Client Background
CHA Consulting, Inc. was founded in 1952 and is headquartered in Albany, New York. The company consistently ranks amongst Top 50 Design Firms in the U.S. and provides a wide range of technology-enhanced services to public, private, and institutional clients. CHA Consulting has grown substantially over the last five years to more than 1,750 employees based across the U.S. With fresh investment from H.I.G. Capital, we were excited to partner together on this Executive Finance Search.
The Brief
CHA was looking to find a Vice President, Corporate Controller to head up the accounting function staffed with 15 employees and report to the CFO. Team members and Executive Leadership weren’t all stationed at one location, so being able to effectively manage an organization across many offices was essential. The VP role was critical to helping keep pace with the company’s growth not just over the past five years but also its future growth plans around the U.S.
Skip to our search methodology to find out how we engaged with CHA Consulting, sourced candidates, assessed them, and delivered this assignment.
The Results
Jennifer Chatt - Executive Vice President and Chief People Officer, CHA Consulting, Inc. said:
We have been working with the Page Executive team on our recent (and successful) search for a new VP, Corporate Controller. Chris and the team are of very high quality, and I would recommend consideration of their services to other organizations. We hope to have the opportunity to work with them again on future searches.
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Search Methodology
Engagement
CHA was an existing client of Michael Page, Page Executive’s sister brand for mid-level searches. An internal referral to CHA’s Chief People Officer led our Page Executive team to determine their requirement for a new VP, Corporate Controller.
Impressed with our track record of placing Finance Executives in the Architecture, Engineering, Construction sector, we commenced the assignment on an exclusive, retained basis. With year-end approaching, the turnaround time was tight for identifying candidates and presenting shortlists.
Sourcing
The primary challenge was identifying candidates who were CPA-qualified, FAR Audit experts, adept at leading Due Diligence responsibilities for M&A activities, experienced in partnering with Private Equity owners, and crucially, excellent leadership skills to train and develop the accounting team.
- Connected with highly qualified candidates in shortlists from our similar searches previously conducted for other clients within the AEC space.
- Attracted applications through listings of the role across multiple locations in the East Coast.
- Researched the TopENR List and other third-party databases to identify leading executives within similar-sized AEC firms.
Assessment
Once a longlist was ready, we screened each candidate, assessing their technical accounting and leadership skill as well as their talent development track record.
We then created a shortlist and presented these candidates to the client. With several candidates exploring multiple opportunities, time was of the essence. Through consistent communication, we ensured the in-person and virtual interviews between CHA’s executive leadership team and eight candidates progressed at pace.
Delivery
Three candidates made it to the final stage, and after interviews with the CEO, an offer was extended to the ideal candidate, a CPA-qualified finance leader with 25 years of Accounting and Audit leadership experience within a TopENR ranking AEC firm.
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