As VP & General Manager IBM Automation Europe, Mike Hobday operates on the cusp of two worlds - Industry 3.0 and Industry 4.0, traversing the boundaries between automation and automating at scale and championing the use of “21st-Century tools, rather than 20th century processes”.

After more than a decade at IBM, Mike has spent the past three years focused on process automation, combining robotics and AI, among other technologies, to help move IBM and its client organisations further into the future of work.

Following a tour of UCL Here East, he speaks to Marlin Hawk about the challenge of scaling and the impact of the knowledge gap among senior talent.

Mike, can you tell us what a typical day looks like for you at IBM?

I speak at a conference almost every week, providing IBM’s point of view on automation and the future of work. It’s a really hot topic, but the best part is advising and working with boards and senior leadership at client organisation, across all industries and sectors in Europe.

I’m working with clients who recognise the shift taking place between Industry 3.0 and Industry 4.0. It’s not about finding point solutions, saving this headcount or that cost through automation. It’s about how companies can use automation at scale. Successful transformation across all business lines requires automation in an engineered, governed way that preserves the fabric of the organisation but moves the workforce towards higher value activities that boost the performance of the business, eliminating routine. That’s what my team and I focus on.

A new generation of tools now allows documents and emails to be read, photographs and videos to be understood, conversations to be automated, intent to be determined and enriched with advanced analytics. Together they pave the way to a new workplace in which every role, activity and task has been automated or augmented with AI in some way. 

This future of work, the source of competitive advantage in new AI and robotics enabled operating models, is absolutely at the top of the CEO, COO, CFO agenda.

Lastly, and probably most importantly, I am building a team across Europe in IBM Automation. Given the nature of my work, there are a lot of graduates and apprentices joining me to build solutions that will define the workplace for their generation. 

What challenges are you facing in 2019 that you haven’t faced before?

The problem in 2019 is scaling technology in mature organisations. Companies are asking - how do we take something like robotic process automation and organise in a way that we can leverage it everywhere? Or if we want to use AI or IOT, how do we converge those things in a way that we are solving big business problems, not just isolating them? How do we make them work consistently and correctly at scale, so that the whole organisation moves forward, not just in little pockets?

What we’re finding increasingly is that an engineering mindset is crucial. That is not just the ability to innovate, but the ability to engineer processes so they are rock solid and reusable across an organisation. Then the other big challenge is not new. It is about leadership and discipline in the execution of change programmes, getting stakeholders to work collaboratively across organisational boundaries for the benefit of all.

You co-authored a report on automation in banking and the 'no touch' future. Can you talk to us about cognitive automation and how this is going to reshape the banking landscape over the next year?

The most obvious thing is operational scale, insofar as companies like Lloyds and RBS in the UK and Orange Bank in France are engaging with many thousands of customers every day through artificial intelligence in the form of virtual agents or chat bots. The bots are having increasingly sophisticated conversations, not just addressing frequently asked questions, but also complex product-and service-oriented questions.

The evidence is irrefutable that customers prefer automation over human interaction in the majority of cases where they want a quick answer, and you see the Net Promoter Score (NPS) significantly improving over, for example, webchat manned by human agents.

Organisations like Crédit Mutuel in France, where IBM Watson is consuming and reading 300,000 emails every day, channelling them to the right processes and prioritising response based on urgency. The result – a significant improvement in NPS among staff, as well as productivity across the organisation.

Staying with automation, the CEO of IBM, Ginny Rometty, recently said that IBM can predict with 95% accuracy which workers are about to leave their jobs. Can you talk to us about that?

I don’t get to see that personally, but what I do see is a war for talent. The digital experience of staff is as important as the experience of the customer.  There is a big focus on the ‘employee journey’. How do you make the on-boarding process natural? How do you enable training, HR and IT support, performance management so that it is transparent and tailored to the individual?  For example, virtual agents addressing HR and IT issues interfacing with platforms like ServiceNow are making the workplace a less frustrating space. 

As regards predicting when valued employees may be thinking of moving on –   I am sure there are indicators in behaviours, performance review data etc. which can provide insight and when used in the right way, may enable constructive conversations and provide an opportunity to retain or part with talent on good terms.

What impact will the move towards automation have on an organisation’s senior talent needs?

Firstly, boards and C-suite leadership need to be infused with a better understanding of what technology can do and the outcomes it can deliver. 

Part of the issue is a confusion over taxonomy. If you think about AI, it’s not one thing, it’s many things. There’s a lot of confusion as words are banded around without a lot of agreement on what they mean. If I talk about AI or platforms or neural networks, people’s level of understanding is very different. So somehow, boards have to get to a common agreement over what technology can do, how they talk about it and how they communicate it. That education piece is a big challenge. Because leaders can’t lead unless they understand.

If routine processes have been automated and the focus is on judgement and empathy, then emotional intelligence and the ability to deal with higher volumes and more sophisticated work may mean a shift in recruitment profiling. Getting there is going to need strong leadership, change management skills at all levels.

On the tech front, ‘consulting engineers’ and data scientists will be in demand. Consulting Engineers are able to understand business problems and engineer solutions from a portfolio of automation and AI tools. With data science, there is no doubt competitive advantage will reside with organisations that can mine customer and operational data for commercial benefit.

Do you think diversity has a part to play in meeting that challenge?

Without a doubt. If automation is about designing the new workplace for the 21st Century, then those that build it should reflect the diversity of those who will work in it.

The global executive search firm appoints new Client Partners in Atlanta and Hong Kong

27 March 2019 - Marlin Hawk, the global executive search firm, today announces the appointment of two new Client Partners, Carrie Magee, who will be based in Atlanta and Ricky Lam, based in Hong Kong.

Carrie Magee is a specialist in placing executive-level Human Resources roles, who brings a wealth of experience in market intelligence and organisational design to Marlin Hawk. Carrie will focus both on growing Marlin Hawk’s HR practice in the Americas, as well as growing the firm’s clients in the mid-Atlantic region. A graduate of Cornell University, Carrie’s deep HR background includes a decade at Citibank, as well as roles at General Motors and General Mills. This appointment means Marlin Hawk’s presence in the US includes New York City, Richmond, Virginia, Washington DC, San Francisco and now Atlanta.

Ricky Lam joins as a Client Partner in the Hong Kong office, where he will be focused on growing the Digital Technology and Consumer (DTC) offer in the region. Ricky has over 15 years’ experience in business management and joins from Amrop, where he spent five years in executive search, with particular specialism in Technology, Media and Industry including experience delivering a number of technology projects for the government.

Client Partner, Carrie Magee, comments on her appointment: “I am thrilled to be joining Marlin Hawk as they continue to expand their US client offering. As organisations undergo fundamental transformations, Human Resources and the management of talent and culture  has become pivotal to delivering commercial success. At Marlin Hawk, our HR practice offers a broad range of services, including leadership advisory and organisational design, to help our clients address these challenges.”

On joining Marlin Hawk’s Hong Kong office, Client Partner Ricky Lam says: “Marlin Hawk has a world-leading Digital Technology and Consumer practice, and I am excited to help build this offer in Asia by working with some of the world’s most exciting organisations.”

Discussing these latest senior hires David Holloway, Marlin Hawk CEO, says: “We are delighted to welcome Carrie Magee and Ricky Lam to Marlin Hawk as Client Partners, as we continue to focus on expanding our global offering and business practices. We are committed to ensuring our offering reflects the ever changing needs of our clients, as the world of work continues to transform apace. The quality of our people, together with the breadth of our expertise, means we are well positioned to realise our growth ambitions in 2019 and beyond.”

Over the past decade, the business world has changed dramatically. Where there were once bankers in three-piece suits, there are now techies in hoodies who can afford to buy their own island.

Consumers now want instant access and the ability to purchase the latest devices, gadgets, fashions or technologies in two clicks or using speedy face recognition technology. This change in consumer attitudes has led to more traditional organisations looking to hire talent from the companies at the helm of it all, the companies who have fast become icons.

There is no doubt that a large bank or a massive FMCG business can learn a huge amount from these tech behemoths – Amazon, Uber, Netflix. But does that mean the people responsible for the consumer and lifestyle revolutions are right for every company? Are these same leaders able to successfully transform brands and businesses that have been around longer than computers? Not always.

Demand for marquee brand hires

Over the past few years, it’s become commonplace in executive search to hear ‘I don’t want the traditional hire, I want someone out of the West Coast from Facebook, Google or Amazon – that’s the type of thinking that will change my business’.

Initially, hearing this from clients was exciting. And in many cases it still is, but what the last three years of finding, hiring and witnessing different levels of success in these types of placements has taught me: these West Coast tech leaders aren’t always the best candidate. When an organisation makes a decision to hire someone whose career has been spent in Silicon Valley and places them into a 150-year-old bank, or a century-old FMCG business – it is not guaranteed that it is going to work.

The reality of organisations like Google, Uber and Facebook is that they are led firstly, and sometimes entirely, by technology.

Those companies operate in a world of creativity, free in the most part from the rigid restrictions and regulations that dominate older industries. They have the freedom to test hypotheses, make expensive mistakes with products and move on quickly. HSBC are far less likely to engage in something as aspirational or wacky as a moonshot project in Silicon Valley. P&G are just as unlikely to start a self-driving car programme anytime soon.

Assimilation and managing expectations

It is therefore important to realise exactly what you’re getting when you hire from fast-moving, tech-driven organisations – you’re hiring super smart, creative individuals who have been successful in an environment that was built from day one to embrace an agile mindset.

In many cases they are not used to companies or environments that have been built over many decades, that have legacy processes and technologies and in certain cases, that have a regulator or a government telling them what they can and can’t do. So then it doesn’t come as a huge surprise to see many people leave their utopian creative environments, move to constrained, traditional businesses and fail, or simply just grow frustrated with being told ‘you can’t do that’ or ‘we need to get that approved from x number of people before we start.’

The marquee hire isn’t always the right hire. Traditional organisations have to truly understand the environment their candidates are leaving and cast a critical view of their own processes and procedures before deciding to hire them, and effectively, take a fish out of water.

Businesses have to understand that success in one industry or in one company doesn’t automatically translate to success in another industry or organisation. A top football player wouldn’t be expected to play basketball at the highest levels, so why would we expect a Director of Engineering to leave Uber to revolutionise technology at Nestlé without the right environment, culture and resources?

Set up for success

Organisations have an obligation to understand what is possible and what it takes to truly improve and revolutionise their technologies. There has to be a support network to help the new executive evolve and learn in their new position. If there is an expectation that they will just work it out along the way, they are being set up to fail. If there is an expectation that they can create magic with just what their predecessors had before, they will struggle. When an organisation hires someone to drive change or do something innovative, it is not just the responsibility of that one individual to drive change. Rather, it is a journey for the whole business to embrace, advocate for and participate in change.

The answer to the wider challenge is not simply to revert to traditional, within-industry hiring. I am asking corporations to consider their own onboarding, their own processes and whether they are going to take true responsibility for the success of their new executives. I am also asking organisations to think about whether a marquee hire is simply what they want, as opposed to what they need.
 
John-Claude Hesketh is Managing Partner, Head of International at Marlin Hawk

The executive search and leadership advisory business is also exploring opportunities across Europe

4 February, 2019 - London, UK: Marlin Hawk, the global executive search and leadership advisory firm, today announces the appointments of Client Partner David O’Toole, alongside Sarah Cullen and Omar Al Bakri, who join as Principals reporting into Managing Partner, International - John-Claude Hesketh.

David O’Toole joins the business from Harvey Nash, and will sit on the business’ Digital, Technology and Consumer (DTC) team as a Client Partner. David brings with him over 15 years’ executive search experience, a strong background in technology and professional services practices and specialisms in digital AI, data and cybersecurity. Based in London, he will play an important role in the International business, led by John-Claude Hesketh.

Sarah Cullen, who joins Marlin Hawk from Spencer Stuart, also joins the DTC team and will be based in Amsterdam. Cullen’s role will be to assess market opportunities for Marlin Hawk across Europe, with Amsterdam being a potential location for a permanent office. She will focus on business development, and will also report into John-Claude Hesketh.

Omar Al Bakri, whose experience includes time at Leathwaite, Alderbrooke, and a number of global banks, joins the financial services team. He will also be based in London but will lead on the business’ Transactional Banking division across Europe.

Discussing the senior hires, John-Claude Hesketh, Managing Partner, says: “We are always looking for the most talented, well-connected and innovative individuals to join Marlin Hawk, and our three new hires demonstrate all of these qualities. We want to offer our clients the service no matter what market they are based in, and we believe the additions of Sarah, David and Omar will bolster our offering across both Technology and Financial Services.”

David O’Toole, Client Partner, says: “I am delighted to be joining such a forward-thinking organisation, that gives me the opportunity to continue my executive search role, in addition to providing a leading consultative and advisory service to clients. I’m looking forward to playing a role in Marlin Hawk’s continued disruption of the executive search industry and believe we’re going to lead some exciting changes throughout 2019."

David Holloway, Group CEO, says: “We are excited at the prospect of the opportunities that mainland Europe offers us, and are delighted to have such a talented senior people joining us. Our exploration of Europe as a permanent location will also be pivotal to the future of Marlin Hawk as we look to expand our business practices and break into new territories.

Philip Young joins from Leathwaite as Client Partner - Financial Services to lead on client relationshiips across the global portfolio

16 August 2018 - London, UK: Marlin Hawk Group, the global executive search firm, today announces the appointment of Philip Young, who joins as Client Partner in the firm’s Financial Services team.

Young joins Marlin Hawk on the 20th August, and will be responsible for leading on client relationships and assignments across the whole Marlin Hawk portfolio. He comes with a wealth of experience, having worked in operations, technology and digital practices for over 12 years. 

At Marlin Hawk Group, Young will report directly into Managing Partner and Head of International, John-Claude Hesketh.

Young joins from Leathwaite, where he was a director within the global CIO, CISO & COO practice and led the global wholesale financial CIO, COO & CISO division. During his time at Leathwaite, he built a specialism in appointing global, regional and functional heads of operations and technology. These roles included AI and machine learning, blockchain, cloud, data, engineering, information security and procurement.

The appointment of Philip Young shows Marlin Hawk’s continued ambition to grow the business globally, following the acquisition of Winter Circle, the invitation-only digital network for global executive talent, earlier this year. Young’s specialisms will enable Marlin Hawk Group to continue its focus on appointing the best talent on the world stage, especially within the technology and financial sectors.

Discussing his appointment, Philip Young says: “I am excited to be joining Marlin Hawk Group at such a pivotal time of growth. It is clear the senior leadership team is driven by growing the business on a global scale, and I look forward to working with them to deliver excellent work for our diverse portfolio of clients.”

Young continues: “The acquisition of Winter Circle is another key reason why I decided to join Marlin Hawk Group. It shows a clear culture of innovation, and is a real statement of intent within the industry. As Marlin Hawk Group looks to connect with some of the best talent in the world, it’s important to have the best technology available, and I believe Winter Circle does just that.”

Managing Partner and Head of International, John-Claude Hesketh, says: “Hiring a leader of Philip’s reputation and ability illustrates Marlin Hawk's continued desire to push the boundaries of executive search on a global scale. We are delighted to be welcoming someone with such strongly aligned cultural and professional values to the International team and we are excited to see what we can achieve together in the months and years ahead.”

David Holloway, Group CEO, says: “We’re excited to welcome Philip into the Marlin Hawk Group. His experience working on a global scale, focusing on senior hires, will be invaluable. As the world of work changes, so too must the executive search industry. We must remain aligned with our clients’ ever-changing needs, ensuring that we are constantly innovating to make our offering the best it can possibly be. I feel that Philip is the person to help us achieve that.”

Entrepreneur combines innovation with tradition to launch assault on the establishment

27th March 2018 - London, UK: Marlin Hawk, the global executive search firm, today announces it is acquiring Winter Circle, the invitation-only digital network for senior executives. The two companies will create The Marlin Hawk Group, representing a dynamic shift in one of the last industries to be disrupted. Responding to market and client demands, the Group has carved a niche in the industry in its ability to provide full-service executive search, alongside direct solutions, which will empower internal executive search teams through technology.

Driven by the passionate belief that the traditional industry model needs to change, the two companies have come together to provide clients with a unique suite of executive search and leadership advisory services. As a united force, The Marlin Hawk Group will offer the full spectrum of executive hiring, from executive search and organisational analysis to direct solutions and access to an exclusive digital network of senior leaders.

Founded 15 years ago by industry disruptor David Holloway, Marlin Hawk has built a world-renowned executive search business, which saw a record year in 2017 with net fee income up 25%. The company also saw increased revenue growth globally, in the US business led by Mark Oppenheimer, and in the International business led by John-Claude Hesketh. Built on a philosophy of challenging industry norms, its clients include Goldman Sachs, Delta Airlines and Unilever.

Winter Circle was founded in 2015 to change the way that the world's leading companies and best talent meet. The invitation-only digital network connects leading executives with opportunities, ideas and intelligence, and has welcomed members from all over the world. It has had a successful first commercial year working with companies like Microsoft, Visa and Coupang.

As a result of this deal, existing and new clients across both businesses will witness the digitalisation of executive search and discover the benefits of technology and innovation at a faster pace.

David Holloway, Founder and CEO of Marlin Hawk, commented “It’s my belief that leaders have a responsibility to drive their industries forwards, and that the time is now for the executive search industry, which hasn’t changed in decades. By harnessing the strengths of these businesses we can bring a badly needed refresh of the services that search firms provide, adding greater value to the client and candidate experiences. We are committed to combining the best of human relationships with technology to disrupt the sector and to bring an outdated industry into the 21st century.”

Adam White, COO of Winter Circle, added “Joining with Marlin Hawk will allow us to be a stronger force in the industry as we grow our global network. There is already a natural synergy between the two companies and I believe our combined, tech-led proposition will transform how the industry is perceived and operates.”

Notes to Editors

The Marlin Hawk Group is headquartered in the UK and comprises Marlin Hawk, the globally successful executive search firm, and Winter Circle, an invitation-only exclusive network for executive talent. It has offices in London, New York, San Francisco, Hong Kong and Singapore.

Click here to read more from The Marlin Hawk Group CEO, David Holloway, on the revolution in executive search.

We often hear “hire for attitude, train for skill” and, in the world of executive search, it is now widely accepted that soft skills and future potential are as important as hard skills and track record.  

When searching for key leadership attributes we assess for strategic vision, integrity, agile decision making, emotional intelligence, drive-through persistence and openness to change.

But, after close to two decades of working as an executive talent scout, the most vital underpinning attribute is humility. Why, you may ask, and what actually is humility?

It is being modest, deferential and unpresumptuous, while a lack of humility means egoism, arrogance, boldness, pretentiousness and self-importance. 

Humility starts with self-awareness

Humble leaders are self-aware and understand their strengths and weaknesses. They also recognise the relative strengths of others and seek to counteract their own limitations. They are receptive to the opinions of others, ready to test assumptions and willing to admit mistakes.

A humble leader should not be mistaken for a weak one that lacks confidence in his or her own ability or lacks conviction in decision making. As someone once said, “There’s a thin line between confidence and arrogance….it’s called humility. Confidence smiles. Arrogance smirks.”

The famous author CS Lewis sums it up perfectly: “Humility is not about thinking less of yourself, it’s thinking of yourself less”. It is about being mindful, inclusive and open to ideas. Leaders with humility get the best out of others and enjoy commercial success as a result. 

Leadership is like wine tasting

It’s an unusual analogy, but a humble leader is similar to a wine taster.  There are many facets to wine, from obvious differences in dryness, acidity, body and texture to more subtle differences on the palette. It is the relationship between these elements that makes up the structure of an award winning wine. 

Over time, the wine taster develops an appreciation of the diverse grape varieties that makes a great blend, recognising the contributing elements and understanding his or her own taste. Humble leaders do the same, remaining receptive to eclectic influences and finding the right balance. Charisma is important, but recognising the best talent to draw upon – both high performing and sustainable – goes beyond the superficial. It is like the wine taster enjoying the initial bouquet who savours the long finish before judging character and quality.

The business case for humility v hubris

To some, mindfulness may sound overly soft and woolly, something best left on the psychiatrist’s couch. But those who decry humility in the workplace as vulnerability should think again. Humility has a direct link to business performance and profits. The diagram below shows the chain reaction when egotistical leaders lack humility, resulting in high staff turnover, lacklustre performance and….the death knell for any company….stifled innovation. 

Executive searchers are aware of the danger of the ‘Hubris Cycle’ and are eradicating the arrogance gene from their talent pools. Sometimes it is a question of coaching, as leaders often display the hallmark of humility in their private lives but act differently the moment they enter the office.  While old habits die hard, natural tendencies can be brought to the fore and empathetic leaders who succeed in being themselves will see the results. If they don’t, the millennial workforce coming up through the ranks will quickly spot an unauthentic leader and become disengaged.

Top traits of humility

So what does being ‘humble’ really mean in a business leader? For me, as a headhunter, humility can be summed up in four overlapping characteristics:

 1.   Good listener

That means being genuinely receptive to other opinions, not just paying lip service. Humble leaders accept that they can’t be all-knowing or excel at everything and that complementary views and skills bring real strength. Rather than being a weakness, broad-mindedness brings more power to their elbow.

 
2.       Deft facilitator

Humble leaders actively seek to bring out the best in others, co-creating ideas in a mutually respectful, consensual team. That does not mean suppressing their own views, but accepting that assumptions must always be tested and that inclusivity leads to better outcomes.
 
3.       Mindfully transparent

Clearly, a leader needs to display judgement and competence, but nobody is infallible. Admitting mistakes shows humanity and provides an opportunity to react accordingly, turning negatives into positives. All companies accept a degree of risk, without which they would stagnate. Taking calculated risk, and being accountable when it goes wrong, encourages others to adopt the same healthy mindset.
 
4.       Mentee as well as mentor

Companies nowadays face permanent uncertainty and strategic goals are moving targets. Leaders not only need the courage and conviction to change direction, but the humility to take people with them. That means taking advice, gathering all relevant information, embracing diversity of knowledge and experience, and empowering others to share their perspectives and take joint ownership of strategic change.
 

Way back in 500 BC, the Chinese philosopher Confucius said that “Humility is the solid foundation of all virtues”. That lesson needs to be re-learned by today’s business leaders. The alpha male, ‘rock star‘ leadership style is well beyond its sell-by date. Leaders who switch the ‘Hubris Cycle’ for the ‘Humility Cycle’ will stimulate employee engagement, productivity and innovation – the key ingredients of commercial success. 

A pitched battle is being waged for banking talent. On one side, not surprisingly, is the banking and related financial services sector, and on the other is the rapidly growing new financial technology sector, or “FinTechs” – comprising innovation-oriented businesses that compete in the financial services market by chipping away at banking’s traditional infrastructure and services.

This siphoning off of talent is spreading through the entire financial services value chain. In addition to FinTechs, others entering the fray include BankTechs, PaymenTechs, and InsurTechs. This is happening because, while focused on disruption, these fledgling start-ups still require subject matter experts to help them grow into high-flying companies, so they are luring top talent for banks.

In simplest terms, the largest banks are struggling to retain talent because they currently cannot offer an opportunity to play a role in truly transformative innovation. In contrast, FinTechs can, and they’re growing so rapidly that, from the lowest levels to senior executives, they cannot fill all available positions.

Some estimates indicate that the overall FinTech sector worldwide has an open job market of 400,000 at any given time. In the U.S. alone, there are about 120,000 openings at any one time. These are large numbers, far larger than the number of individuals who have the necessary skills, whether they’re just graduating from college or are currently employed. As a result, FinTech firms are increasingly seeking veteran professionals – with an emphasis on business acumen and organizational scaling.

Particularly desirable – given that many larger financial firms are seeking to acquire or enter into partnerships with FinTech companies – are those with technical skills who understand how banks operate and can make deals within a banking environment.

There are several reasons why individuals with banking or financial consulting backgrounds are attracted to FinTech opportunities – and chief among these is organizational culture. In general terms, banking and traditional financial services companies, particularly the largest corporations, lag in innovation and face an intimidating level of regulation and bureaucracy.

In contrast, the FinTech sector features far flatter organizations that offer opportunities for significantly accelerated career progression. So, it stands to reason that banks must flatten out their own organizational structures if they are to compete successfully for talent.

In terms of sheer numbers, the exodus away from banking is definitely weighted toward junior employees – but senior executives are in demand, too. Despite an often significant reduction in compensation, senior-level professionals are also joining or establishing FinTech start-ups. Some even take reduced-salary roles, with the cutback made up for by equity or other stock options. The attraction is an opportunity to be involved with a project from the ground floor, and to play a leading role in development of a product or service that successfully fills a market niche.  

There are always pluses and minuses in transitioning from one business sector to another. But for the numerous senior leaders Marlin Hawk consulted who elected to switch traditional institutions for FinTech companies, there were two key, motivating factors – innovation and autonomy.

Some Wall Street firms – to discourage junior bankers from defecting to FinTech – are reducing by a full year the time required to be promoted from analyst to associate. And several banks have created in-house digital factories to incubate digital operations, in agile, innovative environments that are decidedly less formal. These factories not only serve to help with retention of existing talent by modifying company cultures, but may also contribute to attracting millennial talent that includes recent graduates of baccalaureate and MBA programs.

It’s essential for large, traditional institutions to focus more attention on millennials. Of 2015 Harvard Business School graduates, a paltry four percent were interested in entering investment banking – a remarkably low number compared to only five or 10 years ago. This drop in interest is a clear indication that the autonomy, opportunity for rapid advancement, and technological innovation offered by FinTechs is attracting millennials in droves.

For traditional financial institutions, the overall situation is indeed a serious one. Consider that in 2015, between 40 and 50 percent of all bank or hedge fund employees were considering switching jobs and leaving their larger corporations, at least in part because of concerns about automation making their current roles unnecessary. And this was true even in typically human-operated functions like financial modeling or advisory.

Looking further ahead, estimates indicate that approximately 800,000 people will have their financial services roles eliminated by automation during the next decade. Given this gloomy projection, cultivating technology capabilities and putting them to use at a FinTech start-up will continue to look like an attractive option for many banking professionals.

So, what are traditional financial institutions to do?

For one thing, they can mitigate the problem either by investing in or making outright purchases of successful new players in the financial technology sector. They certainly have the resources, and this strategy would allow banks to retain access to talent, while also learning from FinTechs and others.

In addition, they must cultivate innovative approaches (note the aforementioned digital factories) that will help retain talent. My own firm, Marlin Hawk, issued a 2016 white paper on talent poaching that found the practice rampant across the entire business spectrum – with many leading companies failing to defend talent in any substantive fashion. Certainly, such a low-key response isn’t an option for traditional banks … at least not if they hope to compete for crucial talent with an increasingly varied, non-traditional array of FinTech entities.

