Our client was an International Manufacturing Company with HQ in Western Europe, market leader in providing innovative and high-quality products for various industries. In the automotive market, the company works with all the major car manufacturers and Tier-1 suppliers in the world. The Company has decided to explore the opportunity of developing a new production and development site in Eastern Europe and after thorough comparative analysis chose Bulgaria as the most suitable location for the project. The company needed a highly capable Plant manager to build the local operation from scratch, to lead the equipment and know-how transfer and to gradually increase the capacity of the plant according to the company 4-year plan.
The first priority targets were GMs, Plants Managers and Operations Managers from International Automotive companies in Bulgaria with relevant size and complexity of the production processes. Due to the limited talent pool in Bulgaria at the time the search was extended to include target professionals from neighboring countries (Serbia, Turkey, Macedonia) that have been researched and approached. The Regional Search generated a promising shortlist of professionals with diverse origin, background, experience, competencies and expectations. A thorough professional evaluation (developing and presenting 100 days action plans based on the initial information provided) combined with personality testing with a leading psychometric tool have been used to get broader and deeper insight on the candidates’ strengths and potential risks.
Two front-running candidates have been selected after a series of interviews. As the negotiations with the first candidate were not successful, the best alternative candidate took the position. FriisbergConsultant supported the finally chosen professional with some professional advices aiming to solve legal issues related to his exit situation. The candidate monitoring performed four months after the placement proved that the new Plant manager has been successfully onboarded and integrated and was not only delivering according to the expectations but also exceeded them.
