Case study 1: Executive Director, Stelios Philanthropic Foundation
Background: The three E's - Education, Entrepreneurship and the Environment - serve as pillars for the Stelios Philanthropic Foundation's activities in Cyprus, Greece, the UK and Monaco. Founded by Sir Stelios Haj-Iannou, the entrepreneur behind easyJet and other easyGroup businesses, the foundation invests in future entrepreneurs and business leaders. It funds scholarships at the London School of Economics and Cass Business School and provides a number of cash awards promoting entrepreneurship including the Stelios Award for Young Entrepreneur in Greece, Stelios’ Award for Business Cooperation in Cyprus and Stelios Award for Disabled Entrepreneur of the Year - in partnership with Leonard Cheshire Disability - in the UK. It also supports the WWF and CYMEPA – the marine protection organisation in Cyprus. Stelios had been running his philanthropic activities directly, but as it grew, he felt it warranted a full-time director to structure programmes, solidify partnerships and further expand its reach.
Our challenge was to find a highly entrepreneurial director who could create an identity for the foundation, communicate to stakeholders, sustain and develop new partnerships and manage the many award programmes and scholarships. We needed someone with a strong communications and management background, good language skills, experience in philanthropy --and the candidate needed to be based in, or willing to move to, Monaco.
Implementing the search: Working closely with Stelios, Prospectus developed a search strategy to identify candidates with solid communications skills, philanthropy experience and entrepreneurial empathy. We especially targeted the extensive English-speaking population in the south of France and Monaco, an area with many international, multilingual executives.
Stelios himself recorded a radio campaign broadcast on Riviera Radio, the radio station serving Anglophones in southern France. The radio campaign, combined with a print campaign created by Prospectus’ recruitment advertising team, provided the backbone to our search, which also included outreach to private foundation leaders with business backgrounds.
Six candidates were long listed and two were presented to Stelios and his board of directors. Both had excellent academic and international management backgrounds. One had extensive experience with family foundations and international aid while the other had a rich communications background and had also shown entrepreneurial flair in launching her own foundation for people with disabilities.
Result: Marie-Louise Bang was appointed the first executive director of the Stelios Philanthropic Foundation. Based in Monaco, Marie-Louise brings her management skills, initiative, energy and creativity to delivering the foundation’s work in Greece, Cyprus, the UK and Monaco.
“I was pleased at how smoothly and thoroughly Prospectus handled the task of finding the right person to lead my Foundation – their insight into the type of person needed for this job were invaluable and, a year down the road, I am delighted by what Marie-Louise and the team have achieved.”
Click here to see the creative campaign we ran for this recruitment.
Case study 2: Chair, Unicorn Theatre
Background: Based at London’s South Bank, the Unicorn is a leading professional theatre for young audiences, with an international reputation for artistic excellence. Appointing a new Chair was a crucial step in the Unicorn’s development, as it grew to become the national theatre for children in the UK.
Our team were briefed to find candidates with a real passion for the theatre and the role art can play in young people’s lives. Equally importantly, the Theatre needed a Chair who could act as an ambassador for their work, and provide genuinely inclusive leadership to the Board.
Implementing the search: Working closely with our client, our consultants developed a search strategy focusing on potential candidates in the arts, education and commercial sectors. Our team’s research, combined with our access to extensive networks, allowed us to approach a large number of relevant individuals. Simultaneously, our Advertising team created a strategic, high-impact candidate acquisition campaign in the Sunday Times, Financial Times and Guardian.
Our consultants drew up a longlist of six candidates from these sources, of which two were presented to the client. One candidate had extensive experience in the arts and foundation sector, with a personal interest in theatre, and the other had previously been the chair of a well-known arts organisation.
Throughout the recruitment process, our consultants maintained constant contact with the client and all candidates, responding quickly and effectively to the needs of both.
The appointment: The recruitment process culminated in the appointment of Joanna Kennedy. Joanna stood out because of her proven leadership abilities, her passion for theatre and young people, and her extensive governance experience.
‘Prospectus engaged in this task with total commitment and verve. I thought the research into our ethos, organisation and needs was thorough. I felt confident that every approach was handled sensitively, intelligently and appropriately. It was as though Prospectus was an elegant, professional and suitably demanding extension of our own company.’ – Tony Graham, Chief Executive, Unicorn Theatre
Click here to see the creative campaign we ran for this recruitment.
Case study 3: Chief Executive, Community Foundation serving Tyne & Wear and Northumberland
Background: Community Foundation serving Tyne & Wear and Northumberland is the largest of over 60 Community Foundations across the UK, working to promote and support local charities through grant-making. The Foundation contacted us to find a new leader following the retirement of the existing Chief Executive, after over 20 years in post.
Implementing the search: The key criteria for the search were established through a series of extensive, in-depth briefing meetings. Extensive leadership experience was crucial, and the right candidate would need to act as a conduit between donors and local charities, as well as influencing regional and national policymakers. Our consultants developed a combined search and advertising strategy, targeting candidates within the not for profit sector on a national basis, along with local business leaders. From these sources, we built a longlist of 14 candidates, all of whom were interviewed by our consultants.
We then put forward a shortlist of five candidates to the client – all of them recognised leaders within their respective fields, and with extensive knowledge of the region. Our consultants continued to work closely with the Chair and Recruitment Committee throughout the final selection process, including introducing all candidates to Foundation staff, informal meetings with the Board, and formal panel interviews.
The appointment: Rob Williamson was appointed as new Chief Executive of the Foundation, and took up the role in the summer of 2009. Rob’s previous role was Director of Policy and Communications at the Northern Rock Foundation, and he is also a trustee of the Association of Charitable Foundations.
‘I was hugely impressed with the work that Prospectus carried out for us. The search process was extremely thorough which gave us the necessary reassurance that we had properly trawled the market place and thus developed the best possible long list. We then received very valuable help in agreeing the shortlist and structuring a rigorous interview process. Quite simply, I would have no hesitation in recommending Prospectus to any organisation that was undertaking a similar process. All in all, it was a very impressive piece of work and we remain very grateful for the way in which it was carried out.’ – Hugh Welch, Chair, Community Foundation serving Tyne & Wear and Northumberland.
Click here to see the creative campaign we ran for this recruitment.