The global insurance industry is facing substantial disruption. Traditional business models are being challenged and the industry’s reluctance to embrace digital is opening the door to new competition from start-ups. Insurers need to make up for lost time in the race for digital supremacy. The problem in Asia is that traditional hierarchical corporate culture is thwarting enterprise-wide digitization.

Assess risk and act

It is important that insurance companies retain traditional strengths such as underwriting discipline and claim execution, but these must be integrated within a wider digital strategy. Sources of disruption are emerging across the insurance value chain, as articulated in McKinsey’s illuminating article ‘Making digital strategy a reality in insurance’.

New influences include behaviour-based pricing, peer-to-peer insurance models, estimate by photo and damage assessment by drone. Insurance companies that fail to react to these market forces will not be saved by regulation, but will be overtaken. 

Join the dots

Many insurance companies can point to isolated pockets of digital innovation that may even be world class and undoubtedly add value to their business. However, that’s not enough to compete effectively in today’s fast changing consumer environment. Digitization must embrace the entire organisation and meet the expectations of discerning consumers who are ‘doing digital’ every day, whether it’s for banking, travelling, shopping, healthcare or home management.

Insurance companies must live and breathe digital, with a joined-up approach that embraces everything from the customer journey, user experience and artificial intelligence to business processes, big data analytics and agent interactions.

No place for Chinese walls

While some Asian CEOs may have 20:20 digital vision, driving through an enterprise-wide digital strategy requires that barriers be broken down between functions, departments, channels and divisions. This approach does not usually sit well with Asian business culture, with its multiple layered command and control construct.

Gartner was probably the first to use the term ‘digital dragon’, referring to the impact of digital disruption - powerful if tamed and destructive if not. To deliver a powerful digital transformation strategy, Asian insurance companies need one critical ‘dragon slaying’ tactic: they need to empower a cross-functional team representing all strands of the business, with full backing from the board, that is not held back by internal barriers.   

Pace in lieu of patience

The growth of digital and e-commerce is beginning to change Asian organisational culture.   Businesses are still autocratic and employees seldom speak out against the status quo or express views that may be contrary to the corporate values of their employer. Instigating change is all about being patient, getting to know colleagues and building relationships that will facilitate innovation over a protracted period.

There is now a phenomenon called ‘Chairman Now’, a new guard of leadership that blends Asian and Western cultures to better align a global approach to local clients. This is healthy for the insurance industry but, while ‘guanxi’ (the emphasis on relationships and connections) is not in itself a hindrance, the speed at which organisations action change must accelerate.

Round peg, square hole

Creating an enterprise-wide digital team with enterprise-wide access is a necessary first step on the digital journey. It is also critical that the board understands and evangelises the digital agenda and that the architects and implementers of the strategy have the requisite experience and reference points to succeed.

That requires an unorthodox approach to executive search and the courage to make non-traditional appointments that really break the mould, such as candidates who have experience from sectors that are more sophisticated in terms of the customer interface and experience. Banks are gradually beginning to do this, partnering with search firms who understand the need for onboarding and integration, such that an incoming senior executive from Amazon or Google can adapt to an alien environment and deliver the desired return on investment.   

McKinsey’s research indicates that insurance companies in the top quartile for digital performance are achieving twice the growth rate of their less digitally advanced peers and delivering better profitability. Asian insurers need to take a close look, not just at their counterparts in other regions, but at the growing number of successful IT firms springing up across the Asian continent, firms that are going against the cultural grain to succeed.  Not only do organisational barriers need to be broken down, but structures need to be refashioned to encourage inter function and inter department collaboration and, ultimately, to facilitate the roll-out of far reaching digital roadmaps.

There is no doubt that ‘big data’ is getting bigger by the day. Such exponential growth brings both opportunity and threat. The up side is that, by capturing volumes of data and leveraging the latest data tools, smart commercial decisions can be made. The down side is that, if the data analytics function is not plugged into the rest of the organization, the potential gain will not be seized. Some companies overlook a vital truth: that there is a human element to data. 

Data personified

To extract value from data demands IT expertise, but the mindset and skills do not always reside in a typical IT department. An intermediary is needed, hence the recent arrival of the Chief Data Officer (CDO) to the C-suite. The purpose of this role is to understand the company’s strategic vision and to translate it into a data perspective, defining best practice in data management, use and exploitation. Of course, technical nous, algorithmic thinking and predictive modelling are fundamental skills, but these come second to business acumen and the ability to pinpoint the relevance of specific data sets within a commercial context. 

Bilingual brawn

Big data is at the forefront of understanding market activity, so the CDO is instrumental in helping a company’s lines of business derive meaning and value from it. He/she needs to be in tune with the company’s products, markets and customers, and be fluent in technical and commercial languages, equipped to serve as an interpreter between IT and the wider business.  Fronting up to a terabyte of data can be very daunting for a non-technical executive and the CDO must provide the intellectual muscle to push data around and deliver meaningful output that packs a punch.

Analytical yet communicative

As with any newly established role, the CDO can meet with resistance, especially from IT. For that reason, and to preach the importance of data at board level, it is more effective for the role to report to the CEO than the CIO.  The CDO needs to have a high EQ, building a strong relationship with the CIO, winning budget, instigating change and garnering support from line of business heads. Executive search firms working on behalf of the 90% of large companies that, according to Gartner, will have a Chief Data Officer in place by 2020, need to assess candidates differently from conventional CIO or CTO roles where soft skills have not always been a top priority.

Metrics to evidence ROI

While the business should be the owner of data assets, the CDO acts as a guardian and enabler, collecting and harnessing data to get business results that will keep internal customers coming back for more. Demonstrating success is important from the outset and the role spec needs to have a strong focus on metrics that link data analysis to KPIs (eg. sales value, operational efficiency, tighter governance) and ultimately to quantifiable results.  Once the CDO has earned his/her spurs as someone who adds real value to customer facing initiatives, the role will begin to be perceived as front line, not back office.

Companies across the globe are beginning to realise that data, like talent, is an invaluable resource that needs to be nurtured. If the new face of data analytics is a CDO who has been carefully selected by a suitably qualified executive search firm, the hiring company will have on board a powerful data advocate - someone capable of engaging the entire business and extracting value that can be directly linked to increased profit.

Debating the pros and cons of the Chief Innovation Officer (CINO) has become irrelevant, since the position now enjoys widespread recognition and support across nearly all business sectors. For 2017, a more pertinent discussion is exactly how the CINO post will evolve, as forward-looking companies endeavor to break down silos while also leveraging relationships with external entities as growth vehicles.

Organic vs. Inorganic

For the CINO of the future, one potential model is the centralized executive, which envisions control of all innovation across the entire enterprise. This would, quite literally, be the owning of every new idea and next-gen development, regardless of division or line of business.

Such a purist construct is ultimately doomed, in part because the information volume would be too great to be effectively managed by a single individual, and also because it suffocates the creative power vested in so many other roles. If you accept the premise that a company is really no more than the transfer of ideas, this centralized model would represent the placing of excessive responsibility in one pair of hands. A particular CINO may be very capable, perhaps even gifted – but they can’t be omniscient.

The federated model

An alternative is the federated CINO model – an executive who isn’t expected to be the sole source of innovation. Instead, this individual provides instruction, while also connecting disparate groups or people for mutual benefit. It’s certainly preferable that the head of each business line or division be allowed to own their group’s innovation, while making necessary decisions on investment and development. For instance, if a given group enjoys better margins, it can afford to be more aggressive in terms of reinvestment strategies.

Under the federated model, the CINO is a facilitator, but not the primary originator of innovation. Instead, the executive enables innovation by educating and cross-fertilizing across the entire business. As a result, new products or systems remain within the division or unit that developed them, with everyone recognizing that the ideas might never have come to fruition without the counsel and guidance of the CINO.

Whether the future of the CINO role takes more of a federated or centralized direction, its impact within companies will continue to expand. It already fulfills two crucial yet distinct connection functions, one focused on internal invention and one trained squarely on external enterprises.

Inward-looking innovation

Perhaps above all else, an effective CINO will break down their company’s silos by working with all members of management, and at varied seniority levels. The end goal is cultivation of an unparalleled perspective on innovation trends across the entire business. This level of awareness is invaluable, particularly in an organization actively attempting to move away from a traditional, hierarchical structure in favor of decentralized groups that collaborate and share information.

In such a case, the CINO can potentially be a catalyst to seismic change, both for the operating model and in the office culture. Journalist and writer Malcolm Gladwell may have expressed this need for collaboration most succinctly: “Innovation – the heart of the knowledge economy – is fundamentally social.”

Outward-looking innovation

Innovation doesn’t always emerge from within, so the CINO must have “ears to the ground” and be a point-of-access for external third-parties. The quickest route to growth is often through connection with – and possibly even acquisition of – start-ups and other groups, before perceived value makes them inaccessible. Google, Amazon, and Pay-Pal have each embraced this approach as a strategy, and regularly demonstrate its impact.

The CINO often is empowered to facilitate the establishment of such partnerships and to make various investments that streamline innovation development. It’s increasingly common, for example, for banks to outsource vital innovation programs to external fintech companies. The CINO not only has to manage the resource, but also ensure integration with other related internal functions, including marketing, digital, technology, and customer care.  

The CINO is not R&D

One necessary caution on the future of the CINO role is avoiding a drift toward becoming an R&D officer. Both roles are essential, and there needs to be a strong bond between them. The key to success is sharing of a knowledge platform, with the CINO focusing on shorter horizons and commercialization, and being prepared to pivot as needed to accommodate the pace of change.

In contrast, R&D requires a longer horizon, and the development of more radical breakthroughs. Some of these will inevitably be more fanciful than practical, yet all contribute to “pushing the envelope” and sustaining a long-term competitive edge.

Marlin Hawk has designed and implemented CINO offices across multiple sectors, while managing searches that discover the best talent to lead them. Our experience suggests that the CINO position will become increasingly prominent in the future, as it’s not just about creating ideas, but making ideas happen. Whatever the latest epoch-making shift, businesses must be ready to embrace change and work collaboratively to be part of it … rather than becoming the debris that’s left behind. 

Business is changing fast, yet many FTSE 100 and Fortune 500 boards are stuck in a time warp. Old-school, white, male, elitist, hierarchical and dogmatic, boards are all too often traditional in attitude, rigid in outlook and restricted in vision. The recipe for corporate success in the 21^st century is largely behavioural and centres on openness, values and people. It is time for boards to break the mould and get in touch with their softer side.    

Open arms, open minds

The right behaviour starts at the very top. Lord Allen - non-executive chairman at Global Radio Group, ISS and 2 Sisters Food Group and formerly CEO at Granada and ITV - is one example of a chairman who sets the right tone, seeing his role as mentor to, rather than tormentor of, the CEO.

He emphasises the need to leverage knowledge and experience to ‘conduct the orchestra’, drive a healthy debate and co-create ideas in a mutually respectful, consensual team. He asserts that CEOs do not need to be all-knowing. Without treading on toes, the chairman’s job is to help lay down stepping stones and, through mentoring and trust, guide CEOs on their journey.

Similarly, modern CEOs need the courage to accept that they can’t can excel at everything and that complementary views and skills must be pooled. One liberal-minded CEO is reputed to have taken his board to a barn for an off-site meeting and opened with the statement ‘I don’t have all the answers - that’s why you’re here’.  Such humility, once deemed a weakness, can make leadership teams stronger. The entire ‘C’-suite needs to stand for ‘Consensus.’

The multi-dimensional CEO

Traditional CEOs can be one-dimensional, with a high IQ (and ego to match). These days they need to possess an equally powerful EQ (emotional), CQ (commercial) and VQ (values). Part of having a high EQ is to be a good listener. Never insulated in an ivory tower, today’s CEOs must keep open minds and seek out information and viewpoints that challenge their assumptions.

It’s not just about being seen on the shop floor, but genuinely having a finger on the pulse of the organisation and empowering staff at every level to speak their minds. The new generation CEO facilitates this by breaking down hierarchies and speaking to their driver or receptionist the same way that they speak to fellow board members or investors.

Traditional CEOs need to seek the full set of quotients when identifying successors and avoid the pitfall of ‘mirror & match’ hiring.

Deeds, not just words

For the chairman, CEO and wider board, dialogue and approachability underpin success. But there must be a framework around which to communicate, a set of core values or leadership principles that direct corporate strategy. These core values must not be – as Amazon puts it – ‘just a pretty, inspirational wall hanging’: they must be meaningful, authentic and lived every day.

Financial goals remain, but are delivered via a multichannel ecosystem that revolves around the customer, with multiple checkpoints for exemplary conduct. Before, CEOs could do whatever they wanted if they got results. Now, the end result is a by-product of behaving well. 

If all board decisions are aligned with core values, they are far more likely to support satisfied customers, happy employees, a thriving culture and - ultimately - sustainable profitability.

Keeping the right company

Traditionally, the Chief Financial Officer has been the CEO’s right hand man at the helm of the company. Now, more enlightened CEOs are flanked by a new breed of CFO (with IQ, EQ, CQ and VQ to match the CEO) and the Chief HR Officer.

Some CEOs retain an outdated view of the ‘Personnel Officer’. The shrewd ones realise that HR is essentially what runs the business, that talent is not a commodity and needs to be managed, and that the strategic remit of the CHRO in navigating change is critical to ongoing success.

Inclusivity is not a social initiative

Launched in November 2016, the Hampton-Alexander Review is setting a new FTSE 100 target for a third of executive leadership roles to be occupied by women by 2020. This is a laudable initiative, yet today’s leaders should instinctively appreciate the commercial value derived both from gender and ethnic diversity.

Boards risk stifling business performance if they do not embrace diversity. Every board should be a cross-section of the rest of the company, which in turn should match demographics, mind-sets and life experiences to the company’s customers, suppliers, employees and shareholders.

If the world’s biggest companies are to sustain success, it is time for real change at the top. Stuffy, autocratic boards should be consigned to history. Boards that fail to adopt a more collaborative, values-driven leadership style, risk becoming less competitive, less innovative, and less attractive to scarce talent. Those that resist change will see performance suffer. Come the AGM, they may need to swap their usual attire for a flak jacket.

The business world is constantly changing and, as a result, we often see new roles added to the C-suite, such as the Chief Customer Officer and Chief Data Officer. Another recent addition is the Chief Innovation Officer (CINO), a role which is often derided as counter-productive.

Isn’t everyone in a company responsible for innovation? Why support a job creation scheme for executive searchers? But the critics are missing the point. The CINO does not single-handedly embody all the innovation in a company. Their remit is to identify pockets of innovation that contribute to a wider strategic vision and, vitally, to put processes in place that thread them together and turn them into reality.

Executive search firms take a broad view of talent management as it relates to their clients’ strategic goals. We appreciate the importance of innovation in today’s fast-paced commercial environment and have daily discussions with companies that are battling to stay ahead of existing competitors, new market entrants and evolving consumer trends. Therefore, we tend to support the CINO role as it enables ideas to come to fruition and acts as a catalyst to get them to market quicker and see a financial return.

In particular, the CINO binds together the disparate thoughts that emerge from marketing, digital, IT and R&D - siloed functions that do not always work in harmony - and transforms them into a deliverable innovation programme. In effect, the role serves as incubator, hatchery and nursery for the entire business, allowing ideas to grow strong and healthy before being unleashed.

The CINO position requires a rare breed of talent. It demands diplomacy, influencing skills, technical genius, marketing intuition, operational know-how and a heavy dose of practicality. An innate understanding of organizational design facilitates the right inter-departmental dialogue, eradicates duplication and integrates creativity. If the organizational construct does not support innovation, the CINO needs the gravitas to influence HR and bring about change.

Having a CINO on board does not mean that one person is in charge of innovation and the rest of the company is not.  Everyone is responsible for originating ideas, but the CINO is responsible for harnessing them, stepping back from short-term goals and galvanising innovation into a far-reaching action plan. 

While digital is successfully disrupting almost every industry it comes into contact with, it is also set to revolutionize how organizations and companies themselves operate, meaning big changes are afoot for any CHRO.  HR technology is becoming an area of utmost strategic importance: with over $2Bn invested in 2015*, the trend continued in 2016 and investment levels are expected to continue rising. The change to the HR department that digital technology will bring will be all pervasive and omni-directional throughout every company. This paper explores these manifold changes and clusters them into three broad groups: ‘Inward’ (changes to the office of the CHRO), ‘Outward’ (changes at the employee / manager level) and ‘Across’ (changes to the organization at large).

Looking Inward: digital enablement of the CHRO’s office

Over the next few years, the CHRO will become one of the more tech-savvy executives on the management committee. Already we have begun to see many CHROs recruit or develop a Head of HR Transformation or Head of HR Technology & Services to kick off this agenda, starting with the replacement of old, licensed HR platforms with modern, cloud based technologies that offer greater insight through analytics and more flexibility to scale HR services up and down. For many, this is the first step to becoming an agile, digital HR environment.  In addition, we can expect more plug-and-play solutions within the CHRO’s arsenal as we witness an explosion of solutions in the market for recruitment, talent management and employee development.

Work reflects play – aligning learning & engagement technology with the social realm

Employee engagement and learning technologies have taken a page out of social media’s playbook, with many organizations pursuing strategies to roll out employee communication technology that mimics social media’s quick, versatile, and multi-channel approach. The employee of the future will digest information from their employer digitally, on a mobile device (typically on the go), in either an easy to digest video/audio format or as user-friendly articles. Be it a company’s quarterly earnings, a message from the CEO, or changes being made to the company’s benefits program, such content will be consumed and shared around the organization in a manner similar to how content flows through social networks today – liked, shared, and interacted with.

In addition to putting the HR department in every employee’s pocket, HR applications will need to become far more customer-centric, and follow the principles that today’s consumers demand: think mobile shopping or Google’s suite of products. Stellar UX, granular levels of personalization and immediacy of use will be paramount for an HR organization to keep employees engaged. Employees will expect an intranet to be engaging and personalized, and even self-curated - similar to their experiences with modern social media, online shopping and entertainment providers.

Learning & Development will go through a similar change – already we are seeing organizations’ success stories in P2P learning, video learning, and localized mentorship across groups of peer-level employees. This modern approach to learning & development will increase in a digital HR environment – the old model of reverting to class based learning, or stationary, solitary PC-based surveys and courses will soon be a thing of the past.

A new suite of tools: multiple measurements of employee success

Another aspect of inward-facing changes will be performance and talent management. In the last three years alone, we have seen an explosion of new market entrants looking to disrupt the formerly steady ERP ecosystem. Instead of large, clunky enterprise systems, these new entrants are offering deeper insight and greater agility in decision making than ever – all of them looking to plug into a digital CHRO’s portfolio. The roster of start-ups and new services in this space alone is astounding. It ranges from real-time employee recognition, to wellness and mindfulness tools; from tools to allow employee level goal management and completion to apps for attendance management and employee location management; from video recruiting to online bias training.  

Moreover, with the workforce of tomorrow consisting primarily of millennials, talent development methodologies will change in tandem with this digital revolution. Gamification of career development will ensure employees stay motivated month-to-month and quarter-to-quarter. With an HR organization that is primarily cloud-based, and capable of integrating multiple third party solutions, the CHRO of the future will be more enabled, more informed, and more strategic, than ever.  

Looking Outward: digital technology enabling the workforce and management

Outside of the CHRO’s department, employees beyond HR will feel this digital revolution just as much as their HR counterparts. Employees will have the HR department in their pocket, and be able to execute their responsibilities more efficiently than ever. They will be more informed (through personalized intranets and channels of information), more engaged (through crowd-curated content and more natural communication technologies) and more career focused (maintaining a line of sight into their career and development from month to month/ quarter to quarter) than ever, with digital technology as the enabler.

Multi-use of mobile devices becoming the norm

Employees will become more de-tethered from the office, and will have a suite of products that allows them to operate from anywhere and work on anything. One of the biggest issues on the CIO’s agenda for 2016, which will continue into 2017, was employee enablement technology, and creating the digital workplace – allowing employees the ability to work, and collaborate, across multiple devices. The CHRO and CIO should be leading this agenda in lockstep, to ensure that no function or group of employees are left out. Whereas a few years ago digital enablement really meant ‘enabling the salesforce’ with mobile devices, this transformation will be about ensuring employees feel as connected to the company as possible, whenever and wherever they work. Central to this is a design-focused approach to processes, applications, user experience and flexible labor. 

Analytics and customization – enabling employee and management

With cloud technology solutions increasing across the marketplace (aside from the CHRO’s office), more employee data is obtainable than ever. With this data comes the potential for customization and increased agility. Employees will be able to give real time feedback to management on new applications and business processes, providing the HR department instant insight into culture-effecting gripes and department-wide bugbears with technology.  Furthermore, with a multitude of connected digital devices, managers (and the CHRO) will be equipped with masses of data that can be leveraged to optimize training and personal development, improve business process, increase performance and reward staff in a more meaningful fashion. With all this data flooding into the CHRO’s department, there is likely to be a rapid increase in the demand for stand-along HR Analytics departments.

Looking Across: digital will unlock the millennial generation’s talent

Aside from the factors discussed in ‘Looking Inward’ and ‘Looking Outward’ occurring en masse throughout an organization, a digital environment will foster collaboration, creativity and new strategy generation like never before. We are already starting to see real-time opinions being shared by employees – some organizations have already begun trialing a red-amber-green system for individual employees to log their satisfaction (both generally and relating to specific issues), giving insight into leader’s management style, agreement with a business strategy or direction, and potentially giving employees an anonymous channel to speak up when they see improper practices.

The next step is to democratize leadership and decision making, giving employees a direct channel to the management committee to voice their concerns, share their ideas and potentially add to (or change) a company’s strategy – many expect this form of bottom-up strategy creation to become the norm in the workplace of tomorrow. 

Furthermore, better digital technology for collaboration will allow business silos to break down, and cross-functional partnerships to become commonplace – teams from around the world will be able to socialize, comment, and improve one another’s work in real time. Employees will no longer feel like localized employees in their office or city, but global citizens of their organization.

When one takes into account that three of the biggest complaints from millennials regarding today’s corporate work environment are: I) feeling a lack purpose and progression in their career; ii) not being heard by management and; iii) not feeling connected or loyal to their company; opening up new channels of digital collaboration - with their teammates, inter-department peers, and with management - could be the key to unlocking an entire generation of talent.

Digital is no longer a department or the sole remit of the Chief Digital Officer. It is a way of working that pervades the entire organization, from the CEO downwards. Talent, engagement, innovation and cross-functional thinking are crucial. The HR function has the chance to play a pivotal role in leveraging the power of digital transformation and enablement, ensuring that companies attract, retain, and reap value from top millennial talent and thereby stay ahead of the competition.      

*According to research conducted by CB Insights.

Interim consultants by definition occupy short term roles. Yet the nature of such roles, which tend to involve transformation or turnaround, is very demanding for candidates and critical for clients.  The search process, therefore, must never be a compromise. The calibre and fit of candidates are at least as important for interim roles as they are for permanent ones.

Finding top talent

Premium interim consultants are often not available on the open market.  Finding them requires an experienced interim search firm that adopts the same approach as permanent C-level search.

Some executive search firms have an interim arm that is integrated into the business and is governed by the same operating principles. Such firms typically go to great lengths to understand their client’s business, culture and hiring requirements and to represent their brand in the market.

They tend to have extensive cross-industry and cross-geography market intelligence and a global network of referenced and vetted candidates. When sourcing candidates, they put great emphasis on quality, proven track record and cultural fit. Once a match has been identified, they follow the same process as they do in their sister executive search businesses, from in-depth assessment to shortlisting and assimilation of the selected candidate into the client’s organisation.    

Evaluating interims

Finding game-changing talent demands acute insight garnered from sophisticated assessment techniques. Assessing hard skills is not enough. Being a digital native, a transformer and an authentic leader are as important as demonstrating hard skills that relate to a specific role. But the key attributes to assess are values, agility, drive-through, strategic intelligence, organizational adaptability, cultural maturity, emotional intelligence and consensus building.

An experienced interviewer is important, someone who knows the client well and can appreciate the nuances of personality in relation to the client’s culture and team. The best interim search firms add a scientific dimension, using established cognitive, behavioural and personality tools or applying their own proprietary assessment methods. 

The value of partnerships

Companies that use high-end interims often have a long-standing relationship with a search partner who knows their organisation well and can hit the ground running when a new brief comes in. A handful of clients that rely on interim expertise now have a more sophisticated, pro-active arrangement whereby a retained search firm builds and maintains a high performance interim talent pool designed around their required competencies and experience profiles. Candidates are assessed in advance, categorized according to skillset and ranked to help pinpoint ‘best in class athletes’.  Availability is constantly monitored, ensuring that each category has depth and breadth at any moment in time.    

The onus is on readiness to provide the right talent quickly in response to rapidly evolving requirements. Properly managed, such partnership programmes mitigate the risk of delays due to the absence of appropriate expertise or failure due to unqualified or inexperienced interims being hired through ‘quick fix’ routes.

RPO goes against the grain

Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO) is well suited to contract recruitment, yet some RPO service providers apply the same cost-based model to high end interim roles. It is important that clients going down the RPO route differentiate between volume suppliers of contractors and search firms providing interims. It is the job of an interim provider to understand the client, the culture and the requirements, to represent the brand and to match the right interim to the role. RPOs tend to lack the expertise and are not programmed to operate at senior executive level. Scripts have their place but, as with sourcing permanent C-suite talent, they are not the right medium for interim search.

By driving down price, RPOs also drive down quality, suffocating the client’s ability to access top interim talent. Interim search firms working direct with the client on higher margins place better qualified and suited candidates. The interim search firm’s fee level has to reflect the experience of the interim, the size and complexity of the task and the quality of the service provided, including proper candidate assessment, selection and onboarding.

Preserving quality delivers results

The model used by the best interim providers is no different from that used by leading executive search firms. Rather than transactional search delivery, results derive from deep-seated, transformational partnerships where the search firm has ‘skin in the game’. By investing time, effort and expertise on a par with executive search firms, interim search firms are far more likely to deliver candidates who bring value and leave a lasting legacy.   

In 2017, we are going to witness another technology revolution and a step change in the way we do business. Artificial Intelligence, Big Data and the Internet of Things will move up the hype curve to everyday life. Game changing bots will break down the barrier between humans and machines and bridge the gap between physical and digital worlds. Innovation will become the new standard and that is going to have a big impact on talent at every level.

Artificial Intelligence is the driving force

Voice recognition is the essence of this technology revolution. Talking will replace tapping. Siri and Google Now have been around for a while, but the latest bots are upping the ante, aiming not just to mimic humans but to better them. This wholesale switch to conversational user interfaces will have a massive impact on the customer experience. Whether it is ordering your favourite takeaway, controlling your household gadgetry remotely, configuring product options before buying, or posting a helpdesk query, bots will be sophisticated enough to process most customer interactions. 

