At Executive Headhunters EMA Partners, we’re skilled in Finance Director recruitment. We have experience finding the best candidates in finance. We use our experience to source the best candidates for your opportunities, specifically in the finance sector.
In this case study, we’ll outline our experience finding the perfect candidate for the world’s leading independent tank storage firm; Vopak.
An Introduction to Vopak
Royal Vopak is an oil, gas, and chemicals storage business based in the Netherlands. They offer terminal services in 4 markets; industrial, gas, hub, and distribution terminals. These terminals are large industrial storage facilities, the product of which is transferred to end users.
The business has a significant international presence, with activities and tank terminals based across Europe, Africa, Asia, the Middle East, North America, and South America. Vopak is a large job provider, employing over 5,000 people worldwide.
The business’s strength stems from their combination of experience and quality of service.
Their service is delivered by highly-trained, knowledgeable staff. These staff adhere to the highest possible standards of both safety and quality. This is due to how important the operation of Vopak’s terminals are to their clients.
Vopak’s Finance Director Recruitment Need
At the time of the approach, Vopak was going through a period of change. The business had accepted an offer for a complete takeover by a global corporation. This meant extensive changes were due.
As a result of this upcoming takeover, Vopak needed a new Finance Director. This talented individual would manage the finances of the recently acquired business. The business wanted to work with a finance recruitment agency to find the perfect candidate.
We operate as a whole of market headhunter and senior executive search firm. But we take pride in being a finance recruitment agency as this is where some of our main expertise lies.
The acquiring corporation had a significant presence within the UK business sector, with four operating sites overall. The newly appointed Finance Director would implement the business’s new operating structure in accordance with the new shareholder’s vision.
The business was extremely successful and possessed a great reputation and strong track record. They would remain focused on UK business, retaining the same customers, clients, standards, etc.
The Challenge of Finding the Perfect Candidate
Our client was looking for a Finance Director who would be a perfect fit for their business and the direction they’re taking. The new Finance Director would have the ability to take the lead role in the business management structure.
As part of the senior team, they would be able to match the vision as well as the culture of the newly acquired business. This meant strict adherence to health and safety, sustainability, and quality assurance, as these aspects were all essential.
The role at hand was a challenging one. The chosen Finance Director would possess a great deal of autonomy. In accordance with this, successful candidates would need to be experienced in senior finance with an excellent track record in finance roles.
One of the more interesting aspects of this role was the opportunity provided by the client. Vopak provided a fresh opportunity for development for their newly hired Finance Director to work with and attach a business unit too.
The responsibilities of the role included creating tax, treasury, and secretarial functions that hadn’t been in place previously in the business’s time as a subsidiary of a larger firm.
We Know Our Clients
At Executive Headhunters EMA Partners, we strive to gain the best understanding possible of each of our clients. We believe that in order to find and attract the perfect candidate, we need to understand our clients and their opportunities inside and out. We devote time to engage with our clients and discuss everything about the opportunity with them.
Through our conversations, we found that Vopak’s business culture was one of positivity, responsibility, and collaboration. It seemed the client had found the key to success through this, so there was no reason for a change.
Our client required only the very best candidates for the role. Their ideal candidate was a highly-accomplished Finance Director. They would have strong experience in both international and domestic business environments. They would possess all the necessary skills and qualifications, as well as the right attitude.
The Executive Headhunters Search Process
With this information in mind, we set out to employ our detailed executive search process. We scoured the industry, conducting thorough searches of relevant industries and businesses. Our search was focused, targeting only candidates that matched our client’s specifications.
We targeted the best Finance Directors around. These were FD’s with strong experience and proven success working with large business mergers as well as joint ventures.
Our search was all-encompassing, as we utilised our resources to search a number of industries and sectors. Our focus was targeting candidates who possessed the key transferable skills that were required to succeed in Vopak’s role.
Executive Headhunters Source The Ideal Candidate
The result? We found the perfect candidate for Vopak!
This candidate was a highly qualified Senior Finance Leader. The candidate had excellent experience working in the engineering and energy sectors. They were an expert working in environments where safety is high-priority.
They had strong experience leading and managing teams through various projects. These projects included mergers and acquisitions. They also included day-to-day financial operations and integration assignments.
Finance Director Recruitment Success
What has this experience taught us? For this headhunt, we took the time to get to know our client as a business and understood the role they were offering. We conducted a thorough executive search.
We targeted the best Finance Directors, whilst keeping our client’s specifications and requirements in mind. We used our expert knowledge and experience to identify top candidates who possessed the right transferable skills to succeed in this role.
Our ability to identify high-quality, tailored candidates cross-sector and nurture them towards our client’s opportunity is one of the features that separates us from traditional recruiters.
The successful candidate was high-quality and in high demand, having been approached by several other businesses. We understood this individual and asked them about their needs and their goals. We knew Vopak was the perfect fit and persuaded them to attend an interview.
This was an extremely successful headhunt and a positive experience for all parties involved.
Not The Only Finance Role
At Executive Headhunters EMA Partners this isn’t the only experience we have recruiting top finance professionals. As a whole of market headhunter, we’re experienced in finding ideal candidates for a huge range of businesses.
We have strong experience sourcing high-quality, bespoke finance candidates, as well as candidates for roles such as Marketing Directors, Sales Directors, and Managing Directors.
And our core headhunting service is just one of the services we offer to clients. We also offer a number of additional services which may be ideal for your business and goals.
What Executive Headhunters Can Do For Your Business
Are you looking to recruit for a Director-level finance role? Do you want to find the best candidates possible with no exceptions? We can help. Our experienced team of executive search consultants are highly talented in researching and analysing the market to identify and approach the most ideal finance candidates for our clients’ opportunities.
Do you want to know more about how we can help you find the perfect Finance Director for your business? Give us a call to request a free insights session with one of our senior consultants. This insights session can give you a range of information on various topics such as;
· What our headhunting process entails
· Our experience finding successful senior finance candidates such as Finance Directors
· Our services charges and delivery time-frames
· Why headhunting might be the best option for your business
We can also discuss any further inquiries you may have about our services. Does this sound interesting? Give us a call today!
