Professional Search: Landing an Executive Director to Navigate the Future

Situation 

The strategic planning group for a major airport started as a small committee to support the airport’s expansion. Once a part-time endeavor, it had grown into a strategic initiative. The previous committee chair was not able to commit to a full-time post, so the organization decided to recruit an Executive Director.  

The new Executive Director would be instrumental in creating a professional forum for regular dialogue across public and private stakeholder groups in and around a major metropolitan area. The goal was to generate constructive and consultative discussion about the expansion of the airport and the subsequent impact on economic development in the area. Because this role would be interacting with figures from local and national government agencies, the organization needed to find an individual with a strong reputation who was an influencing decision-maker at a senior level within the greater metropolitan area.  

To find this dynamic leader, the airport strategic planning group turned to PeopleScout for our Apex senior professional hiring solution. 

Solution 

The PeopleScout Apex team consulted with the hiring manger to ensure a detailed understanding of the job requirement. With a detailed brief in hand, we created our game plan.  

We looked at talent from the private sector but mostly focused on movers and shakers in local and central government. We looked at influencers at strategic level with titles like Strategic Director, CEO, Deputy CEO, Director of Regeneration, Director of Planning, Director of Environment and Economic Development. We also looked at Project Directors within aviation and airport consultancy.  

Our list was cross-referenced with the hiring manager at regular intervals for his additional insight. It was a true collaboration to reach the successful candidate, as finding a highly credible candidate with a great reputation was key to the future success of the client. 

Results 

The client interviewed five candidates sourced by PeopleScout from both the public and private sectors. One of these candidates was ultimately hired and the new Executive Director has started in their post.

“PeopleScout took on a difficult brief, to find someone with sufficient experience to take the planning group to the next level, working with local and national politicians and the airport. It was a difficult post to describe, but our Apex recruitment consultant understood our needs and communicated with me on a regular basis to make sure that I was informed of progress at every step of the process. We interviewed a shortlist of five people, and the panel was unanimous about the quality of all candidates, the individual hired, and the way PeopleScout supported us through this process.”

Client feedback