The inexorable rise of artificial intelligence will affect the workforce from top to bottom. A host of jobs will be lost, such as call centre and customer service operators, but that does not necessarily mean that employment levels overall will shrink. Many companies will seek to redeploy people where they can improve process efficiency and add value to the customer experience. New roles will burgeon, including UX designers and data scientists, where people with front line experience can be retrained to perfect the customer journey and maximise sales. While artificial intelligence will remove friction from the customer experience, there is a trade-off: to receive a truly personalised experience, customers must share more confidential data, so cyber security is another area that will demand extra manpower and investment.

The C-suite must shape up to the challenge

Further up the management chain, the emphasis will be on agility. Omnipresent change is the new norm and company leaders will need to react quickly to opportunities and threats, ensuring that the entire organisation pivots rapidly.  New roles - such as the Chief Customer Officer and Chief Innovation Officer – need to be created with technology firmly at the core. Companies that fail to be truly customer centric are in danger of becoming the next Blackberry or Kodak. Being agile requires a totally open mind, the courage to adapt and change direction - exemplified by survivors like IBM, Apple and Nokia - and leaders that can inspire and engage so that vital talent stays on board.   

The velocity of change demands that leaders embrace different cultures and diversity of thought. They need to be comfortable with disruption and can no longer stick rigidly to a long-term roadmap. Technology is a major catalyst in this new business world where the unpredictable is expected and leadership teams need to have their fingers on the pulse or risk being rendered ‘yesterday’s brand’.  As Graeme Codrington, co-founder of TomorrowToday, says: “Just as a marathon runner might not be successful in a triathlon, so too a leader who is successful in one environment may struggle in a different one.  In business it is often the marketplace that shifts quickly, creating new contexts. When the context changes, leaders who do not adapt find themselves qualified to succeed in a world that no longer exists.”

Optimising organisational design for agility

It is not just leaders who need to adapt, but the entire organisation. Monolithic, hierarchical  structures belong in the past. Companies will need to build nimble, flatter, cross functional (rather than siloed) teams, so that the leadership remains close to product management, innovation and the voice of the customer. That way, when the CEO needs to re-set the compass to react to changes in the market, it is more like turning a Segway around than an oil tanker.

It’s what some people call ‘design thinking’. In The Times Raconteur’s recent report on ‘The Future CEO’, Nat Sones describes ‘design thinking’ as “escalating design principles outside product to empower anyone creating ideas to create for customer needs first, solve complex challenges, drive value and, perhaps above all, create and mobilise a flexible culture fit for addressing today’s digitally transforming world.” At the end of his article, he neatly sums up the implications of ‘design thinking’ on the retail, banking, manufacturing and healthcare sectors: http://bit.ly/2g0dH2Y

Stephen Hawking once said that “the development of full artificial intelligence could spell the end of humans.” Maybe so, but not next year. However, companies that fail to react to the technological context that drives customer behaviour and loyalty will face extinction far sooner. There has been much talk of the new genre of millennial leader possessing a potent mix of IQ, EQ (Emotional) and CQ (Commercial). Surely, an equal measure of TQ (Technological) is now a must? 

The CFO of today is a far cry from the rigid, number crunching executive of old. No longer a square peg, a great CFO is a rounded leader who can add value beyond the finance function and deliver business results.

Ally and equal to the CEO

From a headhunter’s perspective, the ability to influence and collaborate with the CEO emerges as the #1 skill for any CFO. Like the CEO, the CFO is instrumental in defining company strategy and needs to have the vision, determination and communication skills to gain buy-in and drive the agenda forward. Nobody is better placed to ensure that strategic decisions are based on a combination of solid financial rationale and business context. The CEO wants a business partner who can help grow the business, turn financial data into actionable intelligence and identify new potential revenue streams such as new geographies, new markets or potential acquisitions. In EY’s study, ‘The DNA of the CFO’, 73% of CFOs surveyed saw their role as a destination in its own right and only 10% harboured an ambition to be CEO. Whether or not the CFO wants to be CEO, the qualities sought by the headhunter are very similar.

Deep commercial roots

A strong commercial mindset enables a CFO to go from good to great. The best CFOs are naturally curious and take a wide-angled view on what makes a business tick and drives financial performance. They tend to have a broad education, including an MBA, and not all CFOs come from the traditional accountancy background. The key string to the CFO’s bow is direct experience. While climbing the ladder, some finance executives acquire valuable experience in other functions - such as Operations, IT or Risk Management – where their forensic, problem solving and reporting skills can be put to good use.  Having a genuine empathy with other functions, and an appreciation of the customer, equips the CFO to provide relevant data and insights as well as to make prudent decisions on the use of assets and resources.

Strong backbone and soft skills

Much has been written about the need for EQ as well as IQ among C-suite executives and this definitely applies to the CFO.  A great CFO must be a persuasive influencer and an attentive listener. They must display strong values, cultural maturity and adaptability to change. To truly partner and challenge the CEO, the CFO requires credibility and engagement both inside and outside the organisation. This involves building strong trusted relationships with investors and opinion leaders, as well as the other members of the CEO’s leadership team. The CFO must also be tough enough to push back on the CEO, to cope with pressure from regulators, investors and the media, and to stand by difficult decisions such as redundancies and cutbacks.  It’s a question of balance.

New dog, new tricks

Many CEOs are hired for their track record in business turnaround and transformation. In KPMG’s ‘The View from the Top’ report, CEOs also cite this as a vital skill in their CFO. Referring to the ‘Renaissance CFO’, the report states that the modern CFO has to manage ‘a vast ecosystem of expanding complexity with the goal of achieving competitive advantage’ but, alarmingly, concludes that almost one out of three CEOs feel their current CFO is not up to the challenge. Of course, the traditional core skills of the CFO are still important and the headhunter will need to seek evidence of effective cost cutting, cash management, financial controls, reporting and compliance. The candidate, however, must demonstrate an understanding of the commercial context within which these standard requirements have been met and a desire not just to safeguard the company but to promote innovation and stimulate growth.  The best CFOs are as focused on outward looking KPIs, like market share as a percentage of market potential, as they are on inward indicators such as EBIT.

Building the team

An essential skill possessed by the greatest CFOs is the ability to mentor and nurture talent. Whilst the CFO’s role is to coach the CEO and underpin the CEO’s strategy through financial planning, the CFO should also be a leader who can develop, inspire and mentor his or her own team beneath. Given that a CFO’s typical tenure is around five years, a greater focus on succession planning is needed. By knowing what makes a successful CFO, the incumbent can nurture a shadow CFO by ensuring that the team below gains all the requisite experience of other functions, benefits from learning & development progammes and masters new technologies. In KPMG’s report, almost all CEOs said that attracting and retaining top-notch finance talent was the most important or equally important contributing factor to improving the finance function, yet only 33% of CEOs gave their current CFO a thumbs-up in that respect.

IT savvy

Headhunters are placing increasing emphasis on CFOs having a penchant for technology. By harnessing cloud-based ERP systems, for example, the finance function can be more agile and scalable and can empower senior management across the business with real-time data they can react to quickly.  The CFO does not need to be an IT wizard, but needs to understand that clever application of technology allows the finance team to spend more time analyzing and interpreting data, instead of preparing it. The use of predictive analytics will only help this further.

The role of the CFO has evolved beyond recognition. Exit the stereotypical bean counter and enter the 3-dimensional CFO, aligned with the entire business and cut from the same cloth as the CEO. A great CFO who can stand alongside the CEO and have what it takes to transform a company’s fortunes is not easy to find. Gone are the days when swapping the same names around the FTSE 100 will do the job.  It’s about time that headhunters changed too.

Multinational companies view it as highly desirable, if not essential, to hire diverse and ‘glocal’ talent in Asia. But Asia can be a spectacularly difficult place to do business, with a plethora of different employment laws and regulatory regimes necessitating a bespoke approach to human capital in each jurisdiction.

Most organisations have not been able to move their diversity agenda forward in a meaningful way, or take a more enlightened approach to attracting top executives with particular nationalities, both of which are essential to building sustainable businesses in countries such as Indonesia.

You can’t fight demographics

Diversity is an impossible problem to solve in the short term as the candidate universe, for example for senior Financial Services or Technology roles, is representative of the overall demographics of those groups. Only long term and grass roots initiatives can change that.  The same applies to executive talent from Asian countries which have historically suffered from sub-par education systems – there are simply fewer home grown candidates with the right skills and experience.

This sociological barrier is a good reason (and excuse) why many firms have not done enough.

‘Life is a spreadsheet’

My wife likes this phrase – I think she is joking (although she does have a lot of spreadsheets), but decisions in business are often rightly made on the basis of a model, ROI calculation or other analytical process.  This is the point at which investment in diversity can often be deselected.

When the executive team is considering where to spend their precious investment dollars, the quantifiable return of a new technology program to streamline, save cost and improve customer experience or an improved compliance environment to guard against issues, regulator scrutiny or fines may prove far more attractive than a seemingly intangible investment in diversity.

The ROI can be stellar for firms willing to invest in diversity

The fact is that the ROI on diversity no longer remains intangible.  McKinsey asserts that diversity is a competitive differentiator and that companies in the top quartile for gender or racial and ethnic diversity are more likely to have financial returns above their national industry medians. Gender diverse companies are 15% more likely to outperform the market and ethnically diverse companies 35% more likely.

Leadership advisory firms can help forward thinking clients improve their diversity ratios by tracking and curating global talent pools. This requires significant resources and effort on the part of the advisors and there is a cost attached, but it’s a drop in the ocean when you consider the ROI opportunity that hiring these individuals can bring. 

Talent pipelining is not a guaranteed solution of course – nothing is in human capital, but it is a lot more scientific than commissioning tactical searches at times of need and hoping for the right outcome.  A recent study by Ernst & Young found that female partners take 18 months on average to make a decision to move firms, where their male equivalents take 6 months.  Companies are much more likely to be effective courting female leadership talent with a longer term approach, a worthwhile investment when you consider McKinsey’s claim that for every 10% increase in gender diversity in a company’s leadership team, EBITDA rises 3.5 %.

God created man in his own image

We can all be guilty of hiring ‘people like us’, in our tribe so to speak.  It is perfectly natural to want our sons, daughters and - to an extent - work colleagues to reflect ourselves.  It makes getting things done that much easier. 

But it is in fact the very opposite of what we should be striving for. Diversity of thought and cultural-specific knowledge stokes debate, promotes creativity and leads us down more visionary paths.  So many companies have gone spectacularly wrong in Asia through not being sensitive enough around local execution and not having the talent in place to effectively manage it.

So what happens once new blood is inside the tepee?

The identification, socialisation and eventual hiring of scarce talent is only the first step.  Leadership advisory firms are now working more strategically with clients on talent planning. 

A lot of good work can be done in advance to try and ensure the soil is fertile when talent is eventually hired. Typically, this involves detailed analysis on competitor organisational constructs that help clients benchmark their own structure, borrow best practice and evolve before going to market to fill leadership gaps.

The alignment between leadership advisory firms and HR chiefs will get even closer, with external firms operating as an extension of in-house HR departments.  Part of the requirement is to manage the risk of post-hire rejection. This not only demands due diligence before the candidate comes on board, getting the framework right in term of organisational design, rules of engagement and support network. It also demands an onboarding program that carefully integrates the newcomer and maximises their chance of success.

Beanbag to boardroom

Many Financial Services companies are now creating bespoke ecosystems for their digital talent to thrive in, often housed separately from HQ.  These innovation labs are a step in the right direction, but there is often significant cultural disparity that needs to be recognised and addressed when hiring a new breed of talent that does not emanate from a competitor across the street. Companies need to be mindful and invest in their culture to ensure that new seeds flourish and germinate.

Most major corporates have now established good diversity basics, ensuring role models are in place, mentoring occurs, unconscious bias is removed and company values are in line with 21^st century work practices. Many others still have a long way to go, particularly from the perspective of embedding cultural change.

There are no easy answers, but a handful of leadership advisory firms have had some great success implementing longer term initiatives to repatriate and integrate Asian leadership talent from overseas. Such initiatives include on-boarding non-traditional executives and showing clients that cross-sector hiring can be hugely beneficial. With ever more studies proving the financial link between successful leadership and diverse hiring, there is every hope that diversity & inclusion initiatives across Asia will accelerate. 

A quarter of U.S. businesses are experiencing a marked increase in talent raids at the C-suite level, yet most are unprepared to combat this “poaching” of their most capable people.

This is among the key findings of a talent retention survey of nearly 400 human resources professionals conducted recently by Marlin Hawk, a global leadership advisory firm focused on next-generation talent, and Hunt Scanlon Media, the most widely referenced source of information on human capital. Specifically, 54 percent of all responding HR experts indicated that their company either has no plan to ward off poachers or, if it does, they’re unaware of it. And of those professionals whose companies had a strategy in place, only 39 percent were satisfied with it.

“What our survey demonstrates is a disconcerting lack of attentiveness on the part of many businesses to what is a growing problem,” comments Marlin Hawk Chief Commercial & Innovation Officer Mark Oppenheimer. “No organization would let an intruder stroll in uncontested and walk off with its financial assets or intellectual property. But when it comes to defending talent, the figurative gates seem to be wide open. It’s a huge mistake that can have an adverse impact on readiness to compete, growth targets, and share price.”

Recent headlines indicate that such companies as Goldman Sachs, Netflix, Audi, Fox, and Tesla all have been victimized by a competitor plucking away some of their most talented leaders. Typically, there’s an initial approach, followed by an enticing offer, and then a crucial executive is whisked away. It happens everywhere, in all manner of businesses.

The Marlin Hawk/Hunt Scanlon talent retention survey – which collected information from companies in sectors that include financial services, technology, retail/consumer goods, healthcare, government, and industrial/manufacturing – indicates that a miniscule 4 percent of all respondents believe talents raids have been on the decline during the past two years. Yet, despite this information, only 47 percent of those companies whose human resources professionals responded have a definitive plan in place to identify vulnerable talent.  

“Talent” is among the most valuable resources any organization possesses … and when it’s taken away, the loss has serious ramifications. In fact, Oppenheimer asserts that talent is now the single greatest enabler of business strategy. Yet, when it comes to keeping track of employees’ comings and goings, just 38 percent of respondents indicated they were satisfied with the quality of their company’s data on attrition rates.

“The survey results are particularly significant because of the breadth of our outreach,” adds Hunt Scanlon Media Chief Executive Scott Scanlon. “We gathered input from chief human resources officers, human resources VPs and managers, as well as executive search consultants and researchers, so the information we collected has the weight of being from the entire HR and search community, rather than from one segment or corner. That makes the findings even more alarming in that so few barriers exist to deter those who would poach crucial talent.” 

While the survey’s results speak to a very specific problem at many companies, the experts at both Marlin Hawk and Hunt Scanlon suggest that it’s a resolvable one. The answer, quite simply, is to take appropriate steps, without delay.

“It starts with identifying top talent – and taking care to look beyond the obvious,” says Oppenheimer, who is based in New York. “From there, conduct benchmark studies to ensure they’re being appropriately compensated, and tie them in with long-term incentive packages. The key is providing them a tangible stake in the organization’s ongoing and future success.”

Scanlon notes that many companies are overly focused on providing sufficient financial compensation, yet aren’t sufficiently attuned to other factors that are extremely important to top employees.

“Particularly with Milennials, build a team of like-minded individuals with a strong culture and shared values,” Scanlon explains. “Even at the highest levels, people are more inclined to stay when they know their contributions are recognized and appreciated, and they are given an increasing degree of responsibility. It sounds counter-intuitive, but by increasing an executive’s employability elsewhere, you can make them more likely to stay and better equipped to add value.”

Other recommendations are identifying dissatisfied executives who may be more susceptible to poaching, and then taking visible, direct steps to alleviate their concerns, while also providing regular forums for them to express concerns and vent frustrations. Of course, from time to time, key talent will leave. At such times, a robust succession plan – with a listing of potential replacements and a plan for mentoring – can be invaluable.

Once a key team member departs, particularly as the result of being poached, there are several things to always do. And there are several more never to do.

“If someone was a top-level talent, you want to let them leave on good terms, and then you want to maintain contact,” Scanlon says. “After all, they may eventually return, and bring with them additional skills they’ve acquired in the interim. Also, take care to shore up remaining members of the team who are most directly impacted by the departure. Keep them informed, supervised, motivated, and on track – because they are suddenly much more susceptible to poaching.”

 Marlin Hawk strongly recommends that a departing employee be encouraged to be transparent about why they decided to leave.

“The last thing you should do is isolate them or treat them as a pariah – that’s a dreadful mistake,” Oppenheimer says. “Instead, find out their genuine reasons for moving on and then use this vital information as a way to prevent future losses. Occasionally, by showing that you’re truly interested and concerned, you can convince them to stay. I’ve seen it happen.”

Despite the growing importance of retaining key executive talent, only 14 percent of respondents utilize an external advisory partner to help devise retention strategies.

“That’s a missed opportunity,” Scanlon concludes. “There are many innovative advisory firms out there whose expertise in enhancing retention can mitigate the risk of losing top executives to poachers.” 

Business, like rugby, is a team game that keeps evolving.  When Clive Woodward won the Rugby World Cup in 2003, rugby was a kicking game. Now it is a power game and it has taken a new style of leader in Eddie Jones to make England competitive again. To win on the global stage demands the right leadership at the right time. Many company chairmen are aware that changing their CEO can boost performance, share price and EBITDA.  But the execution of change does not always deliver the desired end result.

The blindside flanker

Some chairmen work on the basis of entitlement. They only look internally and award the CEO position to a ‘deserving company man’ who has all the requisite experience, knows the organisation like the back of his hand and breathes the culture. Dynamism, vision and diversity do not always weigh heavily in the decision. These types of CEO are unlikely to rock the boat and, although they can yield successful results, on the whole they stifle a company’s transformation.

The lower league coach

Other chairmen seek advice from their headhunting partners - often traditionalists with a similar mindset. With an expert search firm, the likelihood of finding exceptional talent increases, yet many fall back on obvious candidates who fail to inject real change. This can happen for two reasons: either the search firm gives the chairman what he wants, lacking the courage and conviction to challenge their outdated thinking, or the company’s selection panel is not open to a new approach and rejects the ‘left field’ candidates.  

The boardroom maul

Then there are the chairmen who genuinely want to find a game changing CEO with the hallmarks of a modern leader: value centric, innovative, customer focused and digitally savvy. Yet even this does not guarantee success and can result in a talent clash that divides the board. Some members support the incoming CEO and embrace new ideas, while others resent change and pull in the opposite direction. The new order is often not as vocal as it should be, allowing the feet draggers to stick to their comfort zone. The resulting dysfunctional board is less aligned than before and not able to effect radical change.  

The winning set piece

The executive search firm’s job is to find a new CEO who will not just give the share price a temporary spike, but bring lasting change. A talent clash in the boardroom needs to be managed, such that the disruption seems subtle and not antagonistic.

Assessment tools, rather than intuition, can help identify values, attributes and potential. The right candidate will have the demeanour to encounter opposition and convert the disenchanted. They will be unwavering in their pursuit of change but accept that the entire team must be united and that a balance of old and new can be healthy if handled sensitively. They will allow the board time to adjust, reconfigure and refresh, but stamp out any ongoing institutional undermining.

The best new CEOs will also seek advice from executive search partners. The firm that placed them will have done their due diligence, working closely with the chairman to get the framework right and create a climate in which the incoming CEO can achieve success.  Post-placement sessions should take place regularly to assess progress and mitigate the risk of rejection or diametrically opposed board members.

Rising to premier league champions

Successful organisational transformation requires three elements to come together: a chairman who is astute enough to seek authentic change and accept a degree of risk; an HR chief with the power and influence to stand up against the traditionalists and naysayers; and a leadership advisory firm that is a fully committed strategic partner intent on getting the right business outcome for their client. With a combination of all three, companies tackling change can cross the gain line. 

Now that the UK knows the outcome of the referendum vote, it is back to ‘business as usual’ for British industry. There is no alternative, as Article 50 has yet to be invoked and the simple truth is that nobody actually knows what the implications of Brexit will be. Meanwhile, although many companies are - through necessity - adopting a more positive outlook, an underlying air of caution prevails. Companies that rely on exports to the EU may suffer a severe blow if access to the single EU market is denied or if tough penalties are applied. Therefore, they need to strike a balance between continuing as normal and being prepared to react to a sharp downturn in fortune.

The interim solution

For many companies, employee costs represent the largest overhead. There is widespread acceptance that contractors can be engaged as a variable overhead, but fewer organizations apply this thinking to more critical executive roles.  While contractors provide delivery-focused skills and services, interim consultants provide strategic managerial expertise.

As the implications for Brexit gradually unfold, we are likely to see an increase in companies using interim consultants to keep momentum going while riding out the period of economic uncertainty. As the post Brexit commercial environment unravels, demand for interims to manage restructuring programs or transformation projects may increase. These will typically be operational roles, but interim expertise in the UK now spans a broad range of disciplines including finance, marketing, IT, HR and communications.  

Finding the right candidates

Premium interim candidates are often not available on the open market.  Finding them requires an experienced interim search firm that adopts the same approach as permanent C-level search.

Some executive search firms have an interim arm that is integrated into the business and is governed by the same operating principles. Such firms typically go to great lengths to understand their client’s business, culture and hiring requirements and to represent their brand in the market.

They tend to have extensive cross-industry and cross-geography market intelligence and a global network of referenced and vetted candidates. When sourcing candidates, they put great emphasis on quality and proven track record. Once a match has been identified, they follow the same in-depth evaluation process as they do in their sister executive search businesses.

Partnership programs

Companies that use high-end interims often have a long-standing relationship with a search partner who knows the client well and can hit the ground running when a new brief comes in. A handful of companies that rely on interim expertise now have a more sophisticated, pro-active arrangement whereby a retained search firm builds and maintains an interim talent pool designed around the client’s required competencies and experience profiles.

The onus is on readiness to provide the right talent quickly in response to rapidly evolving requirements. Properly managed, such partnership programs mitigate the risk of delays due to the absence of appropriate expertise or failure due to unqualified or inexperienced interims being hired through ‘quick fix’ routes.

Beware of RPO

Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO) is well suited to contract recruitment, yet some RPO service providers apply the same cost-based model to high end interim roles. It is important that clients going down the RPO route differentiate between volume suppliers of contractors and search firms providing interims. Otherwise, by driving down the price, they also drive down quality, suffocating their ability to access top interim talent. The interim search firm’s fee level has to reflect the experience of the interim, the size and complexity of the task and the quality of the service provided.

Leveraging investment in interims

Once a company has engaged a qualified search firm to find a suitable interim candidate, the chances are that they will succeed in landing someone who can excel in the position. While the best interims are not available on tap, the talent is definitely out there.  Those looking to bridge the Brexit gap via interim headhunters will not need to compromise on quality. The top end of the interim market in the UK is attracting senior corporate talent, accomplished executives who choose to pursue interim careers as a life choice and to exercise their strategic and turnaround prowess.

However, just as with permanent searches, landing the candidate is not the end of the journey. Employers need to think carefully about how to extract value from interim consultants, ensuring that when they move on from their assignment there is a lasting legacy.

To achieve that, there are a few basic rules of thumb:

1. Integrate interims into the organization

Allow interims to get close to key stakeholders and establish mutual understanding. Shared ownership and goals will help them garner vital support and can make the difference between adoption or rejection of strategic change. Interims need to work hard at building bridges but it is also incumbent upon the HR function to have an onboarding plan in place and create a climate in which interims can achieve success. Due diligence is the mother of good luck.

2. Focus on delivery of tangible change

Ensure that interims document and measure their output. As well as setting strategic direction, they should put an implementation plan or roadmap in place that can be actioned by others during and after their departure. Make sure that all key stakeholders are aligned, have bought into the plan, understand its impact and have a vested interest in its execution. The quality of expectation determines the quality of action.

3. Remember that interims are flexible

Interims are required to be impartial advisors. They are driven and resolute in getting the job done. While clients do not want to hinder their progress, they should be mindful that interims are also open minded and adaptable.  If the company is undergoing restructuring or organizational change, the brief may be subject to modification. Interims are willing to adjust goalposts, recalibrate plans and extend the duration of contracts to get the best result.

4. Encourage mentoring

Experienced interims bring immense value, so clients should capture as much of that value as they can. Empower them to be mentors, sowing seed on fertile ground by upskilling and developing the team around them. Ask them to scope out the role and required skillset of their successor. Even better, enlist their help in recruiting and coaching the successor to harvest the crop that has been planted. That way a client will continue to reap value from an interim long after the completion of an assignment.

5. Take a long term view

An interim’s tenure will span a defined period, but clients should set the horizon further. Arrange for them to come back for a series of progress meetings after their departure. This could be done as part of a steering group. For the interim, it shows commitment, belief and accountability, all of which add to their reputation. For the client, it keeps the interim’s legacy alive and kicking, increasing the chance of the investment paying dividend.  

The UK has voted and Brexit is going to happen. The positive side is that the UK regains its sovereignty, the right to decide where to invest funds raised from UK taxes and the right to control its borders. The negative side is that UK business may lose access to the EU single market. That is not certain to happen as other countries like Norway and Switzerland are not members of the EU but are still granted access, albeit with conditions attached. If the UK is cut off from the EU trade market, there will be short to medium term pain for a large slice of British industry as new trade deals with the rest of the world are established.  Adaptation and cost control will be paramount and interim consulting can form a key part of the talent solution. As well as offering a variable overhead, interims offer the compelling benefit of being adept at navigating change and are an asset to any company undergoing transformation or adaptation to a new set of rules and processes.

Leadership advisory firm Marlin Hawk has appointed Glenn Allen as senior consultant in its Financial Services practice in New York.  Allen will provide market intelligence, talent management and executive search services to a range of clients from investment banking, asset management and hedge funds to consumer banking, credit cards and mobile payments.

For the past five years, Allen has been a senior talent acquisition contractor at Citi, in charge of executive recruitment for capital markets and consumer banking. Prior to that he worked for executive search boutiques DS Wolf and Harrison Kat Group, focusing on hedge fund and asset management clients. He also has in-house HR experience gained at Lehman Brothers and Fidelity Investments. Allen holds a degree in Social Sciences from Harvard University.

“Financial Services constitutes a significant portion of Marlin Hawk’s US business and this key appointment reinforces our commitment to its continuing growth, from both a revenue and customer experience perspective”, said Lisa Peacock-Edwards, Head of Financial services, Americas. “Glenn will be a great addition to the team. He has a proven track record managing high level searches as well as crafting offers, including sign-ons, guaranteed and target bonuses, equity buyouts and deferred awards.”

People, assets…..we’ve all heard the saying but, as with other over-quoted sayings, the meaning no longer resonates. Yet never before has it been so true. In the words of media magnate Rupert Murdoch, “The world is changing very fast. Big will not beat small any more. It will be the fast beating the slow.” In a business world where transformation is the name of the game, the CHRO is taking on the mantle of arch strategist, deploying sophisticated talent management principles and practice to drive business success.

