Case Studies

Here are case studies that illuminate for clients how we address challenging situations and get to the right conclusion. We hope you find them interesting and useful.

Case Study #1:

The Client:

A billion dollar publicly traded semiconductor company

The Challenges:

1. Founder/CEO needed to retire for health reasons, but did not want to have someone “imposed upon him”. He wanted to help shape the future of the firm by hiring someone who made sense for the long term, vs a short term “press release hire.” So he wanted a confidential search conducted. There could not be a single leak. Not to the management team and not to the competitive community, which would use the opportunity to poach key technical management in a moment of uncertainty. This is why they chose us: they knew that the large firms deploy a “shotgun” approach and discretion is not a key value for most of them. They knew they needed a hands on, high tough, partner driven effort and not a grandstander, nor someone who would pass on the real work to a junior professional who wouldn’t protect the confidentiality piece.

2. Another challenge was that there was a sense of urgency. This could not be a long, drawn out search. It needed to happen fast. A final challenge is that the Founder/CEO had tried to recruit a few key industry players but failed to compel them, and the Board was growing impatient…

1. We leveraged our massive research capacity to canvas the entire industry in which the client operates, in a matter of days. We had very specific criteria, but only a few “hit list, must have” places from which to recruit candidates.

2. We ran the search similarly to a Board search and pre-qualified candidates with the Founder/CEO according to the critical criteria. We then pursued those people aggressively but assured them that their confidentiality would be protected along with our own. This resulted in people who would otherwise be fearful of exposure, to interview actively with us and with our client.

3. We had access to the top talent in the industry because we’ve been around for 30 years and are well known, but it was a “rifle approach” which the candidates appreciated. They knew that they weren’t being “shopped” along with dozens of others and their names wouldn’t end up in a press release by a glory seeking search consultant. The way we pitched the candidates felt to them, very high touch and they were compelled to investigate and participate as candidates.

The Result:

1. The search was concluded in 60 days. Because the Board knew exactly what the search firm and Founder were doing, and had bought into the search criteria early, the candidate moved through Board interviews smoothly and referencing was crisp and on target.

2. The candidate has completely re-built the company and doubled sales to almost $3B.

3. Morale is at a 10 year high and it’s well positioned in two massive industry categories.