Exclusive One-on-One Interview with Korn Ferry’s Gary Burnison
Search The Global Executive Talent Quarterly from the AESC Summer 2014
Brazil’s Final Stretch
How executives are helping Brazil face the unique challenges of hosting both the World Cup and the Olympics
China Going Global
As China’s economic growth continues, we take a closer look at the environment for search
Balancing the Boardroom Women at board-level in the UK
President’s Letter
A Message from Peter Felix, AESC & BlueSteps President
Our second issue of Search magazine showcases the global nature of retained search: focusing specifically on Brazil, China and the United Kingdom. Our latest quarterly statistics indicate that the industry is continuing to grow, bolstered by the resurgence of the Financial Services sector. As Gary Burnison, CEO of Korn Ferry, explains in our exclusive interview with him, “90% of strategy is execution and 90% of execution is people”. Our industry plays an invaluable role in matching skilled executives with the organizations in which they can realize their potential. In doing so, we provide value that extends far beyond the price of a retainer. In Brazil this summer the world will be watching the best soccer players compete in the FIFA World Cup. Hosting such a major event, and prepar-
ing for the Olympics in 2016, requires a huge amount of preparation. In our lead article we look at the factors that motivate executives to work on such high-pressure projects and whether the events will have a positive legacy for the Brazilian economy and the search industry. Our second lead article in this issue examines the search market in China. The government is increasingly pursuing a path of outward foreign investment, while still attracting inward investment. To meet their globalization goals, however, both Chinese organizations and multinationals working in China will need to recruit and develop executives with global experience and a global mind-set. In the United Kingdom, the women on boards issue continues to take center stage for our members, and their clients. The ongoing government pressure (both national and Europeanwide) to reverse the gender imbalance in boardrooms has prompted conversations around corporate governance and what we want our boards to look
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like in the future, in terms of gender, functional roles and size. While there is a move towards reaching 25% female representation on boards by 2015, our article looks at how search firms and client organizations can work together to make more sustainable change that stretches beyond the boardroom. Future issues of Search will continue to highlight the great work of our members and partners, so please do get in touch if you have a story to tell. We hope that you enjoy this issue and, as ever, we look forward to your feedback. With kind regards
Peter Felix President, Association of Executive Search Consultants and BlueSteps 425 Fifth Avenue, 4th Floor New York, NY 10016 pmf@aesc.org
Search
The Global Executive Talent Quarterly from the AESC Summer 2014, Volume I, Issue 2
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Board of Directors
Aidan Kennedy, Chair
Partner, CTPartners - London
Krista Walochik, Treasurer
President, Norman Broadbent - Madrid
Nairouz Bader, Board Member
Founder & Chief Executive Officer, Vision Executive Search - Dubai
Nikki C. Bondi, Board Member
Co-Founder & Managing Partner, Advantage Partners - Cleveland
Thomas T. Daniels, Board Member Partner, Spencer Stuart - New York
Anton Derlyatka, Board Member Senior Partner & Managing Partner of Talent Equity Ventures, Ward Howell - Moscow Thomas J. Fuller, Board Member Managing Partner, Epsen Fuller | IMD - New Jersey James Hickman, Board Member
Managing Director, Russell Reynolds Associates, Inc. - New Delhi
William M. King, Board Member
Chief Operating Officer & Senior Vice President, Korn/Ferry International - Los Angeles
Dinesh Mirchandani, Board Member President, Boyden - Mumbai Denys Monteiro, Board Member
Chief Executive Officer & Partner, Fesa Global Executive Search Transforming Leadership - Sao Paulo
Steve Mullinjer, Board Member
Regional Managing Partner, Heidrick & Struggles - Chongqing
Jean-Philippe Saint-Geours, Board Member Partner & Chairman of AltoPartners, Leaders Trust International - Paris Peter Felix, Ex-officio
President, AESC - New York
Editor
Managing Director, Marketing
Senior Designer
Joe Chappell
State of the Industry quarterly statistics
Financial Services executives back in demand
6
CEO Survey
8
In Profile
Mobility on the rise as CEOs eye strategic expansion to retain top talent Gary Burnison, Korn Ferry’s chief executive, talks about leadership, search and his career
10 Balancing the Boardroom
We take a look at the progress of women at board-level in the UK and examine what lessons can be learned
14 China Going Global
As China’s economic growth continues, we take a closer look at the environment for search
18 Brazil’s Final Stretch
With Brazil hosting the FIFA World Cup and Olympic Games in the space of two years, what drives executives to work on such high pressure projects and can they harness their motivation to deliver results?
22 Tech Trends and the Value of Executive Search Cluen’s Andrew Shapiro summarizes the ways in which technology is enhacing and disrupting executive search
24 Trust but Verify 26 Catching Up with Donna Sharp
President
Peter Felix
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Table of Contents 4
Robin Balfour, Board Member Director, Odgers Berndtson - London
Editorial Team
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p
Jason Johnson, Vice-Chair Managing Partner, Asia Pacific CTPartners - Sydney
Ben Ashwell Don Hailer
The Association of Executive Search Consultants www.aesc.org
Donna Sharp, Director, AESC/Cornell Advanced Program for Executive Search Consulting, ILR School, Cornell University, outlines her vision for the future of retained search and the value of the Cornell program
28 Out of Office
Andrew Garner, former Chairman and CEO of Boyden, Garner International and Norman Broadbent, discusses his lifelong passion of motor racing and how it has enhanced his career
Quarterly Report
Financial Services executives back in demand First quarter trends show a rise in the number of new executive searches started within Financial Services
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he number of searches started in the Financial Services sector has increased on both a yearly and quarterly basis, according to the ¿UVW TXDUWHU H[HFXWLYH VHDUFK DQG leadership consulting industry trend data.
The executive search rise in Financial Services was accompanied by positive search industry revenue growth of +15.6% yearly, from Q1 ‘13 to Q1 ‘14 and +4.1% quarterly, from Q4 ‘13 to Q1 ‘14. In contrast, the number of new search PDQGDWHV IHOO \HDU RQ \HDU IURP WKH ¿UVW
TXDUWHU RI WR WKH ¿UVW TXDUWHU WKLV year, declining -7.7%, yet the quarterly trend in Q1 ’14 showed search activity growth of +7.3%. AESC President, Peter Felix, comments: “It is encouraging to see the momentum of the past several quarters
While Q1 ‘14 saw the Industrial sector retain the largest market share of worldwide executive search activity at 23%, Financial Services continued to increase its share with growth of +3.5% yearly from the first quarter of 2013, resulting in a 21.1% market share. Of the other major industries surveyed, Consumer Products held an 18.9% share in Q1 ‘14, followed by Technology (16.5%) and then Life Sciences/Healthcare (13%).