At Marlin Hawk we have close relationships with CHROs across a range of sectors and have witnessed a significant evolution in terms of perception and status. Historically, the CHRO has often been accused of lacking strategic input at board level and has struggled to have a seat at the top table. Now, rather than being absorbed into the finance function as some have suggested, the role has stood its ground and flourished. Traditionally, the CFO has been the CEO’s right hand man at the helm of the company. Now, savvy CEOs are flanked by the CFO and the CHRO, whose contribution in creating value and managing change through talent is seen as a decisive factor in shaping the future.   

So, what has brought about this metamorphosis? The difference between the HR and Finance functions is less stark than first meets the eye. Both functions have a helicopter view of the business - cross function and cross geography - while also having feet on the ground via direct or dotted line reports within most business units. While finance and accounting executives are naturally analytical and cultivate an unwavering return-on-investment focus, human resource executives put more emphasis on empathy, psychology, creativity and intuition. But HR is not 100% ethereal and it is by applying more rigor to the scientific element that the CHRO has gone up in the CEO’s estimation.

Here are five disciplines that the CHRO has borrowed from the CFO:

1. Forecasting

Understanding the business strategy and its alignment with talent requirements is key.  Today’s CHROs have a real understanding of the dynamics of the market in which they operate, the competitive environment and the likely impact of technological advances.  They are able to interpret future trends into talent strategy, putting short, medium and long term plans in place that directly relate to the achievement of stated corporate objectives.

2. Risk planning

Understanding where the business is heading naturally leads to future proofing and risk management. CHROs not only have clear succession plans in place, but are now mitigating the risk of critical skill gaps by investing in pipelining activities to source and prep alternative talent. Flight or poaching risk is increasingly counteracted by retention strategies, including the development of reward structures designed to tie in key management.  

3. Modelling

Defining and shaping organizational models to support business goals has become an integral part of the CHRO’s remit.  This demands an insight into peer group companies and a top to bottom re-evaluation of the best construct, systems and processes for extracting the maximum performance from people. As with financial modelling, CHROs even do scenario planning to ensure the best chance of sustaining leadership capability.

4. Auditing & analysis

Auditing is done in a number of ways. CHROs continuously assess the strengths and weakness of management, identify where real value is being created and focus resources on building expertise that is critical to ongoing success. They benchmark existing employees against external counterparts and offer coaching to upskill where needed, conduct regular appraisals and introduce KPIs relating to human capital productivity and value creation.

5. Building equity

Just as financiers focus on shareholder value, CHROs build equity in the form of the employer brand. Employee engagement has been on their agenda for years but CHROs are now more sophisticated in shaping culture, gauging external perceptions of the employer brand and developing it to appeal to the type of candidate they want to attract. This is increasingly seen as vital in appealing to the new generation of millennial talent and top CHROs are putting the building blocks in place now, knowing that millennials will comprise an estimated 75% of the workforce by 2025.

A quote from casino king Steve Wynn neatly sums up the fact that the one thing you can’t gamble with is people: “Human Resources isn’t a thing we do. It’s the thing that runs our business.” CEOs have always been aware of the importance of human capital, but it is only recently that the CHRO has been elevated to the status of true strategic partner, on a par with the CFO. Today’s smart CHRO has come of age and could well be the CEO’s greatest asset. 

Interview with Executive Grapevine, July 2016

Panel:

Jonathan Hime – Group Managing Partner

John-Claude Hesketh – Partner

Lisa Peacock-Edwards – Partner

Julian Wolfinden – Associate Partner

In the coming years, how will the composition of the C-Suite change?

Jonathan:

It will be a change in their behaviours, conduct, values and decision-making style. Whilst the Board from an organisational design perspective will look the same, it is the traits of the people on those Boards where the changes will take place.

There will also be an emergence of a new position at the level below Board; the Chief Customer Officer – someone who will ensure that leadership has the customer at the centre of all its decisions.

Lisa:

There has been a buzz about the transition of the Chief Marketing Officer to the Chief Customer Officer. As marketing becomes a business driver and begins to include data analytics, digital and customer experience, thinking about how you drive experience to create business value, rather than being a support function, is vital. These people are coming from more of a technology background or digital background to focus on customer. 

In the United States we are also seeing the rise of the Chief Innovation Officer. These people are really thinking about the future. They’re a person who takes control over the innovation of a company by looking at new ideas, inventions, mergers and acquisitions, and ventures.

John-Claude:

One role I see as becoming more proactive on the Board is the CIO. Typically, a COO would have that responsibility as there still isn’t a seat purely for the CIO - certain organisations have implemented the role, others have taken it off and some are looking to add it. But other than the CIO I don’t think it’s a case of adding more roles, rather it’s about existing roles having a bigger say at the table.


What skills and behaviours will be required from these individuals in the future?

Julian:

The modern leader knows they don’t have all the answers and they are confident enough to say that. They are the antithesis of the old-school rockstar CEO who said they don’t need anyone else. 

We recently worked with a fantastic CEO who sat his Board down in a barn for four days and said ‘I don’t have all the answers - that’s why you’re here’. The courage to know that nobody can be good at everything is important, as is realising that people are different and getting the right mix is key.

John-Claude:

From a technical stand point innovation and digital is the future of Financial Services, so if the CEO isn’t the most technically-minded person on the Executive Committee there’s something wrong.

From a cultural standpoint the world is becoming much more focused on emotional intelligence. There are a number of organisations who hire on IQ, resulting in very bright individuals who can stop the room dead with their brains, but can’t get people on their side and don’t know what people want. We now need someone who thinks about their employees and not just the shareholder. The IQ is still important, but emotional intelligence is a trait we are trying to hire more of.

Jonathan:

The modern executive has to have intellectual intelligence (IQ), emotional intelligence (EQ), commercial intelligence (CQ) and values intelligence (VQ). Someone can be really bright, and have great emotional intelligence – yet they can’t make the share price creep up. Comparatively you can have someone with no values who knows how to manipulate and get outcomes, but for all the wrong reasons. There needs to be a focus on all four of these attributes, underpinned by authentic leadership. The Millennials coming through the workforce will focus on whether someone is real or fake. The new breed of Executives are also less hierarchical, they speak to their driver or secretary the same way they speak to fellow shareholders and directors.


How will this impact searching for C-Suite professionals?

Julian:

I think leadership advisory firms have to focus more on culture and culture-matching rather than trying to assess technical skill. That will have to become more prominent, as will the tools you use to do these evaluations. Are you looking at culture, potential, attitudinal metrics? How are you assessing people this way and why? There needs to be more focus on this element.

Lisa:

We are being asked more and more to test the future potential of candidates, in order to ascertain how they will exist in the next five to ten years, therefore the way we assess has to change. We need to look at where people are coming from rather than using the traditional methods of evaluating past experience; we need to look into the makeup of a person and ascertain how they would approach certain subjects and issues.

John-Claude:

The individuals are out there, the difficulty is getting organisations to accept them as a generational leader. So it’s less about finding these people, and more about asking whether the organisations are ready for them and whether the individuals are ready to become part of these traditional organisations. Theoretically it’s great to have the CIO of an online retailer moving to be the CIO of a bank, but it’s very different work. While they could be innovative and move them forward, they still have to deal with the history and the legacy. Therefore it’s about getting them ready to land in a new role.

Jonathan:

And it’s no longer just about landing them the job, but ensuring that for the 12 months after that and beyond, both parties are happy with the hire and there’s no ‘organ rejection’. Traditional search firms should be worried because it’s becoming harder. You can’t just go into the rolodex to find a candidate, you have to do your job thoroughly and dynamically research things about a candidate you haven’t before. The client is paying you to search globally to ensure the shortlist you provide contains the only options they should be considering.  

Publsihed interview: 

http://www.businessgrapevine.co/rankings2016/article/marlin-hawk-what-will-the-c-suite-look-like-in-the-future

Leadership advisory firm Marlin Hawk has entered the top 10 rankings in Executive Grapevine’s UK Executive Search Market Report 2016. The survey, which measures net fee income, ranks Marlin Hawk at no.8 for Board, NED and C-Suite search with first year guaranteed compensation above £200k, and at no. 9 overall across all assignments.

With first year guaranteed compensation above £200k, Marlin Hawk is also ranked no.2 in the Retail Financial Services & Insurance category (multi-practice firms) and no.10 in the Consumer, Media & Healthcare category.

Marlin Hawk’s expertise spans a range of sectors including Consumer, Technology, Retail Financial Services & Insurance and Wholesale Financial Services. The firm focuses on Board, NED, C-suite and senior executives in revenue leadership roles (General Management, Commercial, Marketing, Digital) and operational effectiveness leadership roles (Operations, Finance, Risk, Compliance, Technology, HR).

Jonathan Hime, Group Managing partner at Marlin Hawk, said: “Our success is down to the fact that we have great clients who appreciate a more proactive and holistic leadership advisory service that is anchored to corporate strategy. We help shape the environment for new hires, not only attracting game changing talent but also helping to assimilate and retain it and thereby maximising successful outcomes.”

The Executive Grapevine UK Executive Search Market Report 2016 can be found at:  http://www.businessgrapevine.co/rankings2016/section/market-overview

Everybody was aware of the short term economic turmoil that a Brexit would cause; they just didn’t expect it to actually happen.

For now, even though Article 50 has yet to be officially triggered and the exit negotiations are expected to take two years, the only thing we can be sure of is uncertainty and instability. This is compounded by the fact that we are in unchartered territory, as no country has ever been through the EU extrication process before.

In certain sectors, notably financial services, we are likely to see a movement of some companies’ European operations or HQs from the UK to a country inside the EU single market. While this is not welcome news for the executive search industry, change and restructuring can bring new opportunities, not just in search but in organisational design and other leadership advisory services.

The UK’s economic prosperity relies on diversity, which includes imported talent at all levels. At the highest level, 70% of FTSE20 chairmen and 50% of CEOs are non-British, with a growing emphasis on bringing in experience in emerging markets rather than the relatively mature markets of Continental Europe.  Withdrawal from the EU is not likely to affect the recruitment of top level leaders from other parts of Europe. The impact for incoming European labour will be further down the employment scale; mass market workers will be subject to tighter controls and skills assessment.

In this climate of unpredictability, businesses are likely to delay decisions on permanent hires and take a shorter term approach. That makes interim management an attractive option, as experienced professionals can come on board and keep critical initiatives going, but can be shed without financial consequence. As well as offering a variable overhead, interims offer the compelling benefit of being adept at navigating change and are an asset to any company undergoing transformation or adaptation to a new set of rules and processes.

One thing that is certain is that British business is adaptable and resilient. We are world leaders in many fields and there are many countries around the globe that will want to trade with us, both inside and outside the European market place. The UK does not want to shut the door on our neighbours and trading partners in Europe – it is the political element of the EU that is unpopular.

Although both the leading British political parties – in power and in opposition - are currently imploding, a common train of thought seems to be emerging with regard to the forthcoming EU negotiations: both parties acknowledge that securing access to the single market is the biggest priority. While that will be a challenge, as conditions will no doubt be attached, the UK will be free to forge more commercially competitive trading links with countries outside Europe without being hampered by EU bureaucracy.

The UK can sink or swim and it is not in the British psyche to opt for the former. It is time to start focusing on the positives and creating fresh opportunities. The leadership advisory and executive search industry has a vital role to play in helping UK business adapt to a new commercial landscape through smart talent acquisition and management.     

In-house recruiting is increasingly perceived to be the biggest threat to the executive search industry, aided and abetted by the unstoppable rise in social media and networking platforms. At best, this trend is set to erode margins, at worst it could put some firms out of business altogether. So how can the executive search industry react to these market forces?

Aligning talent with strategy

HR has often been accused of lacking strategic input at board level and has sought assistance from leadership advisory partners to counteract that view. Ironically, many Group HR Directors are now bringing the search for talent in house, to the detriment of their confidantes. The executive search industry needs to adapt to these market forces, not fight them. Business is business and, when long standing relationships grind to a halt, we must not take it personally. We have to earn our place at the table and reinvent ourselves to remain compelling.

There is little doubt that the executive search industry has to up its game. The type of firm that is purely reactive in fulfilling client briefs will struggle. The strongest breed of firm will develop a more proactive and holistic leadership advisory service that is anchored to corporate strategy. Talent management cannot be effective when practised in a vacuum, without market context. Clients are now demanding alignment, talent management that mirrors corporate strategy. 

Market intelligence and consultancy

Research led, this heightened level of service should feature forensic market intelligence that probes the talent agenda of a client’s competition or peer group. It should extend from organisational design and compensation models to pipelining and succession planning, culture and diversity, marketing strategy and brand perception.  Executive search firms must be equipped not only to analyse talent constructs, but to understand how they contribute to business success.

Some leadership advisory firms have already moved away from a transactional approach and are adding value as long-term partners with a broader perspective. The key will be to help clients do what they can’t do themselves, whether through lack of expertise or resource, and to keep developing strategic advisory services that push the envelope. Even clients with relatively sophisticated in-house recruitment functions may only feel comfortable doing executive search up to the point of finalising a candidate long list. Beyond that, many will still appreciate external expertise on a range of issues such as benchmarking, coaching, attraction & retention and talent pool development.  

The candidate is king

We are moving into an increasingly candidate driven market and the highest calibre candidates, far from being a commodity, are rare. The millennial genre may be rising through the business ranks, bringing starkly different stylistic and attitudinal characteristics, but competition for the best talent remains constant.

Enduring, mentor relationships are therefore vital in persuading high flyers to leave their current roles and take up new positions. Such bonds do not form overnight. They can only be achieved by search firms investing time and energy in candidate management.  Search firms that genuinely focus on candidate management will be more likely to land those few special candidates who make a difference, the ones their clients covet.

Lateral thinking and acute assessment

To compete with in-house recruitment, executive search firms need to bring a new dimension. On-line tools can only go so far in finding talent, as the best talent is often hidden. Executive search firms will have the upper hand in accessing a client’s direct competitors and a more intuitive approach to searching in less obvious places, digging deep into other sectors - often with parallel functional disciplines - and bringing to the table the best athletes, the rising stars, the unexpected discoveries that can make a radical difference to a client’s company.

Finding top candidates is just the start. Executive search firms will need to be pioneers in assessing constantly evolving executive genres. The current trend is to select on future promise, rather than past performance, which takes a blend of science and art, psychology and psychiatry. The best firms will develop their own proprietary methods, adopting the strengths of respected psychometric tools (such as Hogan and Topgrading) and combining them with feedback from their own client base, cross industry and cross geography.

Take the lead on diversity

Diversity is the subject of endless discussion in the press, yet many companies still miss the point. It is about matching a variety of skills, mind-sets and life experiences to a company’s customers, suppliers, employees and shareholders and reaping value from those symbiotic connections. Companies that are genuinely ‘with the program’ will inevitably overtake those that simply tick boxes.

It is incumbent upon the executive search industry to educate clients on the value of diversity - beyond artificial board quotas – and to impress upon them the true business benefit. Companies are weakened when they limit their sphere of knowledge and inspiration to their own kind. Wild card candidates often challenge the groupthink consensus of lookalike boards and make them sharper, more exploratory and better decision makers. Challenging accepted norms leads to reinvention, new ways of doing things that keep a company relevant. 

Partnerships built on trust

Some CHROs may have concerns around the values, principles and ethics of the executive search industry. They want deep rooted partnerships built on mutual trust, not fly-by-night vendor relationships, and will continue to demand more from their search partners.  

They expect search firms to add value way beyond the placement transaction, shaping the environment for new hires to maximise successful outcomes. Active involvement in the on-boarding process is vital to promote positive assimilation and search partners should play an ongoing role in after care, ensuring that the successful candidate’s performance matches expectations. In a competitive, candidate driven market, it is attraction, assimilation and retention that are going to be top of any client’s list of priorities. Clients will demand ongoing advice and commitment from their search partners.

Digitisation is here to stay

As HR functions become more sophisticated, it is technology that is empowering them to perform search work themselves. The challenge for the executive search industry is to step up the pace and digitise parts of the service offering.  HR functions will want to cherry pick specific services that will complement their in-house capability. External search firms will need to be open minded about how to earn their money. They will need to be transparent and accountable. They will need to offer more for less. Income will keep shifting away from commissions to retainer fees and even subscription fees for knowledge-based services.

The rise of interim management

The market for C-suite executives is constantly evolving. New roles keep emerging, such as the Chief Customer Officer or the Chief Data Officer, and the balance of supply and demand continually fluctuates. A more significant trend is for companies to want to engage senior level executives with proven track records on a short-term basis. More and more employers are taking advantage of interims to lead restructuring programs or critical transformation projects, to respond rapidly to unexpected changes or sudden opportunities, to fill gaps in knowledge or simply to keep momentum while sourcing permanent hires. The top end of the market now attracts senior corporate talent, accomplished executives who choose to pursue interim careers to demonstrate their strategic and turnaround prowess.

While specialist executive search firms exist to provide this service, the executive search industry should claim this territory as its own. It is not the same as the contractor recruitment market. Interims provide senior managerial and strategic expertise, as well as end to end project management, from initial feasibility study through to final delivery and implementation. Given the critical importance of most interim roles, search firms should apply the same rigor as they do to permanent C-suite briefs, including in-depth candidate evaluation and assessment of culture fit.  If traditional executive search firms do not move into interim management, specialist interim management firms will move into executive search.

Dawn of a new era

So, who will prevail in this brave new world, the large multinational or the boutique firm? The answer lies in the attitude and agility of the firm rather than its size, but smaller firms have the advantage in terms of nimbleness to react to market forces. Unencumbered by large physical networks and Chinese walls, boutique firms will continue this inexorable rise and blaze the digital trail.  Companies that have set up in-house talent functions are focused on economy, efficiency and customisable expertise – the boutiques provide all three.

The business world is changing and the business of recruiting leaders must change too.  Boards and HR Directors want committed, collaborative partners who are not shy on innovation. The executive search firms that survive will be those that embrace the digital world, really work for their money, offer added value and deliver competitive advantage. The ones that thrive will be those that serve as a 360 degree talent consultancy, firms that make it their business to be game changers and to keep their clients one step ahead of the curve. 

Leadership advisory firm Marlin Hawk this week hosted a seminar for senior HR leaders, with guest speaker Benny Higgins, CEO of Tesco Bank, sharing his views on the modern role of the chief HR officer. Delegates represented several industry sectors including retail, FMCG, media and financial services.

In his address, titled ‘Is modern leadership the responsibility of HR?’, Mr Higgins talked about the importance of the relationship between the CEO, CFO and CHRO in managing transformation and creating a sustainable business model and how, within this triumvirate, nothing is more important than the CHRO’s remit in setting and overseeing a progressive people agenda.

Benny Higgins is currently Chief Executive of Tesco Bank, Group Strategy Director for Tesco PLC and a member of the Tesco Executive Committee. During his career he has held senior positions at a number of leading financial services companies including Standard Life, RBS (where he led the successful integration of NatWest Retail Banking) and HBOS.

Julian Wolfinden, Associate Partner at Marlin Hawk, said: “Benny made the point that, in driving change, the chief HR officer must focus on delivering effectively against key objectives and not tackling too many initiatives at once. The core skill is to identify strong leaders and future contenders, people who are authentic, innovative, courageous, ambitious and curious. With the right people in place, it is then everyone’s responsibility to create an environment in which leaders can deliver results.”  

Leadership advisory firm Marlin Hawk has appointed Marc Baloch as associate partner for Asia. Baloch joins from Harvey Nash, where he headed the retail financial services practice, and will focus on leadership advisory and executive search services across Asia within insurance, consumer & wholesale banking and private wealth management.

“Marc’s international network, understanding of the financial services landscape and cultural awareness make him the perfect fit. We are delighted to welcome him on board,” said Jonathan Hime, Group Managing Partner at Marlin Hawk. “As well as managing Asia, he will be responsible for joining up our global accounts and delivering the same high quality customer experience across all territories.”

A German national, Baloch’s intercontinental executive search experience covers Germany, Central & Eastern Europe and Asia. He has been based in Tokyo, Singapore and Hong Kong and has placed senior executives throughout the APAC region, including high growth economies such as Vietnam, Indonesia and Malaysia. He has a track record in discovering C-suite talent across multiple functions and has a particular interest in the impact of digital transformation on future business leadership.

Baloch said: “Marlin Hawk has a growing reputation for excellence, innovation, value centricity and customer experience. I look forward to representing the brand in Asia and providing financial services clients with game changing leadership advisory services in addition to executive search.”

Marlin Hawk is a global boutique advisory firm focused on the next generation of leaders. It has offices in London, New York, San Francisco, Hong Kong and Singapore. Baloch will be based in the Hong Kong office.

The use of interim management is booming. According to the Interim Management Association, last year saw the fastest growth rates since records began.  More and more employers are taking advantage of interims to lead restructuring programmes or critical transformation projects, to react to competitor activities or enter new markets, to fill gaps in knowledge or simply to keep momentum while sourcing permanent hires.

The top end of the market now attracts senior corporate talent, accomplished executives who choose to pursue interim careers to demonstrate their strategic and turnaround prowess. While interim managers can build valuable reputations as game changers, the availability of high calibre talent on a short-term basis means that employers do not have to compromise on quality.

But not all employers know how to extract value from interim managers, ensuring that when they move on from their assignment there is a lasting legacy. Here are some top tips for employers to ensure that their investment pays off:

Integrate interims into the organization

Allow interims to get close to key stakeholders and establish mutual understanding. Shared ownership and goals will help them garner vital support and can make the difference between adoption or rejection of strategic change. Interims need to work hard at building bridges but it is also incumbent upon the HR function to have an onboarding plan in place and create a climate in which interims can achieve success. Due diligence is the mother of good luck.

Focus on delivery of tangible change

Ensure that interims document and measure their output. As well as setting strategic direction, they should put an implementation plan or roadmap in place that can be actioned by others during and after their departure. Make sure that all key stakeholders are aligned, have bought into the plan, understand its impact and have a vested interest in its execution. The quality of expectation determines the quality of action.

Remember that interims are flexible

Interims are required to be impartial advisors. They are driven and resolute in getting the job done. While you do not want to hinder their progress, be mindful that they are also open minded and adaptable.  If the company is undergoing restructuring or organisational change, your brief may be subject to modification. Interims are willing to adjust goalposts, recalibrate plans and extend the duration of contracts to get you the best result.

Encourage mentoring

Experienced interims bring immense value, so capture as much of that value as you can. Empower them to be mentors, sowing seed on fertile ground by upskilling and developing the team around them. Ask them to scope out the role and required skillset of their successor. Even better, enlist their help in recruiting and coaching the successor to harvest the crop that has been planted. That way you will continue to reap value from an interim long after their assignment has completed.

Take a long term view

An interim’s tenure will span a defined period, but set the horizon further. Arrange for them to come back for a series of progress meetings after their departure. This could be done as part of a steering group. For them, it shows commitment, belief and accountability, all of which add to their reputation as an interim. For you, it keeps their legacy alive and kicking and increases the chance of your investment paying dividend.   

Leadership advisory firm Marlin Hawk has promoted John-Claude Hesketh to the position of partner, responsible for the financial services & insurance practice across the UK, Europe and Asia. Hesketh joined the firm in 2012 as a consultant and was appointed associate partner in 2014.

Hesketh’s FS practice delivers senior level mandates across technology, operations, risk, finance, digital, customer experience and senior executive leadership (CEO, business and product head).  It also runs bespoke partnership programmes, incorporating talent management services such as research, organisational design, benchmarking, mapping and pipelining. Clients span a range of markets from retail banking, credit cards, mobile payments and insurance to investment banking, asset management, hedge funds and fintech.

“John-Claude has developed many of our global financial services accounts by combining wise strategic counsel with incisive search delivery and relentless commitment to quality”, said Jonathan Hime, Group Managing Partner at Marlin Hawk. “He is an invaluable member of our leadership team and we congratulate him on this tremendous achievement.”

Marlin Hawk is a global boutique advisory firm focused on the next generation of leaders. It is ranked no. 3 in Retail Financial Services & Insurance within Executive Grapevine’s UK executive search market report 2015. The firm has offices in London, New York, San Francisco, Hong Kong and Singapore. Hesketh is based in the firm’s London office.

Everyone has heard the term ‘millennial’, referring to the generation reaching young adulthood around the year 2000. Many are fed up with the attention this new generation is getting. Why should these upstarts be any different and, even if they are, why let them call the shots? Yet the talent management industry keeps telling us that the next generation of leaders will be radically different from the current crop. Since millennials will comprise an estimated 75% of the global workforce by 2025, it merits a closer look.

Lumping everyone between the ages of 21 and 35 into one ‘millennial’ group may seem like a gross generalisation, but generalisations can be useful. They underpin the marketing thrust of any company eager to identify common consumer characteristics when positioning new products and services. And in general terms, the point that the talent management industry is making is valid: when comparing millennials with their predecessors, we really are talking chalk and cheese. The human capital landscape is changing but competition for the best talent remains constant. Therefore, companies need to adapt their talent management strategies and cultures accordingly or they risk losing ground to those who heed the warning.

Without doubt, leadership teams will look very different in future as the millennial generation rises through the business ranks. These millennials are not super-human, they are made of flesh and bone like the rest of us. Nor are they fundamentally different in substance - they still have clear commercial goals and know the importance of delivering profitability and shareholder returns. But when it comes to mind-set, we are talking more revolution than evolution.  It is these stark stylistic and attitudinal differences that hiring companies need to recognise.

So what practical actions can employers take to prepare for this generational transmutation? Here are six ways to engage future leaders:

1. Re-shape your company’s working environment to ensure you provide flexibility, an attractive work/life balance, a fun culture and perks that make you stand out from the crowd. Employee wellbeing is a common expectation among millennials and putting people first will ultimately increase commitment, productivity and innovation.

2. Ensure that career advancement and recognition are not just measured in financial terms. Career progression, personal mentoring, learning and leadership development go a long way in motivating millennials, whose ambitions to advance are not just driven by money and status. Make them feel utilised, valued and part of the company’s future.

3. Articulate a clear set of values, with employees and social responsibility at the forefront. Millennials tend not to be loyal to employers but will gravitate towards companies that share their personal values and have greater purpose beyond the commercial imperatives. They are as concerned with social impact as they are with bottom line impact.

4. Use technology to appeal and to reap value. Millennials are digital natives, so use the latest technology and collaboration platforms to build a collective community and foster team spirit, with communication and idea sharing at the heart.

5. Offer opportunities for mobility and new experiences. Millennials are naturally fast paced and open to change. They are nomadic, relishing exposure to different cultures and geographies. Giving them new and varied roles can help retain their interest on a number of levels without necessarily equating to a promotion.

