About Cembre
Cembre is an Italian company recognized as one of Europe’s leading manufacturers of electrical connectors, railroad products, and related tools. Expanding its global reach, Cembre’s focus is on meeting customer needs with its efficient sales network.
Brief
Page Executive was retained by Cembre to source a President for their expanding Railroad Manufacturing and Industrial Automation business in the US based out of Edison, New Jersey. Cembre required a candidate with experience building a sales team and growing an industrial automation business in the US, with demonstrated adaptability reporting cross-culturally to an internationally based leadership team and the desire to commit to the role for the long-term so as to best leverage growth opportunities.
Skip to our search methodology pertaining to this assignment and find out how we engaged, sourced, assessed and delivered.
Results
The President we sourced for Cembre remotely performs her role based out of Chicago, with regular travel to the New Jersey office. She is highly satisfied with how the role has shaped and is successfully building out her sales team. In just three months, she hired two sales managers and a key accounts manager. Page Executive continues partnering with her as she develops her team and continues Cembre’s growth story in the US.
Search Methodology
Engagement
Page Executive’s Partner - Sales and Marketing had three in-person meetings with Cembre's Italy-based Senior VP of Global Sales & Marketing to fully understand the specific needs of this role. Page Executive recognized that cultural fit and in-market experience were going to be critical as these were the areas where the former incumbent had fallen short. Cembre was insistent about hiring a candidate local to New Jersey, or someone who would be willing to relocate there and work five days out of the office. However, this requirement narrowed the talent pool and served as a barrier during the interactions with the interested experienced candidates. Page Executive shared the feedback from candidate interactions, the state of the hiring market in the US, especially with given the shift in work arrangements post the pandemic, and successfully convinced Cembre to consider a remotely based candidate in the US.
Sourcing
As this was a very niche search, a creative approach was taken to headhunt candidates with industry-relevant experience - floor maps of top US industrial automation trade shows that Cembre participated in were looked at and mid-career talent working at other manufacturing companies exhibiting at these events were approached with the role. Passive candidates were also added to the shortlist through targeted LinkedIn InMail campaigns and referrals received from leveraging Page Executive's networks.
Assessment
To attract interest from passive candidates, Page Executive's pitch emphasized Cembre's EVP and highlighted the role as being an exciting opportunity for ambitious candidates to develop Cembre’s US business from infancy stage, under the stable umbrella of a global organization and with the support of the leadership team at the head office. The pitch resonated with the candidates who felt engaged with the company's growth ambitions.
Delivery
Cembre’s hiring team travelled to New York to interview the candidates, and ultimately the correct match was onboarded as Cembre’s new President - US. Page Executive's consultative approach helped resulted in an effective collaboration throughout the recruitment process.
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