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All major regions saw positive quarterly growth in the number of searches started from the fourth quarter of 2013 and the first quarter of 2014.
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Industry News
Mobility on the rise as CEOs eye strategic expansion to retain top talent
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E
xecutive mobility is once again on the rise, with 81% of CEOs worldwide citing ‘finding new opportunities’ as their primary career management concern, according to the latest Association of Executive Search Consultants and BlueSteps research. The second highest ranking career management concern is innovation, with 72% of respondents identifying it as a priority. With CEO turnover having increased over the last decade, this demonstrates the pressure on CEOs to maintain high performance. While CEOs are beginning to think about their next move, they are also aware that the same may be true of others in their organization, as the top business-related concern was finding and retaining top talent. This demonstrates that talent is once again seen as a primary driver of growth. Peter Felix, AESC & BlueSteps President, says: “This report reminds us that while CEOs are focused on the key issues of attracting and retaining talent to their organizations, they are themselves concerned about their own career progression and the next opportunity. “This is an inevitable reflection of the modern business world and a fast changing, competitive landscape. “For the CEO in many organizations the only way to achieve greater responsibility, career potential and wealth creation is probably to find opportunities outside of the organization – a fact that many boards of directors will overlook when reviewing their current CEO or considering succession issues. CEOs,
just like everyone else, are human beings chasing their career dreams.”
What skills do you need to be a CEO today?
According to the survey results, the most needed skills for today’s CEO candidates are strategic thinking, decision making and motivation of people. In recent years we have seen a shift from demand for management skills to leadership skills, which raises pertinent questions around the role of a contemporary CEO and the route to becoming a CEO. Three quarters (75%) of repsondents either agree or strongly agree that their relationship with their board is positive and productive. The biggest area of weakness is whether the board’s behavior is aligned to the organization’s corporate values, with 11.5% of respondents expressing concern. In addition, CEOs clearly see the value in social media usage, with 61% of respondents indicating that they spend one to eight hours per week on social media for professional networking purposes. A further 12% spend more than eight hours a week on social media. LinkedIn (95.7%) is the resounding favorite for social media use, followed by Facebook (45.7%), Twitter (32.9%) and Google+ (25.7%). A full copy of the 2014 BlueSteps CEO Career Report is available for download at https://www.bluesteps. com/Products/2014-BlueSteps-CEOCareer-Report.aspx.
In Profile
+ DGNKGXG VJCV UGCTEJ EJCPIGU RGQRNG£U NKXGU¡ Gary Burnison, Korn Ferry’s chief executive, talks about leadership, search and his own career
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t can be lonely at the top. Embodying what it means to truly be a leader – to have the energy to drive strategy, inspire colleagues and provide them with security and affirmation about the direction of the business – can be exhausting. Just last year Joseph Kennedy, CEO of Pandora, resigned from the position “to get to a recharging station”, and in 2011 the Lloyds Banking Group CEO Antonio Horta-Osorio took a period of leave due to exhaustion. “When you become a CEO you stop being a person and are treated as a function,” explains Gary Burnison, chief executive of Korn Ferry. Burnison is a scholar of leadership; he is a New York Times bestselling author and has just released a third book on the topic, as
well as leading Korn Ferry to achieve record revenue figures. But it hasn’t always been this way. In his second book, The Twelve Absolutes of Leadership, Burnison describes the role of a CEO as an “opportunity and burden”. During his transition from chief operating officer to chief executive officer in 2007, he struggled with the shift in how his peers perceived him. He went from being “one of the guys” to the realization that “I could not just talk about the mission; I had to exude a steadfast belief in it”.
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Burnison explains that his experience is not the exception, it’s the norm. The pressure on CEOs during the financial
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crisis inevitably ratcheted, but with the average tenure of a CEO being just five years, has this intensity lingered? “We live in a culture of instant gratification,” Burnison says. “We’re in a fight for growth and a fight for relevancy. Businesses aren’t going to benefit from conspicuous consumers. You have to drive growth through borderless consumption, consolidation or innovation.” Burnison belongs to the contingent of economists, businessmen and observers who believe we have experienced an economic paradigm shift, entering a new era where growth is slow and change is fast. He says: “Your workforce needs to be very agile and, as a result, the number one factor of executive success is leadership agility. We’ve looked at the leadership styles of millions
of professionals. CEOs do not make immediate decisions – they are more reflective, more complex and more creative. When you’re looking for a CEO, you are looking for people who wake up at 4.30am without an alarm clock with a sense of purpose.” Burnison’s experience at Korn Ferry reflects his own aptitude for agile leadership. After a distinguished career – which includes working at an accounting firm, as an investment banker and as a technology consultant – he joined Korn Ferry as chief financial officer in 2002, having previously invested as a shareholder. He describes receiving a call from an industry analyst shortly before assuming the position, notifying him that the search firm was on the brink of bankruptcy. Following a healthy IPO in 1999, Korn Ferry’s stock price rose from $14 to $43, but following the dot com crash, it fell to around $6.50. The search firm endured a challenging five years, ultimately halving its workforce. But, following Burnison’s appointment as chief executive officer in 2007, Korn Ferry has become the largest search firm in the world. So what leadership lessons did he learn during this difficult time, and what has he found to work since 2007? “CEOs are typically in the business of ‘what?’ and ‘how?’,” he explains. “But I believe that more emphasis needs to be put on the business of ‘why?’ and on the business of people. 90% of strategy is execution and 90% of execution is people. The risk of leading is that you go up a hill, look back and realize that no-one is there behind you.”