6. Ensure access to the company’s top leadership. Replace hierarchies with flatter organisational structures that are inclusive and support equality. A strong connection with the board keeps millennials in tune with where the company is heading and shows that their ambitions and contributions are both understood and supported.

It goes without saying that not all millennials are identical. Generalisation is an accepted part of scientific theory and the essential basis of all valid deductive reasoning. There is always a danger that over-generalisation may lead to stereotyping, which can in turn transcend into parody. But there is enough evidence from research – not only by the talent management industry but by leading management consultancies including Deloitte and PwC – to prove that the millennial movement is real. If companies want to stay ahead of the curve, they must unravel the mind-set, understand what makes millennials tick and develop their talent management practices to attract and retain tomorrow’s leaders. 

In-house recruiting is increasingly perceived to be the biggest threat to the executive search industry, aided and abetted by the unstoppable rise in social media and networking platforms. At best, this trend is set to erode margins, at worst it could put some firms out of business altogether. So what does the future hold for executive search?

Aligning talent with strategy

HR has often been accused of lacking strategic input at board level and has sought assistance from leadership advisory partners to counteract that view. Ironically, many Group HR Directors are now bringing the search for talent in house, to the detriment of their confidantes. The executive search industry needs to adapt to these market forces, not fight them. Business is business and, when long standing relationships grind to a halt, we must not take it personally. We have to earn our place at the table and reinvent ourselves to remain compelling.

There is little doubt that the executive search industry has to up its game. The type of firm that is purely reactive in fulfilling client briefs will struggle. The strongest breed of firm will develop a more proactive and holistic leadership advisory service that is anchored to corporate strategy. Talent management cannot be effective when practised in a vacuum, without market context. Clients are now demanding alignment, talent management that mirrors corporate strategy. 

Market intelligence and consultancy

Research led, this heightened level of service will feature forensic market intelligence that will probe the talent agenda of a client’s competition or peer group. It will extend from organisational design and compensation models to pipelining and succession planning, culture and diversity, marketing strategy and brand perception.  Executive search firms will be equipped not only to analyse talent constructs, but to understand how they contribute to business success.

Some leadership advisory firms have already moved away from a transactional approach and are adding value as long-term partners with a broader perspective. The key will be to help clients do what they can’t do themselves, whether through lack of expertise or resource, and to keep developing strategic advisory services that push the envelope. Even clients with relatively sophisticated in-house recruitment functions may only feel comfortable doing executive search up to the point of finalising a candidate long list. Beyond that, many will still appreciate external expertise on a range of issues such as onboarding, benchmarking, coaching, attraction & retention and talent pool development.  

Lateral thinking and acute assessment

To compete with in-house recruitment, executive search firms need to bring a new dimension. On-line tools can only go so far in finding talent, as the best talent is often hidden. Executive search firms will have the upper hand in accessing a client’s direct competitors and a more intuitive approach to searching in less obvious places, digging deep into other sectors - often with parallel functional disciplines - and bringing to the table the best athletes, the rising stars, the unexpected discoveries that can make a radical difference to a client’s company.

Finding top candidates is just the start. Executive search firms will need to be pioneers in assessing constantly evolving executive genres. The current trend is to select on future promise, rather than past performance, which takes a blend of science and art, psychology and psychiatry. The best firms will develop their own proprietary methods, adopting the strengths of respected psychometric tools (such as Hogan and Topgrading) and combining them with feedback from their own client base, cross industry and cross geography.

Digitisation is here to stay

As HR functions become more sophisticated, it is technology that is empowering them to perform search work themselves. The challenge for the executive search industry is to step up the pace and digitise parts of the service offering.  HR functions will want to cherry pick specific services that will complement their in-house capability. External search firms will need to be open minded about how to earn their money. They will need to be transparent and accountable. They will need to offer more for less. Income will keep shifting away from commissions to retainer fees and even subscription fees for knowledge-based services.

Dawn of a new era

So, who will prevail in this brave new world, the large multinational or the boutique firm? The answer lies in the attitude and agility of the firm rather than its size, but smaller firms have the advantage in terms of nimbleness to react to market forces. According to a recent Hunt Scanlon report, ‘it is the boutique firms that are truly redefining a field once dominated by a handful of large, generalist search firms - as a group they are growing at four to five times the rate of the Top 10’. Unencumbered by large physical networks and Chinese walls, boutique firms will continue this inexorable rise and blaze the digital trail.  Companies that have set up in-house talent functions are focused on economy, efficiency and customisable expertise – the boutiques provide all three.

The business world is changing and the business of recruiting leaders must change too.  Boards and HR Directors want committed, collaborative partners who are not shy on innovation. The executive search firms that survive will be those that embrace the digital world, really work for their money, offer added value and deliver competitive advantage. The ones that thrive will be those that serve as a 360 degree talent consultancy, firms that make it their business to be game changers and to keep their clients one step ahead of the curve. 

Many current Chief Human Resource Officers (CHROs) have professional backgrounds outside of HR. A recent study by Aon, which captured insights from 45 CHROs at leading global organizations, revealed that more than half are not career HR professionals. Of these, approximately a third had no background in HR prior to assuming their current CHRO position.

In particular, a movement has been afoot to absorb HR into the finance function. CFOs and CHROs are responsible for financial capital and human capital respectively, and are expected to present a common agenda. Writing for CFO magazine, David McCann has asserted that “Finance should run HR” and suggested that “HR is not strategically minded or in some cases even business-oriented.”

Ram Charan, a leading organizational consultant writing in The Harvard Business Review, suggested that the CHRO position should be eliminated, that compensation and benefits should report to the CFO, and that activities aimed at improving an organization’s people capabilities should work under the CEO and be led by “high potentials from finance or operations with strong people skills.”

This trend of finance or other functions controlling the CHRO position began during and in the immediate aftermath of the Great Recession. The question now is, will it continue?

That’s unlikely – at least according to some next-generation executive search experts. From their perspective, the pendulum already is beginning a swing back toward career human resources professionals dominating the CHRO ranks of the near future.

“There are exceptional CHROs now with communications, accounting and finance backgrounds – but this won’t become the norm,” explains Mark Oppenheimer, Group Chief Commercial and Innovation Officer at Marlin Hawk, an executive search firm with offices in Europe, North America and Asia. “More than ever, managing talent means understanding multiple social and cultural factors, while also ensuring that employees are aligned with an organization’s business goals. The depth and breadth of ability required to achieve this on a consistent basis simply won’t belong to someone who has not spent years honing their skills in various human resources positions.”

Certainly, sideways functional moves are common, even favored, within some companies related to senior executive development. But, no two roles are exactly alike, and developing an understanding of the supply chain or grasping the nuances of customer interaction are quite different from assuming responsibility for management of human capital and all related planning.

To succeed early in their careers, finance and accounting executives must be naturally analytical and cultivate an unwavering return-on-investment focus as they develop strategy. But human resources requires a different set of skills, with an emphasis on empathy and the capacity to strategically maximize each employee’s talent, whatever their role in the workforce. While a dose of science is necessary, there’s also psychology, creativity, and even – at least among the profession’s elite -- some intuition. Along with natural inclination, these abilities cannot be developed to an expert level except through years of experience within the human resources sector.  

“While a move between functions may be appropriate for the Chief Operating Officer or Chief Marketing Officer, it isn’t something I’d advise for the CHRO,” says Marlin Hawk’s Oppenheimer. “It’s just not a natural path, and it isn’t in the best interests of the organization or the individual professional. HR leaders coming up through the ranks these days are more commercially minded, not just tuned into talent management but business strategy too.”

Leadership advisory firm Marlin Hawk has appointed Chris Crowe as senior consultant in its San Francisco office. Crowe will provide talent management and executive search services to West Coast tech clients and, as a strategic partner to the firm’s New York operation, will use his cross-industry and cross-functional experience to support clients in other sectors.

“Chris shares our energy, commitment and ambition to excel on behalf of clients. He has a strong track record delivering critical, senior level mandates and is set to make a valuable addition to our talented and expanding US team,” said Mark Oppenheimer, group chief commercial & innovation officer at Marlin Hawk. “We are delighted he is joining us and look forward to working alongside him.”

Crowe has 15 years’ experience in the retained executive search business. His previous role was associate partner at Bialla Associates, handling C-level roles in technology, consumer electronics and consumer products. Prior to that he was an independent consultant and a senior associate at Korn Ferry, where he focused on investment banking, asset management, capital markets, risk management and insurance. Earlier in his career he worked for boutique search firms involved in financial services, commerce and industry. 

Crowe holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Yale University in political science with a focus on international relations. Originally from Liverpool, NY, he currently resides in Mill Valley, CA. 

“Marlin Hawk has an impressive Fortune 500 client base and is making waves in the industry with its unique blend of executive search and leadership consultancy services,” Crowe said. “It’s an exciting time to join the team and to contribute to its next phase of growth.”  

Today, Marlin Hawk announced it has made it on to The Leap 100 2016 – a list of the 100 most exciting, fast-growth companies in the UK, launched by Mishcon de Reya and City AM. All the companies selected have demonstrated substantial growth over the past 12 months and been identified as the ‘ones to watch’ for 2016.

Marlin Hawk made this year’s list after a record year in 2015. The company - a leadership advisory, executive search and interim management firm that delivers the next generation of business leaders - grew its business across financial services, consumer products & services and technology. 

Jonathan Hime, Group Managing Partner at Marlin Hawk, said: “Our success is down to a close-knit and immensely talented team who think outside the box and always go the extra mile for clients.  2015 was a milestone year in which we achieved stretch targets in the UK and USA and set up in Asia.”

The Leap 100 companies, which range in terms of scale and sector, were chosen because of their growth potential and ability to make the leap to the next level in terms of revenue. Click here for the full list.

The most important publication targeting the London business community, City AM, and one of London's leading law firms, Mishcon de Reya, teamed up with The Supper Club, The Entrepreneurs Network and Seven Hills to compile the list, which is neither ranked nor exhaustive.

Nick Davis, Head of Corporate at Mishcon de Reya, said: "This stage of a company's growth can be very dramatic, with risks of serious setbacks and sudden lows, but with high rewards for those who make it to the other side. The Leap 100 campaign examines and celebrates the hurdles and opportunities that fast growing companies face. We launched The Leap 100 in 2015 to support a select group of some of the UK's most exciting, high growth companies. This year's list is yet again a dynamic group of companies to watch."

Christian May, Editor of City AM, said of the list: “The UK has a thriving SME community making up 99.9% of the private sector. However, for the majority of companies, the key problem continues to focus on how companies scale in order to grow to their full potential. The purpose of this list is to showcase the UK companies succeeding in doing this, as well as identifying those that we as a nation need to be aware of – they are a triumph.”

Leadership advisory firm Marlin Hawk has backed Ready for Work, a programme run by Business in the Community (BITC) that helps disadvantaged people find work through coaching, work placements, support networks and work clubs, all of which are underpinned by the support of business volunteers.

BITC is one of The Prince's Charities, a group of not-for-profit organisations of which The Prince of Wales is President. It is a business-led charity with more than 30 years' experience of mobilising businesses to work together in making a fairer society. Since its inception in 2001, Ready for Work has supported 9,000 people, of which 3,700 have successfully gained employment.

Several members of Marlin Hawk’s staff will be volunteering as Career Coaches in the City of London. A Career Coach provides one-to-one support, advice and motivation to help participants find a route into employment and a lasting path out of social exclusion. Participants may be homeless, care leavers, have unspent convictions and/or lack qualifications. The role of the Career Coach is to help them apply for jobs, prepare for interviews and to build their confidence and resilience. Each Career Coach will obtain an ILM Level 3 qualification in Coaching and Mentoring to aid their personal and professional development.

BITC’s research shows that Ready for Work provides £3.12 in benefit to society for every £1 invested. By helping people to improve their lives through employment, savings are created for the taxpayer through reduced costs of homelessness, crime, benefits and healthcare. This amounts to over £3.2m of benefit over 5 years for every one year's investment in the programme.

Jonathan Hime, Group Managing Partner at Marlin Hawk, said: “Charitable giving and community involvement are a very important part of working life at Marlin Hawk. We are passionate about nurturing talent and are proud to support BITC’s Ready for Work programme by helping disadvantaged people make a life-changing transition into sustained employment.”   

Lauren O'Leary, Head of Employee Volunteering and Employability at BITC, said: “Thanks to support from the staff of firms like Marlin Hawk, we’ve seen more than 40% of participants on our programme secure employment over the last 5 years.  We are delighted that Marlin Hawk are helping us create a fairer society and would encourage others to follow their lead.”

The UK’s FTSE 100 is the pinnacle of innovation, best practice and corporate governance. We celebrate the fact that, within its 20 largest companies, 55% of chairmen, 70% of chief executives and 55% of directors are not British born. Yet we also bemoan the fact that these companies fail to outperform overseas rivals built on home-grown talent. There seems to be a misconception that internationalism and diversity are one and the same thing. It is of course diversity that can improve company performance, but the term ‘diversity’ is itself becoming a misnomer.

Diversity must have purpose

Diversity is not exclusively about race. Middle aged, Caucasian, university-educated males are much of a muchness, whether they hail from the UK, USA, Germany or even Singapore. So, a board with an international dimension does not necessarily reflect the diversity of the societies it serves. An increase in female representation is not the sole answer either – the women need to reflect the real world too. Just as we can overestimate the importance of race and gender, we should not get hung up on age, ethnicity, sexuality and disability. Yes, these are pertinent to the diversity debate, but tend to be about diversity for its own sake.

Time for a new word

The problem is that the word ‘diversity’ has become the property of the politically correct. There is a risk that diversity will be seen by business as a diversion. To ensure that we never overlook the commercial agenda, we should find a substitute, an alternative word that contains an inherent business benefit. ‘Eclecticism’ would do the trick: ‘a conceptual approach that does not hold rigidly to a single paradigm or set of assumptions, but instead draws upon multiple theories, styles, or ideas to gain complementary insights into a subject, or applies different theories in particular cases.’ It is a diverse spread of talent that brings eclecticism to the boardroom table. 

Take our cue from nature

Understanding the benefit of diversity is hardly grappling with rocket science. It is about matching a variety of skills, mind-sets and life experiences to a company’s customers, suppliers, employees and shareholders and reaping value from those symbiotic connections. The corporate world need look no further than the natural world for guidance. Biodiversity is positively correlated with the ecosystem by a mechanism known as ‘functional complementarity’, which states that the more species there are, the more niches are occupied, and the more productive the ecosystem is.

Variety underpins innovation

It is clear that a multi-faceted, cross-disciplinary board will be more effective in appealing to a range of different stakeholder groups. It will also drive innovation. Boards with similar members are less likely to think outside the box, more likely to accept the status quo and therefore more liable to stagnate. A degree of disagreement is healthy for debate. Challenging accepted norms leads to reinvention, new ways of doing things that keep a company relevant. 

Just as in-breeding leads to genetic weakness in humans, companies are weakened when they limit their sphere of knowledge and inspiration to their own kind. Diversity can be in the shape of someone with a mobile telecoms sectoral background joining the board of a retail bank, or someone with a marketing or HR functional background joining a board traditionally made up of financiers and accountants. These wild cards often challenge the groupthink consensus of lookalike boards and make them sharper, more exploratory and better decision makers.

Quotas miss the point

It’s high time we moved on from the current obsession with fulfilling diversity quotas. Quotas focus on stereotypical diversity, which does not enhance business success. Companies need to take a cold, hard look at diversity through a business lens and re-evaluate its benefit. There is no point parading the ‘ideal’ board composition as a shining example of best practice if it does not match the market, if there is no authentic process for exchanging diverse viewpoints or if the mix is not reflected further down the organisation. Quotas can force companies to make bad decisions on board composition.

The business community needs to ignore the politicians, ditch the diversity rhetoric and embrace eclecticism. It is not internationalism or gender quotas that can bring success to the FTSE 100. The solution is simple: genuine variety in terms of top leadership and management at all levels. And the secret of variety, like the secret of all spices, is knowing when to use it. 

Many people would agree that quantifying the worth of human capital would be advantageous to a company because, putting aside the administrative burden, it would permit them to shift the focus away from tangible assets to the real core of value creation.

Human capital reporting would also provide analysts, institutional investors, and private shareholders with a variable that would permit comparison and differentiation within a particular sector, thereby aiding investment decisions.

But how can the value of human capital actually be assessed, quantified and put into accounting speak? What common yardstick can we find that would reflect real value and be applicable to all companies?

Read the full story in CFO magazine: 

http://ww2.cfo.com/disclosure/2016/03/risks-rewards-fallacies-human-capital-reporting/

Talent management continues to be a key priority for UK company executives, yet only 40 per cent make the connection between investing in talent management and its business impact.

This report in The Times newspaper focuses on the new millennial generation rising to crucial management positions, how to engage and retain top staff, the alignment of talent with business goals and the importance of learning & development.

In ‘March of the millennials seems unstoppable’ on page 4, Jonathan Hime, Group Managing Partner at Marlin Hawk, comments on the new generation that has its sights on top corporate jobs.

Please click here to access the report: ttp://bit.ly/1U0iXRf

Nobody seems able to predict the exact commercial consequences of leaving the EU. The pro-European ‘scaremongers’ claim that renegotiating trade terms with individual EU countries will be a minefield, take forever and that UK business will suffer. A recent ICSA/FT poll of FTSE 350 companies revealed that 70% of them expected at least some damage to their business if the UK were to leave the EU. This sentiment may have been fuelled by Stuart Rose’s ‘Britain Stronger in Europe’ campaign and the CBI’s pro-EU stance. Another poll this week showed that 60% of IoD and EEF members were in favour of staying in the EU and concerned about the fallout if the UK leaves. Now that Boris Johnson has swung the pendulum towards the leave campaign, the climate of uncertainty for British business has reached fever pitch. 

The only thing we can be sure of is confusion and instability. In that context, businesses are likely to delay decisions on permanent hires and take a shorter term ‘wait and see’ approach.  That makes Interim Management an attractive option, as experienced professionals can come on board and keep critical initiatives going, but can be shed without financial consequence. The fact that an accomplished interim is great value compared to a similarly or less experienced management consultant, and that most interims are flexible and open to rolling contracts, means that demand for interims is likely to increase in the run-up to June 23 and, if the UK decides to exit the EU, well beyond. As well as offering a variable overhead, interims offer the compelling benefit of being adept at navigating change and are an asset to any organisation undergoing transformation or adaptation to a new set of rules and processes. 

The heat is now turning up on executive search firms because so many clients are building in-house talent management functions. The executive search industry needs to finds new ways to sharpen up, stay relevant and add value because one thing is clear: the trend toward in-house recruiting will keep gathering pace before reaching a plateau, where it is likely to remain. That plateau won’t be wide enough to prevent some executive search firms from falling off into the abyss – only the fittest will survive.

What executive search partners need to do is to mirror their client’s sophisticated HR and talent construct and ensure that talent management integrates with business strategy. Search firms need to become a 360 degree talent consultancy arm that deliver progressive advisory services and actionable intelligence.

Read the full story here: http://bit.ly/21b0pyj

The top end of the interim market now attracts senior corporate talent, accomplished executives who choose to pursue interim careers to demonstrate their strategic and turnaround prowess. While candidates can build valuable reputations as game changers, the availability of such high calibre talent on a short-term basis means that clients do not have to compromise on quality.

As a result, more and more employers are taking advantage of interim talent to insure against a number of business risks including: time lost recruiting permanent hires; setbacks in operational improvement programmes; slow reaction to competitor activities; damaging gaps in knowledge; and crippling management consultancy fees.

One advocate is Paul Awcock, Head of Talent Sourcing at Lloyd’s of London, the world renowned insurance market that tackles all manner of risk from space travel to cyber terrorism: “The regulatory environment is in constant flux and we frequently launch new initiatives to respond to change, develop the tools the market needs and hone our service offering. Interim consulting forms a vital part of our talent strategy and has directly contributed to the success of several critical programmes.”

Interview with Helen Crooks, Interim Consultant at Lloyd’s of London

Lloyd’s of London comprises the Lloyd’s market, where members join together as syndicates to insure risk, and the Corporation of Lloyd’s, which oversees and supports the Lloyd’s market. Marlin Hawk placed Helen Crooks as Chief Data Officer on a one year contract starting in July 2015.

Q. How did this role come about and what attracted you?

A. This challenging role came at a time when data management had become more critical than ever at Lloyd’s. Their Chief Operating Officer needed someone quickly, a senior person with the requisite experience and expertise.  It was not a straightforward operational role – it demanded strategic input and that is what attracted me. Data strategy is what I am all about. I like to pick up an important problem and sort it out.   

Q. Does your interim role insure against any business risk?

A. Lloyd’s has always had an eye on the future and has embarked upon a phase of modernisation and innovation to streamline its operational process and make it more cost-effective. This transformation agenda cannot be put on hold.

Data is at the forefront of understanding market activity and, with insurance information going back 300 years, there was a risk that Lloyd’s valuable data asset would not be leveraged to best effect.  Getting the right data to the right people at the right time is fundamental to Lloyd’s vision for the future. Rigorous data practice also underpins the forthcoming Lloyd’s Index, which will require standards that exceed the stipulations of the Solvency II EU Directive.

Q. What has been your chief focus to date?

A. My main aim has been to understand Lloyd’s 2025 strategic vision and to translate that into a data perspective, defining best practice in data management, data use and data exploitation.  Alongside that, I have spent time building the right organisation and providing direction such that everyone feels part of a team that makes a real difference.  As a leader it’s important to be an integral part of the organisation. You get the best outcome when you focus on partnerships, shared ownership and collective goals.

Q. What will your legacy be at the end of the interim period?

A. The data strategy will be articulated within the context of Lloyd’s broader strategic intent. Crucially, it will be supported by key stakeholders within the corporation.  I will scope the remit of the Chief Data Officer and establish a fit-for-purpose team to carry out implementation. There will also be a number of tangible deliverables, including the Lloyd’s Index.

Q. What characteristics does an interim consultant need to succeed?

A. It’s imperative to be strong minded as to where you can bring value and to possess the tenacity to get on with things. You have to adapt quickly to new environments and different cultures, and you must be personable, engaging with those around you and gaining trust. Commitment alone is not enough, you have to immerse yourself in the organisation.

The single most important characteristic is open-mindedness as you may need to pick things up that are beyond your terms of reference.  That’s part of the appeal. You may be asked to extend the contract or even to convert to a permanent role. Nobody can force you, but what drives me is doing my upmost for the client – as a professional I don’t want to walk away until the client is satisfied that the problem has been resolved properly. 

Integrate interims into the organisation

Allow interims to get close to key stakeholders and establish mutual understanding. Shared ownership and goals will help them garner vital support and can make the difference between adoption or rejection of strategic change. Interims need to work hard at building bridges but it is also incumbent upon the HR function to have an onboarding plan in place and create a climate in which interims can achieve success. Due diligence is the mother of good luck.

Focus on delivery of tangible change

Ensure that interims document and measure their output. As well as setting strategic direction, they should put an implementation plan or roadmap in place that can be actioned by others during and after their departure. Make sure that all key stakeholders are aligned, have bought into the plan, understand its impact and have a vested interest in its execution. The quality of expectation determines the quality of action.

Remember that interims are flexible

Interims are required to be impartial advisors. They are driven and resolute in getting the job done. While you do not want to hinder their progress, be mindful that they are also open minded and adaptable.  If the company is undergoing restructuring or organisational change, your brief may be subject to modification. Interims are willing to adjust goalposts, recalibrate plans and extend the duration of contracts to get you the best result.

Encourage mentoring

Experienced interims bring immense value, so capture as much of that value as you can. Empower them to be mentors, sowing seed on fertile ground by upskilling and developing the team around them. Ask them to scope out the role and required skillset of their successor. Even better, enlist their help in recruiting and coaching the successor to harvest the crop that has been planted. That way you will continue to reap value from an interim long after their assignment has completed.

Take a long term view

An interim’s tenure will span a defined period, but set the horizon further. Arrange for them to come back for a series of progress meetings after their departure. This could be done as part of a steering group. For them, it shows commitment, belief and accountability, all of which add to their reputation as an interim. For you, it keeps their legacy alive and kicking and increases the chance of your investment paying dividend.   

The pace of modernisation has never been greater in the banking sector. Retail banks are gearing up to compete with challenger banks unburdened by physical branch networks.  The entire financial services sector is shifting focus from product to customer. Every competitor is busy assessing innovative solutions - from contactless transactions to mobile apps - to enhance the customer experience and reinforce brand loyalty. Equally important are the disruptive technologies that accelerate understanding of customer behaviour through data acquisition and analysis.  

Technology now pumps through the heart of every function in every bank.  The race for supremacy - and sometimes survival - is as much about talent as technology. The key skills in demand for 2016 fall into seven categories of technological athleticism:

 Big data

• The rise of the Chief Data and Chief Analytics Officer continues across the Financial Services sector.

• Every segment has shown a spike in demand for strong leadership across Data Science, Big Data Technology & Data Architecture.

• This has caused a huge drag of West Coast & non-Financial Services leadership into the Banking & Insurance sector.

Digital

• More banking organizations are looking to enhance, and potentially separate, the digital portion of their banking technology and business lines into a ‘Digital Bank’, giving rise to a new breed of Chief Digital Officer with ownership of technology, product, marketing and revenue generation.

• General Managers with a technology backbone are in high demand in many of the global banks.

Cloud

• There has been a substantial spike in demand for strong Infrastructure leadership with experience in Cloud Computing.

• This has caused an influx of West Coast & high-tech technology leaders into the banking sector, especially in Architecture and Infrastructure Engineering.

 Architecture

• Architectural leaders are in very high demand, especially with experience across Data, Infrastructure, DevOps and Application Architecture.

• Moreover, those with delivery and execution experience come with a significant premium, given the dearth of talent in this space across Financial Services.

 Emerging payments & digital FS

• Every banking group has either re-organized payments, or run an executive search for a new business leader for the function.

• Executives that can bridge the gap between old and new (cards & digital payments) are seeing a 20-30 % premium over last year.

• Digital lending will also have a distinct effect on the market in 2016.

 Customer experience

• Banks are unanimously looking for leaders to own and transform the customer journey across the bank by using digital transformation.

• As a result, executives with the blend of customer journey mapping, rapid digital servicing, and digital technology experience are in high demand.

The rise of the hedge fund CIO /COO

• In the past 12 months there has been an institutionalization of the middle and back office within the alternatives space, particularly within hedge funds and trading shops (Mercuria).

• Among larger funds the focus was initially on technology (with the creation of the CIO position at AQR, Och-Ziff, Angelo Gordon, Davidson Kempner). However, this is now incorporating operations as well (with COO appointments at Bridgewater, Millenium & Och-Ziff).

As banks jostle to stay on track, experienced executives with the skillsets to master and implement emergent technologies can take their pick as demand outsrips supply. But not every IT and Ops exec will benefit from this surge in demand. With technology moving so fast, there will be losers as well as winners, primarily those left behind in traditional roles. For talented executives who can help banks overcome technology hurdles and edge ahead of the pack, compensation records are set to be broken in 2016.

