The brief
The client was reorganising its technology leadership team after a period of rapid acquisition. Five roles were open at once: CISO, VP Engineering, Head of Data, VP Platform and a transformation director. The searches were confidential, and two of the roles were replacements.
The board wanted a consistent assessment standard across all five appointments, and a clear view of the external market before any candidate was approached.
What we did
We ran a retained search programme with a single calibrated brief. We mapped 180 technology leaders across the US, UK and Europe, including people who were not actively looking.
Each candidate went through a structured leadership interview, a work-sample discussion based on a real situation from the client, and a written assessment against the role scorecard. The client received a shortlist of five for each role, with a written rationale and a clear view of the trade-offs.
We also provided a market map showing how the client’s leadership structure, pay and scope compared with six peer organisations.
The outcome
Five appointments were made in fourteen weeks. All five were still in post at 24 months. Two of the hires have since been promoted into broader roles.
The client retained the scorecard and assessment format for subsequent leadership hires.
What the client said
“The written assessment was the most useful hiring document we received all year. It gave the board a shared language for the decision.”
— Chief People Officer, Fortune 100 enterprise software company