An industry outlier
When discussing inspirational leadership, Burnison defines outstanding achievers as ‘outliers’, in the sense that
they are willing to part with the past and try something new. Perhaps this is why Korn Ferry has adopted a more diverse product offering, built around broader leadership consulting and talent management services, as well as relaunching its brand last year. But this doesn’t mean Burnison is turning his back on the industry. “I believe that search changes people’s lives,” he says. “It accelerates the destination of clients in an incredibly
9G£TG KP C ĪIJV HQT ITQYVJ CPF C ĪIJV HQT TGNGXCPE[ $WUKPGUUGU CTGP£V IQKPI VQ DGPGĪV HTQO EQPURKEWQWU EQPUWOGTU ;QW JCXG VQ FTKXG ITQYVJ VJTQWIJ DQTFGTNGUU consumption, consolidation QT KPPQXCVKQP ¡ profound way. Having said that, it can be risky to bring executives from outside into any organization. It’s all about culture fit. People don’t fail or succeed at this level on whether they are technically competent.” Despite his status as an outlier, Burnison’s description of the search industry doesn’t seem too controversial. Therein lies an issue for all search firms, and most professional services firms: how does one firm differentiate itself from another when, to many observers, the product offering is so similar? All firms will claim to offer global reach, industry specialization, great data and great people – and it is likely that most of them will use similar language to do so. “What is the real differentiator: the name at the top of the business card or the name in the middle?” Burnison
asks. “Clearly in a brand there is an element of trust and consistency, but what really differentiates professional services firms is the people.” This is particularly pertinent at Korn Ferry, as one in five employees have joined in the last year. This could inevitably cause friction between the new employees who experience the re-launched brand and wider product offering and the more tenured partners who relate to the Korn Ferry brand in a more traditional manner. But Burnison’s concept of branding isn’t as black and white as that: “We don’t just want people to come in and adopt the brand and the culture. We want people to change the culture and make the brand more elastic.” There will be some people in the search community who disagree with Burnison’s strategy of a broader product offering, to which he says: “I respect their views and have tremendous humility for what we do.” The reality is that retained search is a respected professional service and, for many, it is a relationship business that is maintained through consistency and quality of service. It remains the essential tool for senior recruitment and, according to the AESC’s State of Industry research for 2013, is estimated to be a $10.57 billion industry. But, with 36% of Korn Ferry’s revenue in 2013 coming from non-search services, it is undoubtable that Burnison has discovered a growth opportunity for the firm as a whole. In spite of Korn Ferry’s positive revenue figures, Burnison explains that the pressure still remains on him as CEO. So what one piece of advice would he dispense to leaders in order to handle this element of the position? “Separate what you do and who you are - or you can go crazy.”
Summer 2014 | Search - The AESC Quarterly | 9
Feature Article
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Balancing the Boardroom We take a look at the progress of women at board-level in the UK and examine what lessons can be learned
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reaking the glass ceiling is not a new initiative. For years we have scratched our heads, wondering why more women don’t make it into senior management positions. We have been told that women lack ambition, leadership skills and would rather raise children. We’ve heard that boardrooms are an old boy’s network and that if you’re not willing to play golf or tennis you will not be successful. But cracks are beginning to appear in the glass ceiling and these tired stereotypes are being overturned. Women are claiming senior leadership positions across Europe in an unprecedented wave. An atmosphere of post-financial crash introversion led to a wider dialogue around board effectiveness. Enter Viviane Reding, vice-president of the European Commission, whose message is simple: no woman should get a job simply because she is a woman and, at the same time, no woman should be denied a job simply because she is a woman. Reding has proved to be a major catalyst in placing diversity at the forefront of board governance conversations; her threat of EU-wide gender quotas for publicly listed companies made all interested parties pay attention. “We are not trying to get more women on boards, we are trying to create the 21st century board governance,” says Candace Johnson, founder of Global Board Ready Women, a collaboration
of business schools and professional networks intended to create a database of leading female talent. The British government took a stance against quotas and commissioned Lord Mervyn Davies, the former chairman of Standard Chartered, to write his landmark report ‘Women on Boards’ in 2011. Businesses were encouraged to hit 25% of female board directors by 2015, otherwise change may be enforced. The proportion of FTSE100 board seats occupied by women has risen from 12.5% in 2011 to 20.7% today. Between October 2013 and March 2014 35.5% of all FTSE100 appointments were female. One of the recommendations of the Davies report was the creation of a Voluntary Code of Conduct for executive search firms, which was drafted by a collection of executive search firms. The existence of the Voluntary Code and this year’s government-backed review by Charlotte Sweeney identified executive search firms as key contributors to the future of diverse boards.
A symptom of government involvement is a short-termism aimed at a target. In order to meet this objective search firms have adjusted their behaviors to broaden the talent pool, questioning the definitions of assignments that may have previously led to an unconscious male bias. The most cited example is the interpretation of the term ‘board experience’; if this is taken to mean a search for candidates already on boards it inevitably maintains the status quo, but if it means identifying individuals with board exposure, the talent pool becomes much wider. “Chairmen were frustrated with having the same candidates put forward,” says Helena Morrissey, chief executive of Newton Investment Management and founder of The 30% Club, a network of chairmen and CEOs committed to business-led change. “Since 2011 we have had more of a focus on intrinsic capabilities rather than exact fit. Search firms have done a good job and there is a business opportunity here for those firms that grasp it.”
Subtle drivers of change
Making meaningful change
The challenge for executive search firms is that there is only a finite amount of board-ready talent. The ultimate objective has to be to address the pipeline of female talent, which search firms can assist their clients with, but cannot drive.
The progress that has been made in a short period of time in the UK shows that there is a societal, governmental and business environment for change. But, as Charlotte Sweeney, the author of the review of the Voluntary Code, says, “whatever
Summer 2014 | Search - The AESC Quarterly | 11
The Voluntary Code of Conduct for Executive Search Firms The Voluntary Code was one of the recommendations in Lord Davies’ initial ‘Women on Boards’ report in 2011. The report was written by a collection of search firms in Britain and is now signed by 72 firms. It has since been backed by AESC member firms across Europe and in Australia. To view a copy of the Voluntary Code, click here.
we create has to be sustainable. We can’t say 20% representation on boards is enough. It is really important that people don’t think what we’re doing now can be forgotten after 2015.” The momentum across Europe must be maintained, which requires a reevaluation of board composition. Indeed, the proportion of women in executive board positions in the FTSE100 still sits at 6.9%, while 25.5% of non-executive positions are held by women. Thinking more strategically about board size and composition has to begin now so that chairmen are not required to react if, and when, women leave their board. Krystyna Nowak, managing director of Norman Broadbent’s UK Board Practice, explains: “The chairmen who are enlightened make a chart of the skills they need on their board and assess where they are most likely to find women. They are being realistic and not setting themselves up to find women in impossible roles. If you just wait for the next role to be vacated, you will struggle.” Business groups and search
consultants alike have navigated this issue without accusations of tokenism, acutely aware that it is not in the interest of board-ready women to receive any preferential treatment or undue advantage. Retained search is about far more than finding someone to occupy an empty desk or board seat, as Susanne Thorning-Lund, principal in Odgers Berndtson’s Chair and NED Practice, says: “A woman who is ready for one board may not necessarily be ready for another board. Retained search is about finding people and then spending time with them to evolve their careers. There are a whole raft of stages before you understand someone and perceive them to be board ready.” As independent advisors, search consultants are well positioned to highlight and address deep-seeded issues like unconscious bias that plague organizations far beyond the boardroom. Richard Emerton, managing partner, Board and CEO Services EMEA at Korn/Ferry, says: “In the past, diversity in executive ranks has been about making women succeed in the existing culture. That means that you immediately lose the value of diversity. The understanding now is that you have to take the existing culture and change it so that diverse individuals are able to be successful without having to conform.”