“Not again!  Our Chief Product Officer has just been offered a mega salary to join a well-funded start-up.  How can we possibly compete?  In every geography, and at every level in our business, our best product people are being poached.”

Over years of helping clients across Europe and the US I have heard similar stories from clients losing critical product talent and have witnessed some impressive counter offers, the majority of which were unsuccessful.

The problem is not a lack of available talent. Nor is it chiefly about the money.  What it usually boils down to is clients hiring product people in an environment where the Product Management function is neither understood nor set up for success.

To get the best out of product talent you have to ask yourself ‘How can the talent get the best out of the company?’ In the end, you can’t have one without the other.

The nub of the problem lies in power, ownership and influence.  The Chief Product Officer often reports to the CMO or CTO and is one step removed from the decision-making top table. The four P’s of the marketing mix may now be outmoded, but it is no coincidence that ‘Product’ has always been the first P. In most companies it still rules, yet some lose sight of that.

If product is king, it must be treated accordingly. Product Management drives a company’s long term growth and profitability: it stands to reason that the Chief Product Officer should be involved in first-hand decision making and the entire product team should be recognised, motivated, accountable and rewarded on measured success.

Here are my top tips for getting the best out of your product talent:

1. Create a centralised Product Management function as the powerhouse of your organisation.

2. Appoint a product leader to the executive team – or at least an active executive sponsor for your Product Management community – to promote product-led decision making.

3. Understand what makes top product talent tick – not just money but the chance to influence, learn and achieve. 

4. Encourage a rapid ‘test-and-learn’ approach to product releases, putting the customer experience first and focusing on solutions to pain points.

5. Forge an identity as a company where top-calibre product people can build and own significant new products within a flat organisational structure.

6. Partner with a leadership advisory firm that can offer strategic advice, from organisational design and market intelligence to executive search, market mapping and on-boarding.

Leadership advisory firm Marlin Hawk has promoted Lisa Peacock-Edwards to the position of partner, responsible for client delivery across the firm’s financial services and commerce & industry practices in The Americas.  Peacock-Edwards joined the firm’s New York office as associate partner in 2014, having formerly headed the commerce & industry practice in the UK.

Peacock-Edwards works with customer-centric Fortune 50 businesses across a range of sectors including retail, FMCG, TMT, financial services and consumer products & services. Her expertise covers most C-suite functions, including general management, marketing, commercial, strategy, HR, insights & data, finance, digital & e-commerce, supply chain & logistics, technology, legal, operations and shared services.

She specialises in search for business transformation and turnaround scenarios and delivers a 'best athlete' candidate approach, looking beyond the usual suspects to identify and secure the strongest potential talent. In addition to executive search, she provides strategic talent advisory services, specifically market intelligence, benchmarking, organisational design, mapping and pipelining.

“Lisa sets the bar high in terms of her leadership, standards and client commitment”, said Mark Oppenheimer, Managing Partner for The Americas at Marlin Hawk. “The explosive growth of our US business over the past two years would not have been possible without her first class delivery and this promotion recognises that outstanding contribution.”

Peacock-Edwards has an international executive search background spanning Europe, Asia, the Middle East and Africa as well as The Americas. In her early career she worked for marketing & advertising agencies on global brands such as Microsoft, General Motors, Kimberly Clark and Virgin. She has a degree in Psychology from the University of Edinburgh in the UK.

Marlin Hawk is a global boutique advisory firm focused on the next generation of leaders. The firm has offices in London, New York, San Francisco, Hong Kong and Singapore. 

Leadership advisory firm Marlin Hawk this week hosted a seminar for CEOs, with guest speaker Lord Allen of Kensington sharing his views on the modern role of a non-executive chairman.  Delegates represented several industry sectors including retail, FMCG, media and telecoms.

In his address, titled ‘The Chair - CEO mentor or tormentor’, Lord Allen discussed how a non-executive chairman can make a real difference in today’s corporate environment. The emphasis was on leveraging knowledge and experience to ‘conduct the orchestra’, driving a healthy debate and co-creating ideas in a mutually respectful, consensual team.

Lord Allen said: “As Chair my job is to offer cheer and challenge in equal measure. I coach and motivate CEOs, as well as providing an objective counterview.  I do occasionally have to keep them focused when it comes to matters of governance, but the underlying intention is to bring clarity of purpose and wise counsel.” 

Lord Allen’s distinguished career included CEO and executive chairmanship positions at Granada, Compass, EMI Music and ITV. He has held non-executive directorships at Virgin Media and Tesco. He currently serves as chairman on a number of boards, including Global Radio Group, ISS AS, 2 Sisters Food Group and is advisory chair of investment bank Moelis.

Julian Wolfinden, Associate Partner at Marlin Hawk, said: “As well as prompting lively debate, Lord Allen shed light on how a chairman can get the best out of the CEO. The CEO does not need to have all the answers. Without treading on toes, the chairman can help lay down stepping stones and, through mentoring and trust, guide CEOs on their journey.”

Post 2008, financial institutions continue to be faced with more regulation than ever before.  The Compliance function has had to raise its game, with growing departments and, for many firms, direct reporting to the CEO or CRO.   The second line of defence has got closer to the front line.  A great deal is riding on it and yet, when it comes to hiring a new Chief Compliance Officer (CCO) and their senior team, the carousel mentality remains, with the same people doing the rounds.  This conventional mindset underestimates the challenges facing modern day Compliance departments.

Compliance is in the spotlight

Boards are being charged with delivering a top-down approach to changing corporate culture, embedding more risk awareness and a strong sense of ’doing the right thing’.  The reliance on (already stretched) Compliance departments has intensified as they are tasked with helping the board drive cultural change.  

Many Compliance departments have at least tripled in size since 2008, as they strive to help business units and functions navigate the complexity of the new regulatory agenda.  However, the leadership team has not necessarily adapted to the changing demands placed upon it. 

The required competencies of a CCO have shifted

With larger teams and rising costs, off-shoring, outsourcing and technology are all tools the modern CCO has to deploy to ensure their department keeps pace, yet many Compliance leaders have had limited experience in these areas.  CCOs are now required to protect and influence the bank’s culture and brand and as a consequence many have assumed a more influential and visible role, requiring a detailed understanding of the business strategy. 

Until recently, investment in securing the best talent in the Compliance function has lagged behind other financial services infrastructure functions, which have had to become more integral to the business.  The CIO is a good example; once a pure technologist and now enmeshed in a raft of operations that underpin an entire company, from the customer interface to the supply chain.

Strategic insight is a prerequisite

The new style of leader in Compliance needs to be cut from different cloth, totally immersed in the business and more connected to internal and external stakeholders. With a strategic insight into the way the business works, the CCO must not restrict or block trade, but recognise the opportunities and threats to competing effectively and fairly whilst enabling growth.  Compliance needs to go beyond ensuring that robust processes are in place to comply with existing regulation; it should be akin to a business development or strategy function, not just reactive but looking ahead, predicting change, being prepared and retaining competitive advantage.

Take off the blinkers

Finding the ideal leaders for Compliance requires peripheral vision, looking outside the confines of the Compliance department. They could be working in the front, middle or back office, in functions such as trading, finance or operations.  They could be gaining valuable experience within risk management or internal audit.  This non-conformist approach can extend beyond the CCO role holder to the structure of the function: by exploring the DNA of the compliance management team, a variety of complementary skills can be brought to the table by other members of the department.

A broader skillset

So what defines the ideal leader in Compliance?

A CCO who is one dimensional and does not have the skills to use compliance as a strategic driver of performance will not add value to the business.  The new style CCO’s skillset needs to have breadth and depth.  As well as understanding and interpreting policy and the regulatory landscape, requisite skills must include cost management for a larger department, procurement, outsourcing relationship management, digital know-how and, above all,  commercial awareness.  An innate understanding of the impact of regulation on the customer offering and associated business processes is imperative.  With typical investment banks’ Compliance departments comprising >200 staff across diverse locations, people management is also an essential skill.

Demand for CCOs and their senior teams has already outstripped supply.  As well as competing with each other and other financial institutions, banks are competing with regulators and consultancies for the best candidates.  It’s time for the financial sector to be more pro-active, to halt the CCO merry-go-round and put their bet on a different horse, not a one-trick pony.  Fail to beef up the quality and relevance of their Compliance function’s leadership team and companies risk being dragged back by regulation and losing their competitive edge.  What goes around, comes around.  

There is no shortage of participants in the global executive search industry. Clients can choose from a variety of firms big or small, generalist or specialist. The large firms keep getting bigger, establishing offices in every corner of the world. On the surface, some clients may be reassured by their expansive physical networks, but what does that make them other than…big?  Industry data shows that boutiques are growing revenues at four to five times the rate of their larger rivals, suggesting that clients are increasingly drawn to the advantages of being small.

Boutiques enhance client service

Smaller firms can often establish closer and more committed relationships with clients. This allows them to spend more time getting to know the client’s company, its culture, the challenges it faces and the market it operates in. As a result, the smaller search firm is better equipped to represent their client’s brand and to find the best of the best candidates.

Unencumbered by a disparate, franchised network, boutique search firms can respond more rapidly. Many clients prefer to have just one or two senior points of contact as their global interface, people who are directly responsible for fulfilling a brief and providing first hand updates. This keener level of service engenders real accountability, deeper partnerships and higher quality end results.

Collaborative structures promote cross-fertilisation

When hiring C-suite candidates today, clients increasingly look beyond their own market sectors for parallel experience and game changing skills. Partners in smaller firms typically serve a number of different industries and functions and are well placed to identify those candidates best suited to making the switch. There are no Chinese walls to hamper collaboration.

The boutique firms tend to invest in one-on-one relationships with candidates - cross industry, cross function and cross geography – and devote time talking to candidates outside the parameters of a fixed assignment. The smaller structure removes the restriction of separate teams and profit streams, facilitating sideways career moves. So a modern Chief Marketing Officer who has everything it takes to be a brilliant Chief Operating Officer can unlock their ambition, while an accomplished Chief Operating Officer can find an amazing private equity adventure as a CEO.

Within boutiques, practice leaders tend to have a broad remit and a collegial approach, a healthy breeding ground for out-of-the box thinking. If clients want game-changing talent, they need to partner with a game-changing search firm.  Clients gravitate towards firms with a different mindset that are structured to challenge the accepted, traditional norms and to deliver those special people who can make a real difference to their company. Candidates also gravitate towards firms that do not subscribe to the ‘round peg, round hole’ approach.

Small means accessible

Externally, boutiques tend to be more proactive in keeping in touch with people, no matter which hat they are wearing – client, networking contact or candidate. Candidates want a strategic career advisor, a confidante who is accessible and who cares. All search firms try to do this, but the smaller ones are better shaped to carry intention through to reality. Every candidate wants to be treated as a person, not a number.

Internally, boutiques are small enough to know every colleague across the office network and to work in-sync across different time zones, but large enough to have the delivery engine horsepower to drive the research, identification and onboarding of the highest flying executives.

A question of balance

Clients often agonise over whether they expect a search firm to know the market so well that the shortlist ‘writes itself’ or to be so pure that every mandate demands a fresh start. As is often the case, a halfway house is the optimum – the global boutique maintains a strong network of the leaders of tomorrow, while holding thorough research at the core. Furthermore, the boutique tends to have fewer restrictions to their hunting grounds and fewer off-limits constraints than their larger counterparts. Nor does the boutique hold their clients to minimum spend ransoms to guarantee non-solicitation. 

In executive search, size does matter. By removing the layers of a larger business you can create a highly tuned, innovative search firm that serves client and candidate needs more effectively. Small and perfectly formed can be better.

New trends are constantly emerging in the C-suite. One moment it is the drive for gender diversity at board level, the next a coup d’état by the so called Millennial generation. The latest trend is an increasing appetite for British companies to hire US West Coast talent. Some of the leading lights behind Silicon Valley’s success stories are attracted to Europe, curious to experience corporate life and eager to engineer radical change in a different sector. But a high proportion of new arrivals from the Golden State quickly lose their shine when immersed in UK plc.

Getting over ‘stock shock’

The failure rate of these Californian converts is disturbingly high, possibly as high as a third, and there are some harsh lessons to be learned. The first is the cost of hiring: most of Silicon Valley’s tech titans tie in their key staff with eye watering stock buy-out clauses, escalating the total cost of hire. Once the hiring company has bitten the bullet, the bar is raised even higher in terms of expectation. The arriving prodigy is regarded more as a messiah than a change agent.

Securing the target candidate is only half the battle

There is no doubting the talent of these West Coast wizards, but success in a West Coast tech business does not simply translate into corporate success on the other side of the pond. The new hire will be used to an unstructured culture with plenty of freedom, where trial and error is accepted as a way of life, often with large experimental budgets.  The recipe for success is the individual’s outstanding ability, coupled with the tech start-up mentality and the support of like-minded colleagues. When transplanted into a totally different environment, there is a risk of tissue rejection.

Disruption can be good or bad

Many corporates are grappling with ‘big data’ issues and need transformation to keep up with or stay one step ahead of the competition. They want to invoke the power of positive disruption. But it is wishful thinking to expect these maverick newcomers to slot neatly into a different culture and play the role of pied piper, with existing management blindly following their lead.  Unfortunately, many hiring companies fail to do their due diligence. They invest heavily in acquiring West Coast talent, but do not cultivate the right environment to enable success. Upsetting the status quo without being ready for the consequences inevitably results in negative disruption.  

Real ROI demands preparation

UK corporates hiring West Coast talent should be careful what they wish for. An expensive derailment is not worth it just for a PR ploy. If they genuinely want a strategic shift, then they need to build the foundations and prepare the board and wider enterprise for what is coming in terms of cost, pace and scale of change. West Coast talent does not do incremental change and it takes proper planning to ensure that the rest of the business is in tune with wholesale reinvention.

Operational cost also demands forethought

The new arrival will no doubt ruffle feathers, resulting in loss of staff and further substantial hiring fees. West Coast hires think big and tend to have a ‘build instead of buy’ approach, resulting in a costly army of in-house developers. Part of the battle plan is managing internal expectations on resource management, ROI timeframes and total cost of ownership. 

Mentoring can make all the difference

Since many West Coast tech-cos have cemented their no. 1 players with binding stock options, UK corporates often go for the no.2. That means that, in addition to being in a foreign environment, they may not possess the level of leadership and general management skills required for their new role.  HR functions need to play their part in supporting the new arrival and championing their cause. The right mentor can aid the assimilation process, removing obstacles and influencing people to put their weight behind, rather than against, the West Coast intruder.

UK plc hiring West Coast talent is not a mistake. On the contrary, it can help bring in the sweeping change necessary to stay relevant in digital business. The key point is that a high IQ in itself is not enough. Corporates need to put the right framework in place - possibly with the help of an external advisory partner - if they are to avoid the pitfalls. If they fail to do so, the expected sprinkling of West Coast stardust can turn into an unwelcome burst of pepper spray.

Leadership advisory firm Marlin Hawk has appointed Patrick Pearson as Group Marketing & Communications Director. His remit will include brand development, digital channel marketing, stakeholder communications and corporate responsibility.

Patrick has over 20 years’ experience in marketing and communications, advising boards and senior management across a number of B2B firms. His experience spans service and manufacturing industries, from FTSE 100 multinationals to small agencies. He joined Marlin Hawk as an interim in December 2014, prior to which he held C-level roles in corporate communications and marketing at Stemcor Holdings Ltd and The BOC Group plc.

Patrick said: “Marlin Hawk is a challenger brand, offering forward-thinking companies a new way to find talented executives and to manage their most valuable resource.  It is stimulating to work within such a client-focused culture where everyone pushes the boundaries to deliver more and achieve outstanding results.”

Commenting on the appointment Jonathan Hime, Chief Client Officer at Marlin Hawk, said: “Over the past nine months Patrick has added value on a number of levels. By welcoming him onto our management team on a permanent basis, he will continue to enhance the customer experience, unify our international expertise and reinvigorate our creativity. We now have the full complement of skills to embark upon Marlin Hawk’s next phase of ambitious growth.” 

The trend towards Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO) grew during the recession and, with its emphasis on cost reduction, has continued to gather pace. While it is well suited to contract recruitment, some RPO service providers (RPOs) are applying the same model to all roles. The danger is that they will suffocate their clients’ ability to access top interim talent.

Contractors and interims are both vital resources but are radically different. While contractors provide delivery-focused skills and services, interims provide strategic managerial expertise. To prevent cost from compromising quality, RPOs need to adapt their approach. Otherwise they risk commoditising pivotal interim roles and failing to land the right calibre of candidate.

Jonathan Hime, Chief Client Officer at Marlin Hawk, said: “Interim managers are experienced executives with a track record of achievement. They are hired to solve problems, run transformation programmes or assist in organisational development and growth. But the best interims are not available on tap. Finding them requires the same approach as executive search."

Some RPOs acknowledge that interim demands a different approach and have found ways to work with interim search firms on higher margins. Others do not differentiate between volume suppliers of contractors and search firms providing interims; by driving down the price, they also drive down quality and do not achieve the desired result for clients.

Trevor Moulton, Principal of Marlin Hawk’s Interim Practice said: “Representing the client’s brand in the market is key. The provider must have a deep understanding of the client’s business, culture and requirements if they are to match the perfect candidate. The fee level has to reflect the experience of the interim, the size and complexity of the task and the service provided by the interim search firm.”

The problem of hindering clients’ access to top interim talent will become more prevalent as we head for a candidate-driven market where the best interims can choose which positions to take up and need persuasion.

Moulton added: “Premium talent is often not available on the open market. It takes experienced interim search firms to find it and secure it. Ironically, if quality interims get further out of reach, clients will turn to consultants and increase costs, undoing all the efforts of the RPOs.”  

Without candidates, executive search firms simply cannot function. While all search firms are client led – that’s where the fees come from – the relationship with candidates is a critical part of the equation. Yet I frequently hear from candidates who feel that they are treated as a dispensable commodity. Most executive search firms extol the virtues of their candidate care, but candidates often deem such claims to be empty rhetoric.

Here are my top tips on what candidates want from their relationship with an executive search firm:

Trust

In our industry, confidentiality is everything. It’s important that we establish trust quickly and let candidates know that they can confide in us.

Many executives have no idea how to go about transitioning from one employer to another. Some have never done it before, while others may have lost touch with the ever-changing world of executive search and talent management. It’s our job to be a confidante, helping them design an effective strategy that will secure them the right new role to advance their career.

Honesty

Honesty must underpin the relationship. Candidates want unvarnished advice and clear guidance, delivered constructively and politely by someone who has their interests at heart. It can be difficult at times, but candidates appreciate candidness. Tell them if they have no chance of securing their desired role, tell them if their perfume is overbearing in an interview setting and tell them if they should be aiming higher for their next challenge rather than playing it safe.

Honest advice, delivered within a framework of trust, keeps candidates’ aspirations realistic and allows them to work on elements that will increase their chance of success, whether it be aspects of their personal style or gaps in their professional development training.   

Credibility

Executive Search consultants really need to know their stuff. It’s not enough to demonstrate that we understand the ups and downs and ins and outs of finding a candidate their next role. Candidates will quickly know if a search consultant’s sector expertise is wafer thin. We need to convince them that we have a profound understanding of the sector we are operating in and the companies within it, as well as a large network of influential contacts.

When handling an active search brief, we need to represent the client at least as well as they would do so if handling the search themselves. That means getting under the skin of the client, the employer brand and the corporate culture and sharing relevant knowledge and experience with candidates.

Professionalism

Professionalism does not mean that executive searchers have to be overly formal – the best candidate relationships grow on trust, honesty and friendship, so consultants must strike the right balance between familiarity and respect.

Thorough briefing, timely communication and meaningful feedback are rightfully expected. Decisiveness is a must. Articulating a clear, rationalised rejection lets the candidate know where they stand and why, whereas silence and obfuscation is unprofessional and helps neither party. Ethics is also high on the list of priorities; candidates should never be manipulated into roles that merely serve the executive search firm’s agenda and they should be advised if they are excluded from career defining roles due to off-limits agreements rather than matching skillsets.   

Far from being a commodity, the highest calibre candidates are rare. In fact, post recession we are moving into an increasingly candidate driven market. Enduring, mentor relationships are therefore vital in persuading high flyers to leave their current roles and take up new positions. Such bonds do not form overnight. They can only be achieved by search firms investing time and energy in candidate management.

Treating candidates well has certainly paid dividend for my firm, as the majority of clients were once candidates. For them, the candidate experience is an important factor in selecting a search firm. VIP candidate service is indicative of the rigour and professionalism applied to every aspect of fulfilling their brief. In terms of managing reputation, the voice of the candidate is broadcast far and wide these days and, if tongues are wagging, you need to be sure that the message is one of praise, not malaise.

Executive search is a high involvement process. Getting the selected candidate’s signature on a contract should never be the end of it, but the pivot point. Success demands a balanced approach, with input both before and after the placement. Do justice to onboarding and the eager new arrival rides the crest of the wave. Ignore it and they plunge into the briny deep.

 Cross industry moves are challenging

A new tide of executive search firm is encouraging clients to look outside their own sectors for talent that can effect lasting change.  Moving from an airline to a telco is a relatively subtle change - both are large, complex, regulated organisations with comparable customer bases – yet some adaptation is required. A social media company and a hedge fund may share similar mid and back office set-ups, employee demographics and intellectual horsepower, yet the cultures are very different. Moving from an entrepreneurial tech start-up to a global pharmaceuticals group really is a sea change. To maximise the chance of success, whatever the degree of change, onboarding is an imperative and it is incumbent on the search advisor to insist upon it.

Onboarding should be part of a strategic plan

Executive search firms should be talking to clients about onboarding from the outset. Given the critical role that C-suite leaders play in business transformation, hiring new talent is a huge investment and clients need to consciously manage the risk. That means thorough preparation. It’s all about getting the framework right - in terms of organizational design, rules of engagement and support network - to create a climate in which the incoming leader can achieve success.  It is important that clear expectations are set in advance, such that all stakeholders are on the same wavelength and recognise success when it happens.

Assimilation can’t be left to chance

The job search and selection process is an emotional journey for the candidate, with much at stake. The first week in a new role can be an anxious time as they enter unfamiliar waters and feel the weight of expectation as a senior (and expensive) hire. The executive search firm should be there in the background as a sounding board, ensuring that the agreed organization architecture, confidants and messaging are in place and the candidate is assimilated according to plan.

The coaching provided throughout the interview process should not come to an abrupt end. Left alone, senior hires have been known to go into a new culture with all guns blazing, upsetting everyone in their path and triggering organ rejection syndrome. The executive searcher can help temper behaviour while the candidate makes the necessary adjustments. Even if the desired outcome is to shake up company culture, it can’t happen overnight.   

Onboarding is a 3-way, ongoing partnership

Post placement, candidate feedback sessions should be held at regular intervals, ideally at 2 weeks, 6 weeks, 3, 6 months and 12 months. Sometimes the executive searcher is the single person hearing the truth of what is going on from both sides, the only one who can join the dots to enable success. If the new hire is struggling, the executive searcher must investigate and proffer solutions. It may be that the team dynamics have gone awry and that HR needs to step in. It may be that the candidate came from a small organisation into a large one and needs affirmation from a colleague with a similar background. Or it may be that they are struggling to influence the right people and need a mentor with a breadth of contacts across the enterprise who can open the right doors.   

Human assets need protecting

Great leaders are rare. It is no easy task to land an executive who can transform the way a company operates, turn a lumbering giant into a nimble athlete or change the way an entire industry is perceived. In some organizations, new leaders can be seen as a threat. Without onboarding, they can be out of their depth and dismembered by sharks. If they survive at first but fail to settle, there are plenty of competitors ready to throw a lifeline. The executive search firm needs to manage the situation in tandem with the client to flag issues and take corrective action over a protracted period.

As cross industry moves become more common, culture inevitably enters the equation. Executive search firms and their clients need to observe due diligence to ensure they not only land the best candidates, but hang on to them. The moment a selected candidate starts their new role is point break: get the onboarding right and they will stay upright, find their feet and deliver value. The alternative is wipe-out.

The debate around female leadership in Africa has moved on. Speaking at a gender summit convened by FHI 360 in Washington DC on June 11th 2015, Theo Sowa, CEO of The African Women’s Development Fund, noted that people are increasingly comfortable investing in African women as entrepreneurs and recognising the economic security that this brings as opposed to women’s rights per se.

Multinational companies in Africa, particularly those involved in consumer goods, are beginning to appreciate the commercial benefits derived from local, female talent. The problem is that many of them are still operating outdated models built around imported non-African general management and male dominated boardrooms. This has inhibited the progression of local African and female talent to the highest leadership positions. The challenge for these companies is to wean themselves off expatriate management and nurture home grown talent instead. 

Trusting the ability and knowledge of local leaders

Despite growing awareness that local talent adds immeasurable value, it is clear that multinationals still view expats as the safe option. Expats bring their global experience to developing markets and a track record of leading large business units.  In many cases multinationals consider African leaders to be less decisive than their expat counterparts and locals state that they sometimes have a greater respect for a foreign Managing Director than a home-grown leader. The indecisiveness is potentially caused by the pressure put on local leaders to maintain admiration of the population, especially if they move within political circles.

Furthermore the strategy of relying on expats is costly. Financially, expats are paid ‘hardship allowances’ that increase the running costs of the business and can demoralise local talent. The cultural knowledge brought by local talent is overlooked and lost to the business. Finding external expat talent can be a long process, resulting in key positions remaining vacant for months on end.

The time is right for multinationals to take a risk on local talent and only import management as a last resort, recognising its short termism. This will reduce overheads, unlock the knowledge of local leaders, inspire others to reach the top and develop self-sufficiency across the continent.

Prioritising the development of local and female talent

Homegrown talent must be developed at all levels and this takes time. To ensure diversity graduate intakes should include a significant proportion of local and female talent, with a good number fast tracked through middle management to reach the higher ranks. This talent should be mentored and developed by senior leaders who, whether African or foreign, should be as diverse as the national population.

The role models are certainly there to inspire African women, from young technology entrepreneur Rapelang Rabana to Isabel Dos Santos, Africa’s first female billionaire. While some might say the number is still too low, there are encouraging signs with the African continent coming third after the US and Europe in terms of women’s representation in boardrooms of top listed companies and first amongst other emerging regions.

Flexible HR policies to support female talent

Family commitments and cultural factors make it difficult for females to reach senior positions. Within certain parts of Africa, it is less accepted that a husband will follow their higher earning wife and move to other countries. This can mean that females are less likely to gain multi-country experience. In addition, a family can make female leaders less mobile and less able to work long hours.

