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Starting From Scratch

By Simone Bigatti, Partner & Financial Services Global Sector Lead 
Region: Italy

Sector focus: Financial Services

HOW DO YOU FIND AN EXECUTIVE FOR A BUSINESS THAT’S STARTING ENTIRELY FROM SCRATCH? THAT’S THE SITUATION WE FOUND OURSELVES IN FOR THIS PARTICULAR CASE. WE NEEDED TO FIND A GENERAL MANAGER TO START UP A NEW BUSINESS INSIDE A BIG INTERNATIONAL BANK INSTITUTE, WITH THE SPECIFICITY THAT THE TOP MANAGEMENT OF THE ORGANIZATION DIDN’T KNOW THE TECHNICAL AND HUMAN CHARACTERISTICS OF THAT BUSINESS AS THEY NEVER HAD THE CHANCE TO WORK IN THAT SPECIFIC SUB SECTOR.
WHEN WE STARTED TO TALK, THE BANK GOT THE AUTHORISATION FROM THE HEADQUARTERS TO GO AHEAD. ONCE THEY GOT THE APPROVAL, THEY WERE ASKED TO START THE SEARCH FROM THAT DAY ONWARDS
WE ALREADY KNEW BOTH RULES AND PEOPLE OF THIS BUSINESS; SO THE CHALLENGE BECAME TO FIND SOMEONE WHO COULD MATCH HUMAN BEHAVIOUR WITH THE NEEDED SKILLS AND FIT WITH THE CULTURE OF OUR CLIENT. THAT WAS A SUPER-DIFFICULT TASK. WE NEEDED TO GET THE FULL DATA OF THE MARKET AND UNDERSTANDING, ON HOW THIS BUSINESS SHOULD GET INTEGRATED WITHIN THE OTHER STRUCTURE.
THE CLIENT TRUSTED US BECAUSE EVERYTHING CAME BASED UPON OUR KNOWLEDGE OF THE MARKET AND THE TRACK RECORDS. WE KNEW THE MARKET, PEOPLE, RULES OF THE BUSINESS, AND SECTOR THOROUGHLY. WE WERE PREPARED FOR ANYTHING THAT WE MIGHT ASK.
THE RECOMMENDATION WAS TWOFOLD: FOR THE CANDIDATES AND THE CLIENTS. WHEN YOU NEED START IN SOMETHING NEW, IT IS ALWAYS CHALLENGING . IN THIS ASSIGMENT, THE CANDIDATE KNEW IT WAS A NEWLY ESTABLISHED BANK, AND HAD TO TRUST THEM AND THEIR PROMISE. OVERALL, IT WAS AN AMAZING EXPERIENCE BECAUSE WE COULD MAKE A DIFFERENCE IN THE MARKET BY THIS SELECTION.

The client agreed with all of their recommendations, meeting with around five different people and agreeing with our decisions. They did it through the selection tools, but the main edge here was the fact that we had the capacity to really understand the client. They knew that we understood their needs, and we realised that “trust is everything”. There’s no leisure in trust. You need to create a genuine partnership by understanding those mutual needs.

Simone Bigatti, Partner & Director
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