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While the effort of British business and government provides an interesting case study, progress has also been made across Europe, as a result of differing methods. Norway adopted a so-called “pink quota” in 2008 and now has 36% board representation, while in Finland the proportion is 29%, due to a business-backed “comply or explain”
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law. AESC members across Europe have adopted the Voluntary Code, as have member firms in Australia where, again, government pressure has provided a catalyst. “It is very hard for one business to solve this problem by themselves,” says Morrissey, who has just launched a chapter of The 30% Club in North America. “The way you make a difference is by bringing businesses together. You need a virtuous circle of different stakeholders involved.” Sustainable change cannot be made overnight. The role of search firms is to work professionally and objectively – to challenge their client’s remits when they feel that they may be unnecessarily narrow or discriminatory and to mentor, nurture, and promote men and women to their clients. This is a matter of how we want our boards to look in future – it is not about diversity of gender, race or religion – it is about diversity of thought. Therefore, the search firms who prove they are thinking about the board skills, size and effectiveness will show a commitment to progressive thinking. Those firms that go even further and engage with their clients on the sustainability of the diversity agenda – talking about their talent pipeline and culture – will prove themselves to embody what it means to be a trusted advisor.
Glenda K. Brown, Managing Director AESC and BlueSteps, has led the charge to align the AESC with the top networks and talent pools of board ready women. If you would like further information, or to access these networks, you can do so in a variety of ways by emailing gbrown@aesc.org.
Feature Article
China Going Global As China’s economic growth continues, we take a closer look at the environment for search
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or many years China has been a magnet for foreign investment. Between 1980 and 2011, China experienced double-digit GDP growth in 16 of those years. America’s position as the world’s largest economy is under threat; The Economist currently predicts that China’s GDP will outstrip the USA’s by 2019. But this rapid and unprecedented growth has slowed since 2011, with the Chinese government lowering its growth target in an attempt to foster sustainable development and address concerns around wealth inequality. “The Chinese economy is going through a transition period,” says Jin Zhang, China managing director at Russell Reynolds. “In today’s environment the theme is not only about attracting foreign investment in China, it is also about Chinese companies investing in other markets.” Indeed, according to statistics from China’s Ministry of Commerce, quoted in the China Daily, outward foreign direct investments (FDI) during the first 10 months of last year rose 25.8% to $58.2 billion, while inward FDI fell 3.5% to $91.7 million. Indeed, China’s 12th Five Year Plan (which runs from 2011-2015) identified seven core industries to focus on. Three of these relate to energy and sustainable
development, while the other four focus on research and development, indicating an intention to move up the supply chain, shifting from ‘Made in China’ to ‘Designed in China’. “The economy in China is divided,” says Train Luo, managing partner, China at CTPartners. “In the traditional industries, like manufacturing, there is not much innovation. However, there is a huge wave of innovation-driven companies, focusing on e-commerce, the internet, financial technology and consumer electronics. China needs to go from a manufacturingdriven economy to an IP-driven economy.”
Searching for local hires
One of the central drivers of a healthy economy is a secure middleclass. However, there is evidence to suggest that the number of middle-class Chinese nationals leaving the country for new opportunities is rising significantly. Despite high compensation levels and the opportunities to acquire significant personal wealth, individuals are leaving for Australia, Canada and Southern Europe in search of a better quality of life, a life where they don’t have to worry about air pollution or the quality of the food they eat, a life where couples can have more than one child.
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A recent article in The Economist said: “Many [Chinese nationals] are going for good, and unlike past waves of Chinese emigrants, they include accomplished midcareer professionals who have little to gain financially by leaving.” With a large proportion of the country still working in traditional industries, the boom of the last 30 years has created tremendous wealth inequality – indeed the income gap between the rich and poor has now overtaken the gap in the United States and is now among the largest in the world. To help address this, organizations in China are often looking to local hires. Steve Mullinjer, regional leader, Asia Pacific at Heidrick & Struggles, says: “Our [Heidrick & Struggles’] experience suggests that approximately 55-60% of multinational companies have replaced foreign expatriates with local hires in the past three to four years. Historically fewer
than 10% of Chinese job candidates on average would be suitable for work in a foreign company because of their poor command of English and an education system that focuses on theory rather than practical skills.” While there is clearly a desire for businesses to address long-standing societal issues like wealth inequality and poverty, it remains to be seen whether the Chinese education system is sophisticated and relevant enough to create the next generation of talent. In the short term, the desire for Chinese-born executives was bolstered by some returning nationals from the West. Set against the troubled economic environment of the Financial Crisis, and the consequential low levels of executive mobility, China’s growth appealed to some executives, as Bill Farrell, managing partner at Boyden explains: “The expatriate community saw a
chance to play their part in what they saw as a great economic story.”
+P VJG 75 + YCU WUGF VQ VCMKPI time to contemplate…in China [QW YKNN DG NGHV DGJKPF¡ But how transferable are the soft skills that the returning expatriates and executives who have never lived or worked in China have developed during their time in the West and what cultural differences can they expect? “In terms of corporate culture, Chinese companies in the early stage of globalization are probably 20-30 years behind their competitors,” says Luo. While organizations in the West are increasingly being challenged about whether top-down management is optimal for getting the most
out of their talent, it is the favored style in China. “In multinational companies there is an expectation that recognition comes with good performance and time,” Farrell says. “To be able to get the best global talent, local Chinese companies need to offer similar recognition. When Chinese companies are giving serious consideration to recruiting a Western expatriate they have to understand that there are different expectations than if they were recruiting somebody from the same province.” One preconception that many in the West hold about Chinese working culture is that it will be an environment where collectivism is rife, perhaps due to the country’s political history, but Stephanie Yang-Shao, chief HR officer at Trina-Solar, explains that this isn’t the case. “Before the Chinese reforms started in 1978 the entrepreneurial desire was oppressed for a long time. Once the door was opened
Summer 2014 | Search - The AESC Quarterly | 15
AESC President Peter Felix with Henry Wang, President of the China Global Talents Society, at the AESC’s Beijing Forum last year
you saw an explosive unleashing of entrepreneurial spirit.” Yang-Shao was born and raised in China, before moving to America to study. She spent the following 15 years there, working for a range of global organizations including ColgatePalmolive and Bristol Myers-Squibb. After joining Trina-Solar in 2010, she initially struggled to adjust to working life in China. “In both countries people have a high drive for success and both countries are quite individualistic,” she says. “But in the US I was used to conducting analysis, taking time to contemplate and develop plans. In China, if you take that approach you will be left behind.” This reality extends beyond Chinese corporate culture; the term ‘grab’ is often used to describe the acquisition of commodities in China, whether that relates to land, luxury goods or salt (in 2011, following the damage to the Fukishima Nuclear Plant in Japan, unfounded rumors spread that ingesting iodized salt would protect against radiation – within one day all of China’s major cities were completely wiped out of salt). Yang-Shao is not alone in struggling to adjust, or in her case readjust, to this style of working – many executives fail within their first three years.
