Chief Marketing Officer for a Global Leader in Water Filtration Systems

The client is a German multinational and market leader in the water filtration industry in Europe. It was in the process of setting up operations in India and was essentially a start-up organization in the country. Ray & Berndtson was invited to pitch for this mandate along with two other international executive search firms. The CEO in India was a German national. Due to logistical challenges and the urgency to fill the requirement, we pitched our credentials to win the mandate at midnight before the client was to leave back for Germany and were successful in our efforts. The client provided us a detailed brief the next day. Since it was their first foray into India under a European CEO, they were looking at an Indian candidate from a consumer goods multinational with the market experience, seniority and pedigree to join them as a Chief Marketing Officer. The person would be expected to play a pivotal role in rolling out a range of the client’s products in the Indian market.

While the company was a market leader in Europe with a proven line of products, it was an unestablished brand in India. To attract highly sought after candidates with marketing experience in the consumer durable and fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) industry was a difficult proposition. Moreover, the role was based in Bangalore which is not viewed as a hub for consumer goods professionals in India like Mumbai and New Delhi are. Thus identifying candidates in Bangalore or convincing them to move to the city was a challenge. Lastly, engaging individuals from well established organizations and big brands to join a start-up with little brand recognition was a big hurdle to overcome.

Ray & Berndftson was able to sell the unique value proposition of our client’s main products in a competitive market space and pitched the opportunity to prospects keeping this in mind. We carried out a comprehensive search excercise and evaluated people from the consumer goods and related industries who had significant experience working in global multinational companies.

Two candidates were shortlisted for a final interview with the CEO and the Board of Directors in Europe. The candidate eventually selected was from a large European multionational company who accepted the offer as she was convinced that the company’s products could take on more established brands and succeed.