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The incoming President of our long-term client – a leading global engineering and project management consultancy – approached Bailey Montagu to support the appointment of the Managing Director for his largest division, Transportation UK & Europe. This position had been recently held by the President and therefore an absolute priority focus.

The division housed some 4,000 heads and a £500m P&L, and was the UK’s largest transportation consulting business by some way. The mandate was to generate further profitable growth through new and existing clients, develop the next generation of talent, and to invest in innovative offerings that would continue to position the business as a market leader and industry disruptor.

It was essential that the candidate had a proven track-record of leading and growing a significant P&L, pushing up the value chain and improving margin, and was someone who was a known and well-regarded brand to the biggest client targets. Our search therefore focused on the largest and most innovative competitor businesses, as well as those in the broader Transportation and Capital Projects market, using our contacts in the client domain to verify how capable and buyable certain individuals were. Ultimately, energetic, strategic and authentic leadership was most important to build internal and external followership and drive the business on its next phase of evolution.

Having engaged and qualified a diverse group of candidates, we quickly narrowed to a shortlist for client interview. Owing to the preferred candidates significant tenure with her existing employer, we built and maintained a high-touch relationship throughout the interview process, offer and resignation negotiations and transition period. Within 6-months of the candidate joining our client, we were mandated on appointing two senior members of her leadership team, which we secured to join before her 1st anniversary in post.