Aside from cultural differences – both in a corporate and social context – there are increasing concerns about air pollution in China, particularly in Beijing and Shanghai. The rate of pollution can rise to dangerous levels and, if you’re a candidate with a young family considering a move to China, you’d be excused for questioning whether it is a risk worth taking.
¡+H + JCF DGGP CRRTQCEJGF QP .KPMGF+P + YQWNFP£V JCXG OQXGF¡ “Retained search has a lot of value developing a candidate and helping them make the decision,” says Yang-Shao. “It took me a year to make this decision [to move back to China]. If I had been approached on LinkedIn I wouldn’t have moved. The search partner helped me out a lot.” Search firms play an influential role in convincing the most suitable talent to consider a move to China and there are some levers that work in their favor – according to the 2013 BlueSteps Executive Compensation Report the average level of compensation for executives is higher in China than it is anywhere in America or Western Europe. While the rate of
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tax can be high, search consultants can communicate to clients that this will need to be considered when the compensation package is structured. “The key point is that demand greatly exceeds supply,” Mulinjer explains. “This will not change for the next ten years. Companies have to accept that in many areas they will pay their China executives a 20% to 30% premium over what they would pay for the same role in a mature market whereby the executive only brings 70% of the skills and experience to the position.” Identifying bi-lingual candidates with the right operational skills and management experience is not easy, particularly when the retained search model is regularly undercut by local recruiters who don’t adhere to the same professional standards as AESC members. “The barriers to entry in the recruitment industry are very low,” says Farrell. “It doesn’t take much to print a name on a business card, create an email address and say you’re a recruiter. It makes the environment very competitive. You have to do what you need to win a search without compromising your ethics.” Farrell goes on to explain that it is extremely common for a client only to approach a search firm with an assignment once they have tried a cheaper alternative – either a local recruitment firm or an inhouse team. While this phenomenon is true across the world, it is particularly common in countries where retained search hasn’t historically had a large footprint. “Whether you’re in the East or the West, if you haven’t used search before then getting over the hump of paying a retainer can be a challenge,” Farrell adds. So while there are many challenges for search consultants in China, there are hopes that business will continue to grow. The global networks that search consultants command will hold them in good stead for the future as the market looks to mature and grow.
Feature Article
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Brazil’s Final Stretch With Brazil hosting the FIFA World Cup and Olympic Games in the space of two years, what drives executives to work on such high pressure projects and can they harness their motivation to deliver results? Summer 2014 | Search - The AESC Quarterly | 19
“The Games have hit this country like an extra-strength dose of mood enhancing drug,” wrote David Segal of The New York Times at the close of the London Olympic and Paralympic Games. “The question being asked here now is whether this national euphoria can last or, better yet, lead the country out of its recent economically driven malaise.” Major sporting events provide the potential for a boost in the way a nation perceives itself and is perceived by the rest of the world. The convergence of sport and economics allows countries to demonstrate a global mindset and openness to foreign investment. Through teamwork, discipline, stamina and competition, sportsmen and businessmen alike realize their potential. This year Brazil will host the FIFA World Cup and follow that with the 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games. For many years hosting such events has been thought to provide an economic boost to the host country, beyond the preliminary investment and increase in tourism revenue. But that notion is beginning to be questioned. For example, following the 2008 Beijing Olympics, China did not benefit from the extent of foreign investment it had anticipated, although it is unclear how much that was related to the Global Financial Crisis. Since 2011, Brazil’s economic growth rate has slowed to less than two percent, so as the world’s best football teams arrive at the Mecca of Latin American football this summer, the word will also be watching to see whether there is a re-ignition of the country’s sluggish economic growth.
Candidates motivated for the right reasons
The mood within Brazil is not entirely one of excitement. Many Brazilians
have begun to question the amount of investment in building new stadiums in remote areas, while rising rates of inflation eat into their own personal finances. Internationally there are concerns about how much work is still left to be done in preparation for both sporting events. In spite of this, Denys Monteiro, chief executive at FESA, says: “It has not been difficult to attract talent to Brazil.” With significant infrastructure development, an anticipated boost in short-term tourism revenue and the world’s media arriving this summer, has there been a noticeable difference in the range of search work available?
One of the biggest drivers of career satisfaction is a sense of RGTUQPCN HWNĪNNOGPV (QT OCP[ QH us, serving our country to the best of our ability is likely to motivate YC[ DG[QPF OCVGTKCN ICKP “We have recruited executives across a range of industries: sports and entertainment, infrastructure, hospitality and transportation, for example,” Monteiro says. “Our business has seen double-digit growth since 2008 as the salaries have sky-rocketed in Brazil.” The hosting of such events puts a magnifying glass on the performance of the individuals tasked with delivering the competitions as much as it does on the athletes competing. Search consultants have a responsibility to identify candidates who are motivated for the right reasons – there is obviously a significant prestige attached with contributing to a major sporting event, particularly if it successful, but that
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shouldn’t be the primary motivation for an individual’s involvement. A candidates’ commitment to presenting a host nation in a favorable light and creating a longlasting feel-good legacy should play a significant role in hiring decisions.
A thankless task?
