Client
Brief

Crucial for the client was an executive leader with an extensive drinks background and experience of modernising and developing processes & systems.

A second key factor was a demonstrable track record of managing large budgets for capital expenditure.

The company has four sites around the UK and so regular travel was required in the position.

Departmentally, the business had an ageing workforce, many of which were approaching retirement. Therefore, continuation planning was also a crucial factor to consider during the hiring process.

Our
Process

We began by contacting our extensive network of high-calibre UK, executive drinks candidates, conducting a full UK search.

We specifically targeting professionals with prolonged drinks experience, whether that be in an operational or leadership position.

During the interview process it was emphasised that there was a need for someone who had experience of modernising processes, building robust teams, and developing talent into leaders.

As a result, it was vital to identify and test candidates who had a strategic outlook and were not just ‘managerial’.

The
Candidate

The successful candidate was immensely experienced within both UK food and beverage businesses, leading larger teams than required by the client and had excellent experience of strategy development in a very fast-paced and challenging business.

They consistently displayed their ability to improve staff retention, often managing with businesses that had high turnover of staff.

Boasting a very long term and strategic outlook, they were also able to demonstrate their ability to retain and develop talent rather than looking to recruit externally.

The
Result

The candidate joined the company and had an immediate impact, developing a roadmap that would save £4m in year 1, also creating an extra £700k profit within the first four months.

Additionally, they were able to negotiate a more favourable financial package for the entire engineering department, based upon implementation of the roadmap.

This included bringing in higher-calibre engineers, who were able to take over from more experienced and soon-to-retire team members.

During our partnership with the client’s internal talent team, our food and drink practice have played a pivotal role in providing market maps, data, and insights, used by the client to negotiate salary ranges and recruit the engineers required to fulfil the plan.