Case Studies

SEARCH FOR A GENERAL MANAGER FOR A EUROPEAN AUTOMOTIVE PARTS COMPANY

Situation analysis

A leading international automotive supplier was looking for a new General Manager for one of its main divisions in metal-forged automotive safety parts. The company is a leader in development, sales and manufacturing of metal forged and machined parts which are sold internally to other units of the Group and/or to external clients. The former General Manager was retiring and the position was vacant when Neumann International met for a briefing with the client.

Action

One of the specialized partners from Neumann International’s Automotive Sector Practice, due to his strong knowledge of the sector, was able with the support of a Senior Researcher, to quickly identify over 40 suitable candidates with experience in the foundry, forging or metal machining environments.

The potential candidates were all called and qualified in less than two weeks. Nine of the candidates were interviewed and six weeks after the client briefing, Neumann International presented a short list of five experienced General Managers. Three managers from the shortlist were interviewed by the client.

Results

One of the finalist candidates had a strong operational profile as he had previously been responsible for several industrial units. He spoke both German and English which gave him a strong advantage over the other candidates.

The client selected this candidate for the General Manager position and expanded the role to include responsibility for the operations of the whole of France, including another large machining and assembly plant.