Regardless of the high level of interest, working on the team delivering a major sporting event can sometimes feel like a thankless task – you will be required to work to inflexible deadlines with no option not to succeed, you will be compensated below many of your peers in the private sector, and as soon as the event passes your job will no longer exist. But despite shrewd selection decisions and a global shortage of executive talent, there are enough candidates who understand the career benefits of working at a sporting event. Ricardo Amatto, partner at Amrop Panelli Motta Cabrera, explains: “Some executives decided to work for the organizing committees mostly because of the contribution towards the event and the country. Others visualized the World Cup or Olympic Games as opportunities to differentiate their résumés and have bigger potential returns on investment in their next career steps.” One of the biggest drivers of career satisfaction is a sense of personal fulfillment. For many of us, serving our country to the best of our ability is likely to motivate way beyond material gain. But, as Maisa Maoin, partner at Amrop Panelli Motta Cabrera, explains, those individuals that are able to demonstrate personal successes or a contribution to an excellent sporting event will experience a career legacy long after the last football has been kicked and the Olympic flame has moved on. “It
is a similar strategy used by senior economists who decide to work for the Central Bank, for example, earning much less than the market average,” he says. “After some years, their market value increases significantly as they move and are hired by first-tier investment or wholesale banks.”
0Q VYQ GXGPVU QEEWT KP VJG UCOG environment So if the events prove to be successful, the executives working on the delivery will stand to reap the rewards. Comparisons to previous sporting events are not always helpful when defining whether an Olympic Games or World Cup has been a success – no two events occur in the same social, cultural or economic environment.
Therefore, the start point and the end point are different and the events must be judged in their own context. Indeed, the 2016 Olympic Games will be the first time that a South American country has ever hosted the event. In a country already divided about hosting these events (there are some people in Brazil who hope that the national team doesn’t win the World Cup for fear it will paper over societal cracks in an election year), a sense of national pride and commitment to delivering the best possible advertisement for Brazil should be central to the final push. While there are several search firms who appear to have profited from these events on an individual level, their work will also partly be judged on the delivery of these sporting events. As it stands, the legacy of these events will not be as positive or economically
prosperous as the country had once hoped, but one’s passion for one’s home nation is not to be underestimated. Assuming the search consultants have indeed identified the individuals who can crystalize a sense of nationalism into a unified culture to motivate themselves and their teams, there is hope yet for successful events. Sport can elevate a nation’s morale and prospects way beyond what happens in the stadiums, as seen through Colombia’s nationwide boost following the national team’s unlikely run to the 1994 FIFA World Cup and Britain’s steady economic recovery since the 2012 Olympic Games. Perhaps a successful World Cup campaign from Neymar, Oscar and the rest of the team can be the medicine the country needs for a successful Olympic Games and a prosperous legacy.
Summer 2014 | Search - The AESC Quarterly | 21
Sponsored Content
Tech trends and the value of executive search Cluen’s Andrew Shapiro summarizes the ways in which technology is enhancing and disrupting executive search
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s technical innovation changes the world around us, the way executive search firms conduct business is also changing. In this article we will examine a few areas – social media, mobile technology, and security/ compliance – where technology trends are changing not only the processes used by search firms, but the very value proposition of engaging a firm to complete a search. Though there are greater expectations of transparency and speed, greater ability to measure results, and an overarching concern for security and compliance, the executive search industry has great opportunities to provide more value than ever for their customers, but must embrace information systems in order to get there.
Social Media
While social media has a far-reaching impact on executive search, and my firm studies this from countless angles, for the space permitted here, let’s focus on two points. First, as the whole world will be able to complete ‘Name ID’ for a basic target list, the extra value (in addition to strength of a consultant’s network) becomes thoughtful incorporation of less likely targets and
knowledge of how to assess, activate and ‘close’ the list. When anyone can make some sort of longlist, the skill of delivering the right candidate needs to be emphasized. Secondly, niche industry networks also become increasingly valuable as top talent in some sectors has already begun to tune out of social media due to ‘fatigue’. When anyone on the planet can make a recruiting target list, the world’s most in-demand talent is getting overwhelmed by recruiters at all levels of the industry. This leads to de-listing or creation of inaccurate/decoy records. Actively maintaining relationships with those people in your niche brings ever-increasing value in the breadth of potential candidates and accuracy of vetted information.
Mobile technology
Pervasive mobile technology is moving the needle on the value provided by executive search firms as well. Having access to research, clients and candidates ‘anytime, anywhere’ creates a greater expectation of responsiveness and the overall pace of search execution. With rapid communication among all the stakeholders in a search there is greater risk in having a candidacy go sideways overnight. Having
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a great search professional manage the interactions can be of critical value, but they need to be available and they need to be connected. Executive search teams therefore require good search-specific data systems to cater for these increased demands. At best a slow response will reduce the chances of impressing clients and earning repeat business; at worst it can scuttle a search. Easy information entry and recall on mobile devices is paramount to coordinate between team members and avoiding potential toe-stepping conflicts with BD and issues around off-limits. This information becomes more and more valuable as it supports the fast pace of search execution without an individual having to check back with a central office or busy colleagues.
Security and compliance issues
Security and compliance concerns are increasing every day. With more connections between our information systems there are more opportunities for wrongdoers to exploit the regulatory machines meant to protect us from them. With increased availability of social data, proprietary information that is not available to the greater community
becomes more valuable for search and more critical to protect. Executive search firms must provide value in the assurance of high technology security standards to their clients and their candidates. This satisfies not only concerns of cautious candidates and diligent clients, but the contracts and laws that govern most search firms’ operations. The candidates are becoming more cautious. The clients are becoming more diligent. The laws are becoming more stringent. Whether it is an addition to the already strong value
proposition of your executive search firm, or just the cost of entry to be in the business, having a prepared position detailing how your firm achieves security and compliance is only becoming more important.
The durable qualities of executive search
Ultimately the value of search will continue to be based on the most durable qualities of top executive search teams:
a true understanding of the customer’s needs, skills of assessing the market and potential candidates, navigating the path to a completed assignment, and a true partnership with the client based on responsiveness, integrity and transparency. As always, the highest value is not in a fast target list (or even a placement) but rather the very process of completing a true executive search which, done right, gives confidence to a search committee and reveals much about the market and the client’s own organization.
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ndrew Shapiro has committed his career to creating software solutions for executive search. He co-founded The Cluen Corporation in 1990 and this experience has led to him being considered a thought leader by the executive search industry. Everyday thousands of recruiters worldwide use Cluen’s diverse range of products.