Flexible HR policies can counterbalance the barriers encountered by females in multinational organisations. A support network (maids, nannies and drivers) can be provided to allow females to work the required hours and provide an adequate work life balance. The cost of a support network is far less than an equivalent network outside Africa and can be a vital tool when nurturing female talent in Africa.

Recognising the problem and creating a diverse future

Six of the world's 10 fastest-growing economies are African (by GDP growth). The need for women in senior leadership roles is as much a performance optimisation issue as it is a gender equality issue.  Multinationals, therefore, have an opportunity to harness female talent and reap competitive advantage before the rest of Africa’s private sector follows suit. A number of them - including British American Tobacco, Coca-Cola, PZ Cussons and Unilever - are embarking upon change, creating an environment in which women can succeed and offering those with single country experience a springboard to senior roles.

But to really make a difference it requires all companies across Africa to change their hiring practices and trust home-grown and female talent. In a report published by the African Development Bank in May 2015, Geraldine J. Fraser-Moleketi, Special Envoy on Gender, said: “Many CEOs and senior executives in Africa still do not see diversity as a critical component of corporate strategy. Africa can ‘rise’ only if both halves of our Continent of one billion people have the same opportunities.”

Africa is at a crossroads and, to achieve prosperity, it must choose gender-diverse leadership. 

Leadership advisory firm Marlin Hawk has entered the top 20 rankings in Executive Grapevine’s UK Executive Search Market Report 2015. The survey, which measures net fee income, ranks Marlin Hawk at number 13 in the Board Search Executive & Non-Executive Roles £200k+ category, number 3 in the Retail Financial Services & Insurance category and number 13 in the Consumer, Media & Healthcare category.

Launched in 2003 as a boutique advisory firm, founder and CEO David Holloway had a clear vision: “We saw that the business world had changed, but the business of recruiting leaders had not. We wanted to give forward thinking firms a new way to find outstanding executives, a better way to think about their most valuable resource. Our focus was - and still is - on the next generation of global leaders.”

Marlin Hawk has since built a top-tier client list comprising some of the biggest names in financial services, commerce and industry. The emphasis is on market intelligence, culture matching, business transformation and customer centricity. The majority of clients started as candidates and now trust the firm to deliver a range of advisory services including partnership programmes, benchmarking, talent analysis & mapping, leadership assessment and executive search.

Jonathan Hime, Co-founder and Chief Client Officer, attributes Marlin Hawk’s success to the rejection of tired old practices: “We make no apology for being agitators and disruptors. The rapid growth we have enjoyed is testament to the innovation and quality of our offering, combined with strong values and ethics. We forge strategic partnerships with our clients with a view to building long-term value and are grateful for their ongoing belief and support.”

The Executive Grapevine UK Executive Search Market Report 2015 can be found at:  http://www.executive-grapevine.com/board-leadership/market-report-2015

Interview with Jonathan Hime (Chief Client Officer), Charlie Jaggard (Partner), Mark Oppenheimer (Managing Partner Americas) and Ben Leary (Regional Manager APAC).

There has been a cultural shift across multiple industries and geographies. Internationally organisations are recognising that the ethics, the values and the conduct of the Board is paramount. 

Furthermore, the background of a CEO is no longer as ‘gold-plated’ as it used to be. Chief Executives are coming up from more humble upbringings and, as a result of that, possess a stronger balance of EQ and IQ. They have the emotional intelligence to genuinely care and are able to talk naturally to anyone, whether that person is a receptionist or a fellow Board Director. It’s what we call ‘mindful leadership’ within a less hierarchical, more digital and diverse context.

The onus is now on ‘culture capturing’ - not finding someone from a specific educational institute or with a certain set of skills and experiences. Because, if the organisation can’t define and implement the right culture at the Board, then it won’t transcend into the customer experience.

What is the difference between the old guard and the new?

Charlie:
What we see increasingly when we speak to our clients around leadership is that their requirements are now much more about a values-based, behavioural set of abilities rather than a technical skill set. Clearly in a top-level leadership role there needs to be a strong technical background but it’s more about how they interact within complicated matrix organisations as the model of businesses moves away from rigid and linear structures. Leaders now have to demonstrate those softer skills in abundance.  

Mark:
There is an openness to bringing in people from different cultures and environments, but in order to do this every part of the existing culture, including the structure and hierarchy, needs to change to enable those new people to come in to the environment. The most desired individuals are no longer the ones with decades of experience but are instead those that come from more innovative backgrounds. If you look at the industries that have grown the fastest, it is Private Equity and pure-play Tech – both of which have grown from entrepreneurial beginnings. This has caused CEOs who surround themselves with these new types of people to flatten the hierarchy in these larger organisations in order to enable the innovative, next-gen, entrepreneurial types to influence more effectively at the senior level.

Jonathan:
In the last twenty years the profile of leaders has radically changed due to the customer-centricity of businesses. Individuals are now more aware of how they need to represent the firm, rather than themselves. In the past it was all about the ‘rockstar CEO’ with no regard for how the average person on the street perceived them as the leader of their business. You can’t hide at the top of the tree anymore, so it’s much more about the cultures, values and ethics of the person who runs the company. The financial goals are the same, but the means of delivering them is fundamentally different, a multichannel ecosystem that revolves around the customer, with multiple checkpoints for exemplary conduct. Before, CEOs could do whatever they wanted as long as they got results. Now the end result is a by-product of behaving well. 

Ben:
From an Asian perspective, there’s still that dominant top-down culture that tends to determine how businesses are run. That very autocratic approach to developing cultures within organisations is still present - driven by whoever is the Chairman or CEO. But that is changing to encompass more entrepreneurialism – something that is not commonplace in Asian culture – due to the growth of the digital and e-commerce world. There is a phenomenon called ‘Chairman Now’, a new guard of leadership that blends Asian and Western cultures to better align a global approach to local clients. So there is change, but there is still a long way to go. Relationships and ‘guanxi’ is still paramount. ‘It’s not what you know, it’s who you know’ is still prevalent in Asia – something you would associate with business culture in Europe probably a decade ago.


Why is corporate culture so important these days?

Charlie:
Jobs for life don’t exist anymore, especially if we think about the next generation of millennials coming in to leadership roles, so talent attraction is more important than ever and what people are attracted to is the way businesses operate. This is why traditional companies are changing and evolving, so that they can lure the very best talent. But culture needs to be communicated clearly through digital distribution – it is no longer about carvings in oak-panelled Boardrooms. Individuals can make very easy choices about what type of business they work in and therefore it is critical that leadership sets the right culture to attract talent.

Mark:
Corporate culture in the modern US environment is a significant factor around what is motivating and moving people. For them, the biggest challenge is retention. Across all industries there is a huge concern of people receiving very large buyouts, going to organisations and then only staying for a few years. Therefore when companies are focusing on their corporate culture they need to ensure that it is accurately reflected both externally and internally, and is consistent across the whole organisation. This way when they bring people in from the external market these individuals land and are embedded in to the culture that they have chosen and in which they can thrive. Individuals are no longer moving for financial gain, they want a ‘home’ where they can develop and realise their potential. Corporate culture needs to be fluid, evolving in line with market developments so that it remains attractive to top talent.


How can headhunters reflect a client’s culture? 

Jonathan:
Within our industry it’s not just about skills and experience, it has to be about culture matching, so we need to make sure that we reflect the culture of the companies we represent. For example, you cannot represent a very fast-moving, emerging, digital agency when you wear a pinstripe suit, shirt and tie in an oak-panelled office. Therefore we try to immerse ourselves in to the culture of the business today and the culture of the business going forward. We do this is by interviewing the selection panel and asking about the values, culture, conduct and principles of the organisation. And they might not be able to answer without the use of corporate spiel, so once we ask the obvious questions we then find out ourselves. We spend time in the canteen as well as the Boardroom and become an extension of the client. We call it ‘Straight Through Processing’, from culture capture right through to selection.

Ben:
Organisational culture in Asia is a grey area as it’s not very easy to work out. It is not something you immediately learn and so it takes a lot of time when representing them. It is incredibly difficult to fathom what the cultural nuances are in the Asian market. This requires many meetings, patience and observation. The reason the ‘Asian Way’ is so difficult is because they have a culture of silence - people don’t speak out against the status quo nor do they articulate different cultural opinions or views that may be against the corporate values of an organisation. To break down the silence it’s very much about being patient, getting to know the people in the business and building those relationships - and that naturally happens over a protracted period of time.


How do you truly evaluate a candidate’s cultural fit?

Charlie:
The goal is to clearly identify that the candidates’ values and behaviours match those of the company. In the past, too much emphasis was put on their track record, experience and technical skills as opposed to cultural fit. But the new generation of executive search professionals need to be able to blend science and art during the selection of a candidate. Therefore you need to be rigorous and thorough during the search process in order to gain an acute insight in to the character behind the CV. Then you can delve in to what makes that individual tick and what they are truly looking for from a values and culture perspective. Going in to the selection process with an open mind is essential and can often lead to unexpected discoveries of talent in the market place.

Jonathan:
Don’t be surprised if we ask our assistants how they were treated by a candidate. The person who arrives in the interview could be incredibly polished but may have acted hierarchically, or dismissively, towards them on the way in. We want a person who can naturally engage with anyone including security or reception – that is our first subtle way of assessment. Then, it’s about meeting them in the right environment, somewhere our client would be proud of, not necessarily having a discussion over a glass of wine, with the piano playing in the background at a gentleman’s club.

Everyone talks about aptitude vs attitude.  For us it has to be both, you can’t have one without the other. So we delve down in to their hobbies, their interests, their values, and then really go back to their roots and find out who they actually are, rather than who they can be as a leader stood in front of 5000 people at a company’s annual conference. It is about peeling the layers of the onion skin and finding the root cause of who they actually are when they wake up in the morning, how they motivate and inspire, what they think about and how they negotiate.
 
We do this by asking competency-based questions, but before they enter the room you will be recognising what they are like through informal referencing. A search firm’s network is important because it does validate certain aspects, but you can’t be assumptive and therefore you would correlate that against the pre-defined sets of cultural elements that are important to the client we are representing. Lastly, we do try and make people feel a little bit awkward, not uncomfortable, because at the end of the day we have to kiss a lot of frogs on behalf of our clients.

How do CEOs in culture aware companies define success?

Charlie:

The mindful leader thinks about cultural sustainability, redefining the purpose of the business for the long term, beyond his or her tenure.

Jonathan:

Instilling loyalty without financial influence, establishing customer centricity, fostering strong collegial behaviour and leaving a self-policing legacy.

Mark:

In the US, not just by making the company better but by changing the way that their industry is perceived.

Ben:

In Asia, injecting entrepreneurialism, blending East with West and not stifling growth.

The only thing that is constant in business nowadays is change. As companies face permanent uncertainty, strategic goals become a moving target. To succeed in this ephemeral world takes a new genre of leader, one who has the aptitude, attitude and courage to adapt, to change direction, to remain confident and to take people with them. Great leaders need the fleX Factor.

Companies are focusing on the characteristics of success

In-house talent managers within progressive companies are shifting the focus away from what people have done in the past to what they can do in the future. They are putting more resources behind junior management, employing psychometric tools like Hogan or Topgrading to help identify potential and assess promising employees against a suite of competencies pertinent to strong leadership. They are creating shadow boards and providing coaching and development to prepare tomorrow’s leaders. As the business world converges, they are rightly looking beyond their own sectors to mirror effective organisational design and acquire complementary talent at all levels.  

The executive search industry must reinvent assessment

When companies need to bring in senior talent, they expect their executive search partners to recognise the hallmarks of a great leader who can fit into their culture, someone with chameleon-like qualities who can steer their organisation through an ever-changing commercial landscape. To select on future promise, rather than past success, takes a blend of science and art, psychology and psychiatry. Executive search firms can’t be assumptive or rely on third party endorsements. They need to reveal the person hidden beneath the skin of a CV.

To do that requires rigorous processes to test competencies and more subtle techniques to assess behavioural traits, values, tenacity, adaptability, EQ and creativity. Some search firms cling on to anachronistic practices, while others have developed their own assessment models. These are often closely guarded secrets, but the common denominator is an emphasis on candidates’ ability to fit in on a number of levels: with people, with a particular corporate culture and with permanent change.

Uncovering ambition

Delving into the real person behind the CV and teasing out character traits takes far more than a casual conversation and should be conducted in a controlled environment. A candidate’s psychological make-up can be traced back to an early age. Unravelling their history – probing into childhood, university, standout memories and chosen paths – permits the executive searcher to understand how and why a candidate became who they are today. It’s not about navel gazing, but about finding the candidate who thinks big, who does not accept the world as it is but wants to find a better way, a smarter answer. Someone who wants to shape the future.

Interpreting the life journey

Exploring a candidate’s life journey can reveal aspects of their personality that otherwise remain hidden. Getting candidates to open up about successes and failures, obstacles they have encountered along the way and how they overcame them, helps the executive searcher to see how they approach life – and work. Then they can separate those with the potential to journey further from those who have taken too many shortcuts or got lost down too many dead ends.

Evaluating potential for personal growth

By unearthing the real reasons for a candidate’s career moves, the executive searcher can form a view of where the candidate wants to get to in their career and whether or not they have what it takes to get there. Part of the job is to discern between raw ambition and burnt bridges, separating candidates who want to keep moving forward – learning, growing and achieving more – from those who struggle to engage, to cope with change, to stay ahead of the curve and to deliver sustained improvement.

To date, candidate assessment has focused on track record, experience and technical skills rather than values, behaviours and potential. With today’s fast pace of change it is time to redefine the ideal leader, which in turn demands more insightful assessment of candidate psyches. The new generation of executive search firms can offer clients huge value in this respect, finding the stars who can make a real difference to their business. The challenge is to identify the fleX Factor, that rare ability to lead from the front without being blindsided by constant change. 

The dominance of the old-school CEO is on the wane. Boardrooms will look very different in five years’ time as the Generation Y ‘Millennials’ rise through the ranks and challenge the management culture in many organisations. Much has been written about these upstarts and how their outlook differs from that of their predecessors. But are we talking chalk and cheese?

Millennials still have clear commercial goals and know the importance of delivering profitability and shareholder returns. The fundamental difference is in style and attitude and it really is a seismic shift. Here are the top 10 character traits: 

To coin a phrase that probably emanated from the Arbinger Institute, the Millennials are all about ‘mindful leadership’ with a focus on values, conduct and people. They thrive on building and motivating teams. They want to develop themselves and their colleagues. They respect and value diversity. They are confident and optimistic. They are constructive agitators, with a remarkable ability to achieve goals in a shifting environment. And they are all digital natives – comfortable with technology, capable of handling vast amounts of information and genuinely customer centric.

Their emergence will challenge organisations’ talent management practices, too. Such individuals are difficult to recruit and retain. They come from a much wider range of educational, social and work backgrounds than their predecessors. They may not have gone to the ‘right’ schools and universities or followed the ‘normal’ career paths. 

Organisations need to adapt to the emergence of these new Millennial leaders, otherwise they will struggle to pass on the baton. Some boards already look and feel completely renewed. Others have recognised the need for change and are taking action. Many more have stood still or have started to wilt. They should wake up; the ego-obsessed, hierarchical boards of old are simply not suited to the evolving, post-recession culture of businesses today - a new, very different, generation is on the rise.

Today’s Chief HR Officers face an enormous challenge. As catalysts for change, their goal is to evolve companies away from hierarchical command & control models towards collaborative models that drive innovation, engagement and customer service. People – and particularly new blood – are critical to the game plan, yet many CHROs are disenchanted with the outdated practices of their executive search partners. The business world is changing fast, but the business of recruiting leaders is lagging.

CHROs want strategic advice and quality research

CHROs want a sophisticated partner that can deliver strategic insight and competitive advantage. That demands fresh thinking, sharp market intelligence and an open minded approach to where the next generation of leaders is coming from.

It is no longer enough to pitch in with fragmented examples of what is going on within a client’s industry - CHROs want the full jigsaw. The best executive search firms do not limit their scope of research to the client’s sector. They also dig deep into other sectors, often with parallel functional disciplines, and bring to the table the best athletes, the rising stars, the unexpected discoveries that can make a radical difference.

Executive search firms need to be more like strategic consultancies, providing research in breadth & depth and shedding light on the client’s peer group in terms of organisational design, benchmarks, compensation and talent awareness. This market intelligence can then be used to shape pipelining, succession planning, leadership assessment and coaching programmes.

CHROs want rigorous selection methods

There is a feeling among CHROs that executive search firms rarely do their due diligence when it comes to candidate selection. Search partners must invest time to understand the brief, especially with regard to corporate culture, and provide clear alignment between brand and talent attraction.

Then they need to head hunt, not just trawl databases and regurgitate predictable candidate lists. CHROs switch off when the same candidates crop up time and time again – they don’t want to see a shortlist of five candidates who can do the job, they want the best five candidates.

When suitable candidates have been identified, their experience is only a fraction of what is important. Aptitude and attitude need to be scrupulously tested. CHROs do not expect search partners to rely on intuition, but to put candidates through their paces, push them against the core competencies of the role, assess their fit with the organization and reveal the true nature of the person behind the CV. 

CHROs want genuine partnerships built on trust

Increasingly, CHROs have concerns around the values, principles and ethics of the executive search industry. They want a truly consultative, long-term approach, yet search firms are all too often transactional in nature. Worse, some are quick to move on to a client’s competitors when search work dips or to poach their staff soon after invoices have been paid.

CHROs want deep rooted partnerships, not vendor relationships. That means a holistic, intelligent approach to executive search, one that helps shape the environment for new hires to maximise successful outcomes. Active involvement in the on-boarding process is vital to promote positive assimilation and search partners should play an ongoing role in after care, ensuring that the successful candidate’s performance matches expectations. They should take a pro-active interest in the client even when there is no search work going through the books and must honor off-limits agreements at all times.

 Many CHROs are in the throes of revolutionizing organizational design and talent management. They can’t do it alone. Some are losing faith in traditional search firms and turning to those that are consultative, entrepreneurial and disruptive. According to a recent Hunt Scanlon report – Executive Search: State of the Industry Study (US/Americas) – it is the boutique firms that are “truly redefining a field once dominated by a handful of large, generalist search firms”. Being a small firm is not a prerequisite for providing the level of service demanded by today’s CHRO. But being relevant is mandatory and those that do not give CHROs what they really want will be superseded.

In a political election, every party clamours to put their policies across and appeal to the electorate. In their deliberations, many floating voters cut through the rhetoric and ask themselves which party is best for the economy. After all, if you get the economy right the rest will surely follow. In turn, there is a widely held belief in business that if you get the people right the rest will follow.

It stands to reason that shareholders might expect ‘leadership risk’ to feature as a disclosure within every publicly listed company’s annual report, yet that is not the case. Were it to do so, the key mitigant might well be the rise of the Chief Talent Officer.

Traditional CEOs have not bought into the role of Chief Talent Officer

The concept of the Chief Talent Officer first surfaced some fifteen years ago. A number of innovative CEOs, especially in the US, have adopted it but most have not.  That points to a lack of understanding of the strategic importance of talent management in corporate stewardship.

Whereas most CEOs have accepted that sustainability should be an integral part of their business model and not just an add-on, talent management remains peripheral and still tends to be developed reactively. There is a danger that CEOs are undervaluing investment in their most important asset and failing to identify the skill gaps that need to be bridged if their companies are to retain market position in the long run.

HR Directors are too bogged down in the day to day

Most HR Directors do not have their heads in the sand. They just can’t lift them above the operational parapet. They have an endless list of responsibilities that are both strategic and tactical. These range from recruitment and performance appraisals to compensation & benefits, disciplinary procedures, engagement surveys, employee relations, change management programmes and even culture building.

They recognise the need to separate out the Chief Talent Officer role but are not persuading their CEOs to see the light. While the focus of the HR Director is more often than not the short and medium term, the Chief Talent Officer is all about the longer term horizon.

Talent mapping should underpin investment in people

Mapping should be at the heart of the Chief Talent Officer’s talent management strategy. As part of the overall business strategy, it is vital for companies to predict the skill sets required for the future and have a clear plan for delivering corresponding talent.  This can be both inward and outward facing.

Within the company, identifying high performing employees is only the first step – it is also necessary to identify whether or not they can adapt to meet future challenges and, if so, how they can be equipped to do so. Internal talent mapping often leads to leadership assessment, coaching and development programmes to prepare ‘A players’ for the critical roles of the future.   

Pipelining is a two-way process

Looking outwardly, the Chief Talent Officer needs to mastermind a networking strategy to build an external bench of talent. This should be a continuous process. It takes time, effort and dedication to play the long game, reaching out, warming up and finding common ground. The goal is to convert interest to attraction and that demands two-way dialogue.

The Chief Talent Officer must use their antennae to gauge external perceptions and feed back to the company’s Communications function, in terms of reputation and profile, and to the HR function, in terms of employee satisfaction and resulting exposure in social media. Attraction is not all based on looks, but on deep-seated corporate characteristics. It needs working at to bring top talent to the table, not just available talent.

Succession planning is a key part of the equation

Another key output from talent mapping is succession planning. The Generation Y Millennials’ career paths are far more fluid and unpredictable than those of previous generations.  The Chief Talent Officer can use that to their advantage, retaining close contact with leavers and attracting them back once they have gained valuable experience and insight elsewhere. 

It is also important to have a watertight succession plan in place that covers potential talent loss. Again, the Chief Talent Officer’s line of sight is fixed on the horizon, focusing on the skills the company will need and the appropriate talent to match. The common mistake of selecting employees based purely on past performance must be avoided as it is not necessarily a guarantee of future eligibility.

 In a fast changing business world, the call of the Chief Talent Officer is clearer than ever. CEOs around the globe must grapple with a host of forward looking issues, including sustainability, digital transformation and market risk. But there is a danger that many are overlooking the pivotal issue for ongoing success – the right people - and they do so at their peril. If talent management is not integral to a company’s business strategy, its stakeholders should have major cause for concern. 

There was a time when, upon being appointed CIO, the IT professional had reached the apex of their career.  That time is passing.  A new breed of CIO has been born, one for whom the word ‘Chief’ in their job title is more important than ‘Information’. This new crop of CIOs no longer sees the top job in IT as the Holy Grail but a milestone on a longer journey. They are asking ‘What next?’ and with good reason. Because the new age CIO is uniquely equipped to take on the most challenging and critical leadership roles in business today.

The traditional CIO is evolving

Historically, the CIO was confined to being a technologist in a support function. Over the past five years, the role has changed from that of pure technologist to business revolutionary who happens to look after technology but is completely focused on customer centricity and commercialisation.  The clues to this evolution are in the prevalence of job titles like Head of Business Transformation and Process Improvement Director. The divergence of the CIO and CTO roles is also telling, the former driving the change agenda and the latter focusing on core technology. The CTO role comes in different guises, often more innovative than the CIO but usually less commercial.

CIO 2.0 is a distant relation of CIO 1.0

The new CIO 2.0 breed is a more strategic business partner than their CIO 1.0 predecessor.  Commercially astute, they are integral to a raft of operations that underpin an entire business: HR and financial systems; digital customer interfaces; supply chain management; Business Process Outsourcing; product innovation; and new business development. The tendency to be inward facing has gradually turned outward to a bigger picture view, supported by value-add metrics - such as lead conversion rates, cross selling revenues and customer satisfaction data - that resonate with top management.  

In many companies, the term ‘Information Officer’ is outdated. Today’s CIOs are often best in class change specialists, engaging with the Board far more effectively than their CIO 1.0 counterparts. With soft skills in abundance, they have the ability to motivate colleagues and act as a lynchpin that pulls together disparate functions and departments under a single strategic direction.

CIO 3.0 is a game changer

While CIO 1.0 focused on technology and CIO 2.0 on operations and business process efficiency, the emergence of CIO 3.0 demonstrates the monumental importance of the CIO role in tomorrow’s business.

CIO 3.0 is such a departure from its forebears that it merits an entirely new name to reflect the magnitude of the role: CIMO (Chief Innovation & Monetisation Officer). Embracing all previous responsibilities, and probably swallowing the CDO role too, the CIMO is a true digital native, customer champion and commercial leader with a finger firmly on the financial pulse of the company.  With such influence, the CIMO could well have a seat on the Board.

Where else can the CIO go?

Today’s CIO has line of sight across the vast majority of disciplines that prop up a business and ensure it remains competitive. Natural transitions within a company are to broader, more mainstream C-suite roles such as Chief Operating Officer (COO), Chief Digital Officer (CDO) or Head of Global Business Services (GBS), roles that are transformational and shape a company’s future. CIO to CEO is feasible too, though less common. Looking beyond their existing employers, the CIO can aspire to take the helm of a smaller tech business or to go plural and offer their sought-after expertise as a consultant.

Wherever they choose to go, it is clear that the IT profession’s glass ceiling is cracking and the examples are there to prove it. Today’s CIO is upping the stakes, graduating from disruptive technologies to disrupting the C-suite. Given the increasing importance of technology and digital transformation across all business sectors, this could be the beginning of a lasting new trend.   

PWC’s 2015 annual global CEO survey indicated that the top six strategic issues facing corporate leaders are all technology related. That’s great news for an aspiring CIO.

A recent survey by EY revealed, unsurprisingly, that those CEOs are predominantly male. In fact, for every female CEO in the S&P 1500 you will find four men named John, Robert, William or James. Perhaps more surprising is the extent to which this gender imbalance extends to senior leaders in technology. Over the past ten years, the percentage of female CIOs has remained relatively constant at just 14%.

So what does it take for a female to join the ranks of male CIOs guiding the world’s biggest companies through the technology maze? It seems that the market for IT leaders needs a re-boot.

 The problem starts with education

To be a successful CIO requires a complex and holistic technical skill base. Day to day challenges include mobile technology for customer engagement, data mining and analysis software, cyber security and cloud computing...to name but a few. Alas, with only 18% of computer science and engineering degrees going to women, the ‘Jeanne’ pool is relatively small.

The problem starts at secondary school. Last year, only 15% of girls across the UK took computer science at GCSE and, whilst at A-level the subject grew in overall popularity, only 10% of students were female. This is an underlying problem that the government needs to address. By promoting the benefits of studying computer science at school and in further education, there is a better chance of young women choosing to forge a career in the digital workplace.

A great CIO needs more than an anorak

Where female candidates do exist, in the majority of cases they do not seem to be rising to the top. That said, there are some progressive talent managers who actively seek female candidates when hiring for senior roles in technology. They realise that they need a smarter way of assessing candidates’ ability to add value.  

To deal effectively with change management, for example, CIOs need multifaceted quotients. It goes without saying that intellectual quotient (IQ) is critical: however, to ignore the importance of emotional quotient (EQ) and creative quotient (CQ) would be hugely detrimental to ultimate business performance. In a collegial culture, companies need CIOs who can tune in to those around them, build rapport, manage conflict, influence outcomes and develop trusting relationships. Research suggests that up to 90% of leadership effectiveness is attributed to strong EQ; given that women tend to be programmed with a higher EQ than men, many businesses are missing a trick.

