Client background
Our client is a London Stock Exchange-listed e-commerce business navigating a period of growth.
The brief
The CFO of a prominent ecommerce platform reached out in search of an experienced, “commercially-savvy” General Counsel who could quickly integrate into their business as their first legal hire.
They sought someone with a dynamic background to navigate the company through a period of growth, putting the required legal processes in place. Due to the role being their first legal hire, they felt bringing someone on an interim basis would allow for a quicker start date to help support their business’ rapid period of growth.
Skip to our search methodology to find out how we engaged with CHA Consulting, sourced candidates, assessed them, and delivered this assignment.
The results
Our client shared positive feedback about the successful applicant who built a strong rapport with the CEO, CFO and the extended leadership team.
Expectation management with both the client and candidate were critical for this assignment. By being transparent with the client on our recommendations and aligning on the search criteria at the briefing stage itself, we facilitated a successful search campaign with speed and openness.
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Search methodology
Engagement
The CFO reached out to us for this search based on their positive experience on a General Counsel (GC) search in their previous role with their former employer. There were some key points that were addressed;
- Knowing our client’s preference for their first legal hire to be made on an interim basis, at the briefing stage, we recommended the client to be flexible for this role to offer potential for a permanent appointment in the future.
- With the reporting line directly into the CFO, we advised the role also have a dotted reporting line into the CEO – considering this is what many GCs look for when considering new opportunities in scale up environments.
- Whilst the company wanted an early start date, and we aligned on the ideal start date, we advised the client to be open to accommodating a four-week timeframe.
We agreed to engage the interim on a daily rate for maximum flexibility with a with an introduction fee payable on their transition to a permanent role.
Sourcing
When we advertised the role, we highlighted the main selling points, the key being the opportunity to join the company at a crucial stage of growth.
Our candidate outreach strategy entailed leveraging our robust research team, our database of candidates and our team’s networks.
Assessment
We assessed our longlist of 185 candidates on the search criteria agreed with the CFO: apart from being a legal expert, the candidate had to have:
- A commercial mindset
- Prior experience operating as a first legal hire within a company
- Background within a scale-up business
- Solutions they could provide the client
- A realistic availability to commence the role
Once we screened candidates, we presented a shortlist to the client. All candidates were interviewed by both the CFO and the CEO.
Delivery
The successful candidate came with ‘rolled up sleeves’ mindset and had acted as the first General Counsel within many high growth and scale up businesses. We ensured the hiring process kept pace, whilst managing expectations of both parties to ensure the delivery to close was seamless.