Summer 2014 | Search - The AESC Quarterly | 23
Ô°ŐˆŐ‡Ő†Ő‹Ő‡ŐŠÔ˝Ôź Ô Ő‡Ő†ŐŒÔ˝Ő†ŐŒ
Trust but Verify Strengthening suitability with background checking
W
e’ve all heard the statistics, that a significant percentage of executives embellish their resumes. Maybe they beef up a previous role to make it more valuable, maybe they tweak their college major to better match the industry, or maybe they just plainly erase a job that links them to a damaging lawsuit or regulatory fine. This is why due diligence has become an integral part of executive search. After a search firm finds a suitable
candidate, we delve into the candidate’s background and professional history, discovering new and at times critical information that was beyond the reach of the search firm’s internal resources. While maintaining an active dialogue with the search firm, we verify the professed qualifications of candidates and uncover inconsistencies, omissions or undisclosed controversies that could be damaging to the search firm and its client.
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Verifying, early and often ŐĄ ÔąŐ€Ô˝ Ő‹Ő‡Ő‡Ő†Ô˝ŐŠ ŐŒŐ€Ô˝ ÔşÔ˝ŐŒŐŒÔ˝ŐŠ ŐĄ Ô´Ő€ÔšŐŒ0Ő‹ Ô˝Ő…ÔşÔ˝Ő„Ő„Ő Ő‹Ő€Ô˝Ôź! ŐĄ Ô´Ő€ÔšŐŒ0Ő‹ Ő‡Ő…Ő ŐŒŐŒÔ˝Ôź! ÔŞÔšŐ†Ő‘ Ő€Ő ÔżŐ€ ŐˆŐŠŐ‡ÔžŐ Ő„Ô˝ Ô Ô˘ÔŹ ŐŒÔ˝ŐŠŐ…Ő Ő†ÔšŐŒŐ Ő‡Ő†Ő‹ ÔťŐ‡Ő?Ő„Ôź Ő€ÔšŐŽÔ˝ ÔşÔ˝Ô˝Ő† ÔšŐŽŐ‡Ő ÔźÔ˝Ôź ÔşŐ‘ ŐŽÔ˝ŐŠŐ ÔžŐ‘Ő Ő†Ôż ŐŒŐ€Ô˝ ÔťÔšŐ†ÔźŐ ÔźÔšŐŒÔ˝0Ő‹ Ő…Ő‡Ő‹ŐŒ ÔşÔšŐ‹Ő Ôť ÔťŐŠÔ˝ÔźÔ˝Ő†ŐŒŐ ÔšŐ„Ő‹ Ő Ő†ÔťŐ„Ő?ÔźŐ Ő†Ôż Ô˝ÔźŐ?ÔťÔšŐŒŐ Ő‡Ő†ÔšŐ„ ÔźÔ˝ÔżŐŠÔ˝Ô˝Ő‹ ÔšŐ†Ôź ŐˆŐŠŐ‡ÔžÔ˝Ő‹Ő‹Ő Ő‡Ő†ÔšŐ„ Ő„Ő ÔťÔ˝Ő†Ő‹Ô˝Ő‹ Ô˝ÔšŐŠŐ„Ő‘ Ő‡Ő† Ő Ő† ŐŒŐ€Ô˝ Ő‹Ô˝ÔšŐŠÔťŐ€ ŐˆŐŠŐ‡ÔťÔ˝Ő‹Ő‹ Ô´Ő€Ô˝ŐŒŐ€Ô˝ŐŠ Ő ŐŒ Ő Ő‹ ŐŒŐ€Ô˝ ÔżÔ˝Ő†Ô˝ŐŠÔšŐ„ ÔťŐ‡Ő?Ő†Ő‹Ô˝Ő„ Ő?Ő€Ő‡ Ő†Ô˝ŐŽÔ˝ŐŠ ŐŠÔ˝ÔťÔ˝Ő ŐŽÔ˝Ôź Ôš Ő„ÔšŐ? Ő„Ő ÔťÔ˝Ő†Ő‹Ô˝ Ő‡ŐŠ ŐŒŐ€Ô˝
About the Mintz Group
Founded in 1994, the Mintz Group has conducted over 10,000 investigations in more than 100 countries. As the exclusive due diligence partner of the AESC, we take pride in our untarnished record of maintaining the highest professional and ethical standards.
amounts of time living and working in multiple countries. Verifying the backgrounds of these candidates on the long list and short list requires global capabilities, language fluencies and compliant reporting, all while honoring local traditions and privacy concerns. ÔŚŐŒ Ő Ő‹ ÔťŐ‡Ő…Ő…Ő‡Ő† ÔžŐ‡ŐŠ Ő?Ő‹ ŐŒŐ‡ Ő‹Ô˝ÔšŐŠÔťŐ€ Ő Ő† ŐŒŐ?Ő‡ Ő‡ŐŠ three languages per candidate, and we recommend searching in each country where they have lived and worked. We recently vetted an executive currently living in Asia who was wanted by ŐŒŐ€Ô˝ ÔŁÔ&#x;ÔŚ ÔžŐ‡ŐŠ ÔžŐ„Ô˝Ô˝Ő Ő†Ôż Ôš Ő‹Ô˝ŐŠŐ Ő‡Ő?Ő‹ ÔťŐŠŐ Ő…Ő Ő†ÔšŐ„ conviction in the U.S. – no one before had thought to look where he used to live.
