success, and on 3 April 2017, Georgy Kutyaev started his job with the company in Ekaterinburg. We look forward to the long and fruitful cooperation between our candidate and SICK.
Salary surveys are in demand
CONSORT Group is being increasingly asked to do specific salary surveys of the level of compensation packages.
Our recent customer, a large oilfield service company, was interested in investigating the level of salaries and compensation packages in senior management positions (CEO, COO, business unit director) as well as for engineers of different categories.
The job was not easy: it was necessary to research a narrow, extremely closed segment of the regional market. Nevertheless, CONSORT’s research team managed the task successfully, and the customer was satisfied.
In early 2017, we also conducted a survey for Schindler of the level of compensation and benefits, and working conditions offered by employers to highly qualified blue collars in a narrow market segment, as well as candidates’ wishes concerning a potential future workplace. The request for the survey came in as urgent, and we completed it to the required timetable and were rewarded with a Letter of Gratitude from our important customer (see enclosed).
Executive Search brings Poland and Russia closer to each other
Completing in record time the search for a Financial Controller, the IESF partners in Poland fulfilled the first search mandate of our client who is now in the process of relocating their Eastern European headquarters from Moscow to Warsaw.
The client — a major American manufacturer of household appliances — asked CONSORT for advice on their start-up project in Poland, and we confidently referred NAJ International to them as a reliable partner. After the successful completion of the first search assignment the client has decided to entrust the Polish search firm with further formation of their new team.
This is the first time — after a long break — when CONSORT Group acted as a donor for our partners in the International Executive Search Federation (IESF). In recent years, search mandates for top managers and rare specialists were mainly coming in one direction — from abroad to Russia, and our consultants successfully fulfilled them.
IESF Poland returned the favor: CONSORT Group, exclusively representing IESF in Russia and CIS, is now actively searching for a Logistics Director in Vinnitsa (Ukraine) for NAJ International’sclient — a renowned manufacturer of floor covering.
IESF provides global access to expertise
In summer 2016, CONSORT Group representing IESF in Russia and CIS countries, encountered a situation rare for the Russian market: our client, an international pharmaceutical company, was involved in negotiating with our candidate — who would soon fill a key position — as to how to compensate the yet unpaid annual bonus from his current employer and include a relevant clause into an employment contract.
The search itself did not last long but the negotiations with the finalist took months. While the candidate found by CONSORT by direct search was interested in professional challenges, the level of responsibility and remuneration offered by the new job, he was anxious that leaving the current employer right now would deny him receiving the annual bonus. Our client, in turn, was not ready to accept the candidate’s proposal to start in his role only after the bonus was paid.
As the practice of paying welcome (signing) bonuses has been nearly non-existent in Russia, we sought advice from our global partners in the International Executive Search Federation (IESF), and in less than twenty-four hours we had responses from all over the world. Backed by the shared international experience, we worked out an optimal solution acceptable both to the candidate and the employing company. This solution envisaged calculating ‘lost profit’ pro rata to the time the candidate would not work for the previous employer, and paying the signing bonus in installments after the probation period was over.
Thus, professional assistance from the IESF colleagues has helped us fill a complex job role and provide a useful service to our long-time client.
We helped a Czech business start-up in Russia
In September 2016 CONSORT Group placed candidates for two key positions with TechniStone RUS LLC that has recently begun to represent in Russia a well-known Czech manufacturer of quartz slabs, tiles and surfaces. CONSORT’s Project Director Irina Vasilieva has successfully completed the searches for the roles of Commercial Director and Executive Director.
CONSORT Group’s Czech client points out in their reference, in particular, that detailed information on the candidates on the relevant market combined with a well-established process of interaction between the CONSORT’s consultant and the client contributed greatly to making the right selection and hiring decisions. The project progressed in a fast and efficient way thanks to regular and timely communication.
We are happy to have been of assistance to TechniStone! We hope that the professional experience acquired by the candidate for Commercial Director in his previous job with Bosch Siemens, and by the candidate for Executive Director with K&L Gates Holdings LLC, will help CONSORT’s new Czech client strengthen their position in the Russian market in the shortest time possible.