Business owner Sue Watson tasked us with sourcing the next generation of leadership to run her business.
The brief was to find a tech savvy CEO for Lyle & Scott using social media. She stipulated that she was looking for genuine leadership ability over experience or background.
In looking for my new CEO, I wanted to bring fresh leadership onto my board. A lot of headhunters seem to circulate the same short list from job to job and I wanted to look further afield. Hannington Tame understood the brief and delivered a first class process which resulted in a great hire. They did a fantastic job.
We ran a #nextgreatleader Twitter campaign that reached 1 million followers in over 30 countries. It was a huge success with extraordinarily high quality applicants spanning various industries. Social media was also used as part of the screening process, where applicants were asked to create their own Pinterest board and Vine video.
This was certainly not the norm for an executive search process; It raised eyebrows, but that was always our intention. Our campaign uncovered a candidate with no CEO experience from a pharmaceutical background, but with true charisma and leadership ability.
Read more in the Harvard Business Review.