Social media is the new language
ŐĄ ÔŐ‡ŐˆŐ?Ő„ÔšŐŠ Ő?Ő ŐŒŐ€ Ő…ÔšŐ†Ő‘ ŐŒŐ‡Őˆ Ô˝Ő?Ô˝ÔťŐ?ŐŒŐ ŐŽÔ˝Ő‹ ŐĄ Ô Ő‡Ő†ŐŒÔ˝Ő†ŐŒ Ő Ő‹ Ő?Ő†Ô˝ÔźŐ ŐŒÔ˝Ôź ÔšŐ†Ôź ÔšŐŒ ŐŒŐ Ő…Ô˝Ő‹ indiscreet ŐĄ Ô Ő„Ő Ô˝Ő†ŐŒŐ‹ Ô˝Ő?ŐˆÔ˝ÔťŐŒ Ő‹Ô˝ÔšŐŠÔťŐ€ ÔžŐ ŐŠŐ…Ő‹ ŐŒŐ‡ ŐŠÔ˝ŐŽŐ Ô˝Ő? Ő ŐŒ You might be surprised at just Jim Rowe how many top executives actively use jrowe@mintzgroup.com social media, cultivating Twitter feeds 202-887-9100 ÔšŐ†Ôź ŐˆŐ‡Ő‹ŐŒŐ Ő†Ôż ŐˆŐ€Ő‡ŐŒŐ‡Ő‹ ŐŒŐ‡ ÔŚŐ†Ő‹ŐŒÔšÔżŐŠÔšŐ… Clients expect search firms to have a handle on a candidate’s publicly viewable social media profiles and identify any questionable content, such is anything out there, it’s imperative for as pornography, hate speech and the search firm to find it first. profanity – all of which we have found on well-pedigreed business leaders. The need to rein in these unedited and at times indiscreet postings shows just what a double-edged sword the internet can be. ŐĄ ÔŚŐ†ŐŒÔ˝ŐŠŐ†ÔšŐŒŐ Ő‡Ő†ÔšŐ„ ŐŒÔšŐ„Ô˝Ő†ŐŒ ŐˆŐ‡Ő‡Ő„ With the rise of networking sites like ŐĄ Ô¤Ő„Ő‡ÔşÔšŐ„ ŐŠÔ˝ÔšÔťŐ€ ÔšŐ†Ôź Ő„Ő Ő†ÔżŐ?Ő Ő‹ŐŒŐ Ôť ÔžŐ„Ő?Ô˝Ő†ÔťŐ Ô˝Ő‹ ÔŠŐ Ő†ŐƒÔ˝ÔźÔŚŐ† Ő?Ő€Ô˝ŐŠÔ˝ ÔšŐ† Ő Ő†ÔźŐ ŐŽŐ ÔźŐ?ÔšŐ„0Ő‹ ŐŠÔ˝Ő‹Ő?Ő…Ô˝ ŐĄ ÔĽŐ‡Ő†Ő‡ŐŠŐ Ő†Ôż Ő„Ő‡ÔťÔšŐ„ Ő„ÔšŐ?Ő‹ ÔšŐ†Ôź ŐŒŐŠÔšÔźŐ ŐŒŐ Ő‡Ő†Ő‹ is available for all to see, you might ÔŚŐ†ÔťŐŠÔ˝ÔšŐ‹Ő Ő†ÔżŐ„Ő‘ ŐŒŐ‡Őˆ ÔşŐ‡ÔšŐŠÔź ÔšŐ†Ôź Ô˝Ő?Ô˝ÔťŐ?ŐŒŐ ŐŽÔ˝ think that self-censorship will prevail, candidates have spent significant but this is not always the case. „ ÔÔ˝ŐŒÔ˝ŐŠ ÔŠÔšÔżŐ‡Ő…ÔšŐŠŐ‹Ő Ő†Ő‡ plago@mintzgroup.com 415-765-9900
CEO who embellished his college degree, these discrepancies must be exposed and corrected before a candidate meets a client. By the way, verifying employment history isn’t just checking off the jobs that appear on a resume. The real art is in finding jobs that fall off the resume, such as the company that an executive ran with his stock-swindling brother before it dissolved in a cloud of investor lawsuits. Any client can search the candidate’s name in Google, and if there
Global candidates dictate deeper cross-border checks
Summer 2014 | Search - The AESC Quarterly | 25
Catching up with...
Donna Sharp, Director, AESC/Cornell Advanced Program for Executive Search Consulting, ILR School, Cornell University, outlines her vision for the future of retained search and the value of the Cornell program What is the value of retained search? From my vantage point at the ILR School, retained search provides substantial value to firms, in particular those firms who are in need of attracting highly qualified talent, expeditiously and with minimal risk. Retained search consultants are in a unique position to identify experienced candidates with plenty of upside potential across industry sectors and geographies. The global network of retained search firms and their powerful affiliation as members of the Association of Executive Search Consultants shouldn’t be underestimated. Retained search consultants see trends that others miss and take an objective methodical approach to the search process. They also recognize the realities of supply and demand in the marketplace. What skills and capabilities do you think a retained search consultant needs to thrive in today’s environment?
We live in a world of mass customization. Every client wants to be provided with a high level of service and a customized solution. Listening and understanding the challenges facing each firm and uncovering the talent specifications requires strong communication skills and emotional intelligence. Financial and business acumen, evaluation and assessment, decision making, negotiation, research methods and project planning are also important. At the AESC/Cornell Advanced Program for Executive Search Consulting Program we address many of these topics in depth and provide participants a practice ground to develop their skills, capabilities and perspectives further. What are your predictions for the future of retained search? It is becoming harder to find the right people to fill senior positions at the right time, in the right place, with
26 | Search - The AESC Quarterly | Summer 2014
the right mix of experience. Retained search consultants reduce the risk of a bad hire and increase the likelihood of finding innovators who can deliver on their promise. A good hire can strongly contribute to the competitive advantage of a firm. How does the Cornell program equip search consultants to further enhance their skills? We have designed a program where search consultants can develop their skills and build greater awareness of how theory and practice can go hand in hand. Just as the retained search industry is expert at what it does, so is our faculty. We have carved out the core elements of academic research related to human resources and management strategy that can be applied to day-to-day retained search practice. „
Out of Office...
During his career Andrew Garner has served as Chairman and CEO of Boyden, Garner International and Norman Broadbent. He continues to execute board level searches, in addition to executive mentoring, public speaking and teaching at business schools. Here he discusses his lifelong passion of motor racing and how it has enhanced his career How did you discover motor racing? My father took me to watch motor racing when I was only seven and I haven’t been away from it since – I adore it. Once you hear the engine, touch the cars and smell the oil, what previously looked like a group of silly old men all of a sudden has some real meaning. It has been a fascinating, wonderful privilege to be able to do it: to have become friends with some of the all-time greats of racing and raced alongside them; to have been able to do that has been an enormous privilege; to actually own pieces of history – cars that people have drooled over when they’ve seen them in the paddock.
I have rarely driven before or since – where you’re in the zone. Everything was running slow but I was driving faster than everyone else. Do you think having a passion for racing has assisted your career? I believe that if you’re going to be successful at work, you need to be successful at something else as well. Otherwise you will have a narrow view – you won’t engage with the world
What models of cars do you drive? The cars of my childhood – I race historic racing cars, which means the cars of the late 1950s. All of the cars are owned by the driver or are being driven on behalf of the owner. I race Formula One and Le Mans car races where all of the contestants are amateurs. What do you consider to be your greatest achievement in racing? Anyone who races historic racing cars will appreciate Goodwood [a historic race circuit in Britain]. I am one of less than 30 people to have competed in all of the Goodwood revivals. In the first one in 1998 I was nominated as driver of the meeting. I drove in a manner that
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and the people around you. I have been involved in politics, sports and education and much more. I know how elements of all of those things have fed back into the richness of my career. It is lovely to have built things – built a search firm, floated it, bought one of the big brands – but if all you’re doing is being locked onto the next search, then you will miss opportunities and the enjoyment of your work.