Women need to take the IT stage

With HR starting to fully appreciate the benefits of senior female executives, there should be a gradual pull factor that elevates more women to the C-suite. But women should not accept the slow pace of change, which is exacerbated by behavioural traits: whereas men tend to have a significantly higher sense of self, women are generally less forward and quieter about their abilities. Furthermore, a confident man is deemed assertive and powerful, yet the equivalent woman is branded bossy and overbearing. This is an attitude that needs changing.

According to Judith Humphrey, author of ‘Taking the Stage:  How Women Can Speak Up, Stand Out, and Succeed’, women have an active role to play in driving the systematic change in the way they are perceived in the workplace. To ask women to be more like men would be a fundamental misunderstanding of the problem and a huge backward step, but women do need to be less apologetic and more blatant in advertising their competitive strengths.

The rules of the workplace must change

The solution to the gender deficit is merit, not quotas, but the work environment needs to be less masculine. HR management must change the office vibe to appeal to women, with more mentoring, an appreciation of personal fulfilment as well as career ambition and a focus on ‘value added’ instead of number of hours worked. 

Remote working helps, but senior executives are defined by visible leadership, so face time needs to be spent directing the team, problem solving, infiltrating the Board and earning their place in the succession plan. Flexible working hours would be a step in the right direction, allowing female executives to strike a better work/life balance that takes children into account.  Social attitudes need to change too; men who stay at home to look after children are still looked down upon, while women who work long hours are often viewed disparagingly as poor mothers.

The C-drive is starting to happen for women in technology. Talent managers have seen the light and are increasingly pro female. Acclaimed female CIOs such as Christina Scott at the FT are giving aspiring women the belief that they too can one day make it to the top and are attracting more women to the IT profession.  To support this impetus, the education system needs to encourage female students to pursue technology subjects and dispel the myth that ‘technical’ and ‘creative’ are mutually exclusive attributes.

The reality is that women are hard wired to succeed in senior IT roles. It’s now time to switch on the power.

Leadership advisory firm Marlin Hawk has won the gold trophy for best visual identity from the professional services sector at Transform magazine’s annual European awards.  

Transform Awards Europe sets the standard for brand development, rebranding and brand positioning work in Europe. Each year it sets a stronger benchmark, reflecting the growing prevalence of brand in corporate communications. The corporate brand – and its implementation, positioning and creativity – has become one of the most valuable assets a business owns. Its value may be intangible, but its worth is apparent. 

Brittany Golob, Editor of Transform magazine, said, “The companies shortlisted are those that truly understand the need for a sustainable, viable and strategic brand. They share a commitment to creating the best brand for a company’s stakeholders.  We congratulate all of this year’s winners.” 

David Holloway, Chief Executive Officer at Marlin Hawk, said: “The rebranding marks an important milestone as we expand our range of advisory services and geographic network. The new identity and associated story really capture the essence of Marlin Hawk. We are honoured to be recognised by this design industry award and would like to thank our agency, The Allotment, for their inspiration and for taking the time to understand our culture, proposition and drivers.“

Leadership advisory firm Marlin Hawk, which handles executive assignments in Asia for several multinational clients, has strengthened its office in Hong Kong. The firm will extend its range of leadership advisory and executive search services to existing and new clients throughout the APAC region.  

Ben Leary has been appointed Regional Manager, APAC. He brings over 20 years’ experience in talent management, most recently in Hong Kong and Beijing where he ran his own executive search firm. He will support the acquisition and development of executive talent across financial services, general commerce and professional services. Prior to his career in APAC, Ben managed teams of search professionals in the technology, media and telecoms industries. 

Chris Cook has been appointed Principal, APAC. He joins from Asia's top ranked financial services search firm and, having worked in London, Sydney, Hong Kong and Singapore, has access to an extensive cross-continental executive network. Chris’ remit is to deliver the next generation of C-suite talent across operational and general management roles, with a focus on wholesale and consumer financial services.

Jonathan Hime, Chief Client Officer at Marlin Hawk, said: “As a global advisory firm we continue to build on our reputation for value centricity, customer experience and innovation. Growing our regional network is the next logical step, with high calibre advisors who know the territory but think and act globally.  I am delighted to have Ben and Chris representing the Marlin Hawk brand and look forward to providing first class advisory services across the APAC region. “

Leadership advisory firm Marlin Hawk is the first organisation to pilot a new charity scheme that opens young people’s eyes to the world of work. Founded by technology entrepreneur and former Dragon’s Den investor Piers Linney, workinsight.org connects schools with employers, enabling young people to benefit from short insights into the workplace that empower them to make valid decisions about their futures. 

“Traditional work experience is scarce and excludes vast swathes of youngsters who deserve a chance”, said Linney. “Bite-sized insights enable employers of all sizes - from a local butcher to a FTSE 100 company - to provide every young person with the opportunity to gain multiple and incredibly valuable work experiences. Any employer can participate in worksinsight.org - there are no selection criteria. We are working on a pilot before building the digital platform and are grateful for the support of forward thinking companies like Marlin Hawk.” 

The half day work insight at Marlin Hawk gave six young people the opportunity to talk about the lifecycle of an executive search assignment, the different roles involved in delivering the service and the factors that contribute to a successful outcome. They were also able to quiz employees on the education and decisions that have helped shape their career paths. 

David Holloway, Chief Executive Officer at Marlin Hawk, said: “We gave a group of youngsters a glimpse at the exciting and rewarding careers available to talented people who aim high. workinsight.org is a great way of helping  14-19 year olds make important life choices. The lifeblood of any business is the next generation and I would encourage all employers to open their doors, especially to those from socially deprived backgrounds.” 

More information on workinsight.org can be found at:  http://www.workinsight.org

Leadership advisory and executive search firm Marlin Hawk has turned to famous explorer Sir Ranulph Fiennes to crystallise its unique approach to talent management.

Focusing on the next generation of C-suite leaders, Marlin Hawk sees business transformation as an epic journey that takes courage, determination and guile. The firm acts as a guide to its pioneering clients, ensuring that they see opportunity, take the right turns and are open to discovery along the way.

As a motivational speaker who understands the value of teamwork and open-mindedness, Sir Ranulph penned a statement exclusively for Marlin Hawk:

“Inspiring journeys of discovery are as much part of the cityscape as the wilderness. Whether it’s the boardroom table or the polar plateau, executive bench or continental shelf, if we expand our horizons and rise to new challenges, we are capable of achieving the seemingly impossible.”©

David Holloway, Chief Executive Officer at Marlin Hawk, said: “Sir Ranulph is the epitome of a great leader and his values transcend the great outdoors. I am honoured that he agreed to bring our journey concept to life with such a powerful statement”.

Examples of how Marlin Hawk has helped clients reach their strategic destinations can be found in the story book at: www.marlinhawk.com 

The world of executive search is big on talk but short on innovation. Many firms still cling to tired practices, mining databases to identify candidates and presenting clients with predictable short lists. Some command exorbitant fees for minimal work and a few bring the industry into disrepute with hidden charges, questionable ethics and complacent service. 

The days of ‘executive smirch’ are over

Clients are fed up with old fashioned methods that fail to deliver world class outcomes. In an ever changing commercial landscape, they want search partners that can help transform their business and ensure future success.  They want strategy, not tactics. They want transparency and accountability. And they want more for less.  The traditional executive search firm is becoming a relic of the past. Enter the leadership advisory firm, a new breed that throws out the ‘black book’ and redefines talent management.

Clients want bespoke advice and genuine market intelligence

Before embarking on a search for new talent, clients need context. They want to see the bigger picture. Where is the real talent in their business and where are the gaps? How does their organisational structure compare with their peer group? Does their senior team stack up? Are they doing enough to attract and retain top talent?  Above all, they want to know that they are equipped to sustain success, which requires a robust succession plan.

The new breed of leadership advisory firm embraces this broader scope, tailoring advice to each client’s sector and proffering a level of market insight normally associated with top tier management consultants.

Culture fit should be number 1 on the agenda

Matching the right talent requires a deep appreciation of company culture. But it also demands an acute insight into the characters behind the CVs to truly understand drivers, values and ambition.  A superficial approach can never cut it.

The bolder advisory firms even shape culture. That might result in a deliberate clash when a client company needs a shake-up to reinvigorate and transform.  These situations are challenging and the role of the advisor does not come to an abrupt end after an appointment has been made and the fee settled. The best search partners stay close to their client and appointed candidate, aiding the on-boarding and integration process and providing post-placement coaching to ensure the best chance of success.

Talent acquisition should be an ongoing process, just like employee engagement

Talent mapping is pivotal to success. Smart leadership advisors take a proactive approach to pipelining. They identify an external (as well as internal) bench of high calibre leaders who could help drive a company forward and develop a ‘magnetism’ strategy, reaching out, warming them up, holding their attention and converting interest to genuine attraction.

They play the longer game on behalf of their clients, fitting a carefully constructed external network into a 3-year succession plan and refreshing the plan every quarter.  This technique is at the opposite end of the spectrum from transactional search delivery - it is truly transformational.

Diversity is not about fulfilling quotas

Forward thinking leadership advisors shun the narrow approach to Diversity & Inclusion. They believe in leveraging the power of eclecticism, making unexpected talent discoveries that can redefine success. Sometimes, if there is a square hole to fill, an impressive round peg appears. Rather than discard it, the right solution could be to change the shape of the hole.

A ‘diversity’ candidate within a shortlist could be someone from a different sector with parallel expertise, or a rising star at a more junior level who could excel in the role with the help of coaching, mentoring and up-skilling.

The business world is changing and the business of recruiting leaders must change too.  Boards and HR Directors want committed, collaborative partners who are not shy on innovation. Some of the larger, less nimble executive search firms are out of touch and losing ground to smaller rivals.

The survivors will be those who really work for their money, offer added value and deliver competitive advantage. The thrivers will be those who keep their clients one step ahead of the curve.

Leadership advisory firm Marlin Hawk has appointed Alex Ford to co-head its Wholesale Financial Services practice. Alex will focus on leadership advisory and executive search services in operations, compliance, risk and technology, working closely with co-head Colin Baker who joined the firm in 2010.

Alex has over 18 years’ experience in executive search within the financial sector. Her most recent role was Head of Talent Management with a boutique management consultancy, prior to which she held senior roles in search firms including Taybridge Associates and Trafalgar Partnership.  She started her career in recruitment, during which time she helped set up and subsequently ran Morgan McKinley’s US office.

Alex said: “I am delighted to be joining a successful team with a reputation for providing clients not just with executive search but with market intelligence around organisational construct and talent management.” 

Commenting on the appointment Colin Baker, Associate Partner at Marlin Hawk, said: “Alex brings a huge amount of experience and fits our culture of ethics, collegial spirit and delighting clients. Our Wholesale Financial Services team has a strong track record delivering critical, senior level mandates within institutional banking and asset management. With Alex on board, we will continue to grow this successful practice.” 

There are few sectors that have yet to feel the impact of the digital revolution. The financial services sector, with its hitherto conservative approach to business transformation, has had to accelerate its IT know-how to keep up with the pace of change. In consumer financial services, the transition from branch banking to digital banking has been nothing short of radical. The race is still on, with unrelenting pressure to cut branches and reduce overheads while investing heavily in online and mobile banking. The consequence of falling behind in this brave new digital world is binary: live or die.

Banks are feeling the heat and need to adapt rapidly

The financial crisis took its toll. While banks are still nursing tarnished reputations – and grappling with a host of new problems such as mis-selling scandals, ubiquitous IT gremlins and interminable telephone answering systems - the threat of fresh competition from challenger banks looms large.  Trusted household names such as Marks & Spencer and Virgin Money are serious competitors and better flexed to respond to digital trends. It is clear that the banking sector must reinvent itself - and fast - while maintaining a firm grip on customer service and security.

The shift to virtual banking is very real. So how can the typical retail bank rise to the digital challenge? The answer, at least in part, lies in a new breed of leader who can connect with customers, embrace change, restructure operations and embed a new innovation culture.

The last five years has seen the rise of the Chief Digital Officer

Over this period financial services organisations, with their traditional leadership, have struggled with the transition from a strong, wide reaching branch network - on which many senior executives have built their careers - to a 24/7 application and technology led business. To combat these struggles, many financial services organisations simply appointed a digital guru to help them through the innovation minefield.

The next five years will see the rise of the truly digital CEO and the demise of the Chief Digital Officer

Digital is here to stay and therefore the next generation of CEO will, by the very definition of the market, have to be more ‘digital’. Financial services organisations anticipate that well over half and close to three quarters of their revenue will be driven by digital channels in the next decade. If the CEO of an organisation is not the thought leader and the ‘most digital’ individual in their leadership team, then their impact and influence will be greatly reduced.

Digital is enhancive, not competitive to a branch network

In certain institutions the ‘digital bank’ has been completely separated from the ‘traditional bank’, both within organisational structures and leadership. In some cases this has created a somewhat adversarial ‘us vs them’ mentality, where the traditional bank and its leadership see the digital bank as competition, rather than enhancive to their own agenda and working for the same umbrella organisation.

The organisations that can form a strong coherent bond between their digital and branch businesses will be the most successful in the ever evolving, more competitive consumer financial services market place. A consumer ultimately sees and knows one brand, they are unaware and care little for internal politics and therefore will be most impressed by an organisation that illustrates its own loyalty, knowledge and interest in them.

In terms of leadership, the type of character that will thrive in this environment will have to be collegiate, customer centric and hold no desire to create individual, isolated fiefdoms within an organisation. True collaboration between traditional and new will be essential to the long term success of some of the world’s oldest and most revered financial institutions.

Branch banking is here to stay – people like doing business with people

Whilst the world is getting more digital every day, there are still certain high involvement transactions where people feel more comfortable looking into the whites of someone’s eyes. Decisions on mortgages, college funds, large loans, investments and even a child’s first current account can be very emotive and pivotal points in people’s lives. In these instances customers will always prefer to interact with another human being rather than a machine.

You no longer need a branch to be a bank

In years gone by, to be taken seriously as a bank, potential new competitors would either have to invest a vast amount of capital in developing a branch network from scratch or do it by acquisition.  As the recent struggles in the UK have illustrated, with the divestment of TSB from Lloyds Banking Group and the upcoming divestment of Williams & Glyn from RBS, the appetite to start or acquire a sizeable branch network is minimal.

This lack of desire stems mainly from the diminished need to have a physical branch network to be considered a bank. Digital banks have a distinct advantage in terms of being able to create a banking proposition with no legacy infrastructure, issues and costs hanging around their neck. In theory this should result in a more competitive market place, with more preferable rates and products to delight the consumer.

It remains to be seen if these challenger banks succeed and proliferate. The big question is whether they can truly develop an emotional attachment with the consumer, providing critical banking products such as mortgages on a mass scale without the human interaction of a branch network.

Whether they succeed or not, the imperative for traditional retail banks to ‘digitise’ remains and their future hinges on a new breed of digital CEO who lives, breathes and thinks digital.

When companies need strategic thinking or temporary support, they often turn to the big consultancies for help. But a smarter approach to sourcing talent through interim management is often a better option.

There are some seriously talented people available. Our networks include consultancy partners and senior directors who’ve decided to go it alone and top executives who’ve chosen to progress their careers outside the corporate hierarchy. 

These individuals typically provide the expertise needed to solve a specific problem and have the experience needed to perform strategic roles. They bring all the benefits of a top consultant, such as new ideas, a big-picture view, an independent voice and global availability. But they are likely to be doers as well as strategists, analysts and planners.

They don’t just think, advise and leave. They are often contracted to stay and implement their recommendations. A recent survey from the Institute of Interim Management found that over a third of its members worked on appointments that lasted six months to a year. Another third ran for even longer.

Focusing on the client

The interim executive’s business model is different, too. Someone engaged on an interim management contract is more likely to be focused on their client’s interests, rather than the consulting firm’s profitability.

They won’t have any incentive to sell add-on services that the client doesn’t need. They can take a flexible approach to getting the job done. And they can direct their effort at satisfying their client, not pleasing their senior partner. 

Clarity and control

While consulting firms do clearly employ some very talented people, as a client you have little influence over who actually works on your business. Often, a firm will deploy whoever is “on the bench” and has capacity for a new assignment. If that person needs further support, the firm will add resource depending on who it has available. 

With interim management, the client has the power to build its own project team – choosing from the best people in the market, with full transparency around who is bringing what to the task, how much they cost and whether they are adding value. Again, that kind of clarity and control is hard to get from a consulting firm. 

Lots of benefits, less cost

Cost is an issue, too. A typical day rate for a senior big-firm consultant – a director or partner – can easily be in the £2,500-£5,000 bracket, and that sets the tone for staff down the scale. By contrast, it’s possible to source an interim executive with big-firm or senior corporate experience for closer to £1,500-£2,000 a day.

The big consulting firms can do a superb job. But what they offer is not the best answer to every problem. So before they call in the consultants, companies should look at their business challenge as they would any other human resourcing issue. They should reflect on what they are trying to achieve and identify the talent needed to get the job done.

A consulting firm might be the right answer. But often they’d be better advised to use interim management – whether they need one or two senior individuals, or want to handpick their very own A-Team.

The business world is changing fast, but one thing seems to have remained constant. Look at the chief executives running major companies today – almost all seem to be cut from the same cloth. 

The average FTSE 350 chief executive is 46 years old. He is 89% likely to have had a university education, most likely from Oxford or Cambridge. Almost a third (28%) studied science, but most will have focused on economics, business or law. 

After graduating, he – and 96% of these CEOs are men – will have spent an average 25 years working his way up to his current job. There is a one-in-five likelihood that he picked up an MBA somewhere along the way. The chance that he was a CFO in his previous job is just over one-in-ten. 

The average Fortune 500 CEO is even older, at 55, but the profile is pretty much the same otherwise. Only 16% have no advanced degree. Two thirds are internal hires who spent an average 12.8 years working their way up the company ladder. 

Not all CEOs follow this route, of course. But the mould breakers – people like Charles Dunstone, Steve Jobs, Andrew Mason and Naruatsu Baba

– tend to be entrepreneurs who have launched and then grown their own businesses.

But the dominance of the old-school CEO is on the wane. Boardrooms will need to look very different in five years’ time, as a number of trends make themselves felt. There are two related ones we want to highlight here.

First, Generation Y is going to enter the boardroom.

The youngest CEO in the FTSE 350 today is 36 – still a child of the 1970s. But by 2016 we will see the first big company appoint its CEO from the generation born in the 1980s – the so-called Generation Y.

This new generation of workers were seen as a human resources nightmare when they started joining companies at the turn of the millennium. Companies complained that they were hard to motivate. They had no respect for hierarchy or process. They didn’t like being told what to do. They had unrealistic ideas about how quickly their careers should move forward. They wanted to give and receive constant feedback. 

Over the years, many of these ‘flaws’ have become assets. The next- generation leaders we have advised recently thrive on building and motivating teams. They are confident and optimistic. They have a remarkable ability to achieve goals in a shifting environment. They want to develop themselves and their colleagues. They respect and value diversity. And they are all digital natives – comfortable with technological change and capable of handling vast amounts of information.

Second, nobody wants an egotistical rock star

Here is a happy coincidence: the new generation leaders are becoming CEO-ready just as a long period of economic downturn comes to an end. Now is the time for companies to find a different kind of leader. The ego-obsessed, hierarchical boards of old are simply not suited to the evolving, post-recession culture of businesses today.

These rising stars have a very different outlook to their predecessors. They still have clear commercial goals and know the importance of building profitability and shareholder returns. But they are far more clearly focused on values, conduct, people and customer experience. They have the perfect balance of what we call the 3Qs –  that is IQ, EQ and CQ (the ‘C’ standing for commercial). 

This change is not confined to any particular industry. We see a tier of new leaders coming to the fore in a wide range of companies. The thread that connects them all is that they are positioning their organisations for sustained transformation and a return to economic growth.

Companies will have to adapt their talent management

The rise of these new CEOs will challenge the management culture in many organisations. These are leaders who will demand that ethics and sound principles guide decision-making. They will expect their organisations to employ people from a wide range of social backgrounds, international experiences, languages, industries and cultures.

Their emergence will challenge organisations’ talent management practices, too. Such individuals are difficult to recruit and retain. They come from a much wider range of educational, social and work backgrounds than their predecessors. They may not have gone to the “right” schools and universities or followed the “normal” career paths. 

Some of them will have a background in traditional areas such as sales, finance, tax and treasury. But they are just as likely to have come from the realms of innovation, digitisation and corporate communications. They may have spent long spells outside of corporate life. They could have unconventional influences, hobbies, interests, working styles and networks.

Organisations need to adapt to the emergence of these new leaders, otherwise they will struggle to pass on the baton. We do see boards that already look and feel completely renewed. Others have recognised the need for change and are taking action. But we see many more that have stood still or have started to wilt. They should wake up; a new generation is on the rise.

Technology analysts predict big data is about to move out of the early-adopter phase and into the business mainstream. It’s certainly possible. We see companies from every sector that are keen to seize data opportunities. But the issue blocking their efforts is often not technology – it’s talent.

 Our experience is that companies can perform better across every area of activity if they make decisions based on robust insights from data analysis. They can seize new opportunities faster, control risks better, and deploy their finances more effectively.

But to turn technological opportunity into business reality, they need the right talent in place – and they need that talent to be directed and managed. This is where data projects often disappoint.

Data projects are hard to deliver

When we talk to CEOs and other senior technology executives we often hear the same lament.

Many of them are keen to take their data projects out of the experimentation phase. They want to roll out the ideas that work and back them with serious investment. They don’t need anyone to convince them about the potential. But they say crunching actionable ideas from a mountain of information is harder than their colleagues from other parts of the business think.

Organisations want to become data- and insight-driven, but they are struggling to get there. Technology remains a big stumbling block. But we think the real issue lies elsewhere.

Companies need to change their approach

Companies need to raise their game in two areas. First, they need their senior leaders to step up and understand the nature of the challenge. It takes resources from across business functions to create an effective data management operation.

The CTO or CIO needs to organise data warehousing. The CFO needs to see a clear business case for investment – especially as the returns will likely be beyond the normal budget horizon. The CMO needs to contribute their knowledge of customer relationships. The chairman needs to mentor the CEO as they guide the board through the issues. Basically, all the senior executives in the business – from the chairman down – must champion the data agenda.

Second, companies need to manage the cultural blocks that can derail data projects.

A data-savvy chief marketing or digital officer is a powerful individual. They will be able to generate new insights about the business. Their analysis might expose underperformance and inefficiency, challenge assumptions, demand new ideas – in fact, that’s a key part of their job.

But this kind of knowledge can be dangerous. It might threaten the position of “old guard” executives. They could resist or stop new data projects in their tracks.

The worry that direct reports are blocking the upward flow of information is the kind of thing that keeps CEOs awake at night. In a well-run organisation, all the executives will welcome the new clarity that data-driven insights can bring to decision-making. Even so, those in charge of implementing data analysis projects must have the sensitivity and interpersonal skills needed to manage this risk.

The right person – in the wrong place

Sadly, this is one of the areas where we often see companies experience “organ rejection”. They appoint a data leader who they honestly believe to be the top candidate. But then all that person’s efforts to deliver change disappoint.

Either they are brought in too far down the organisational structure – at a point where they can’t get the kind of functional cooperation data projects demand. Or they can’t adapt to the cultural demands of the business – their insights are seen as threats and their projects become mired in a swamp of resistance.

The good news is that companies can avoid these pitfalls. It’s often a good idea to appoint a highly qualified interim executive to test the water. And it helps to keep one point in mind: yes, it’s important to select the right data technologies, but it’s just as important to invest in the talent that deploys and directs those technologies. Big data needs big talent.

With the global economic outlook improving, many senior executives are refocusing their business strategies. Cost management and efficiency are still important. But customer engagement is the hot/defining growth issue.

Through the years of downturn many businesses focused on controlling costs and making their operations more efficient. Arguably, this was ‘The Age of the CFO and COO’. But we now expect a new group of executives to come to the fore – those focused specifically on driving the customer agenda. 

The relationship with customers has changed

As companies seek to engage better with their customers – and consumers more widely – they must do so in a more complex environment. When the credit crunch hit, the iPad was still two years away from launch. The digital mobile world is now ubiquitous, transforming traditional routes to market and the possibilities for interaction with all customer groups.

Indeed, in a recent Annual CEO Survey, more than 4 in 5 of those questioned identified technological advance as the single most important challenge for businesses to address, greater even than demographic or climate change, or the shift in the balance of global economic power.

Consumers are more demanding and their views are more visible. They want everything faster, better and cheaper. They expect companies to respond to their concerns immediately. They use social media to tell their friends about companies that deliver a poor experience. The impact on how companies do business has been massive. The companies that get this customer engagement right storm ahead. Those that disappoint customers have nowhere to hide. 

Fundamentally, the balance of information between a business and its customers has shifted radically. From buying decisions to service, the customer is now in the driving seat. Across industries – from retail to consumer goods to utilities to financial services – executives are trying to work out how this seismic shift affects their business and how they can possibly respond.

New skills, new attitudes

In many cases, the CEO has taken personal responsibility for redefining how a company connects with its customers, employees and partners. But would firms be more successful if they dedicated a specific c-suite executive to focus on customers?

Today, the Chief Customer Officer – or CCO – is still a relatively rare individual. But their ranks are growing. In 2003, only four Fortune 500 companies had a CCO. Over the next six years, that figure climbed more than eight-fold.

If companies are really intent on orienting themselves around customers and the multiple ways they are engaged, they need a different kind of executive leading the charge – someone with a new set of skills and attitudes.

Companies struggle with CCO appointments

 Companies need to appoint a powerful leader who can break down organisational silos and create a single, unified view of the customer. With the vision and authority to empower all employees to think and act in customers’ best interests. Who can take ownership of customer relationship quality at a high level. Who is responsible for the entire customer journey, from acquisition through to customer experience, service and lifetime value. Someone who can plot the digital and emerging technology journey and navigate the business through this transformation stage to an established and sustainable way of doing business.

Companies are still working out what kind of role they want the CCO to perform, how this new executive sits alongside connected areas – such as marketing – and how to recruit, motivate and retain suitable candidates. Managing key stakeholders and influencing complex relationships are constant briefing requirements for the modern executive, as these new ways of working are embedded into the existing organisation.

If the CEO uses the new CCO to be a catalyst, the experiment will more than likely fail. Instead, it’s important to answer two questions. What kind of appointment will make a difference in our unique set of circumstances? And what kind of individual has what it takes to execute that role effectively – in our business?

The CCO role might be an evolving one, but getting the right leader to drive a strategy that engages and embraces the customer across all channels can fundamentally transform your business.  The process of finding the right person and empowering them to add value is challenging, but far-sighted leadership and direction makes it achievable – it simply requires different thinking.