The business is a specialist in B2C parcel delivery for UK based e-commerce retailers who need to ship their products to consumers in International markets.
Brief
A retained search to find a Managing Director for a provider of B2C international delivery services in the e-commerce sector.
The company had moved from traditional mail handling, to focus on the growing requirement for UK e-commerce retailers to send their products to consumers throughout the world. Having made some progress in developing their offering in this sector, they were now looking to increase their focus and become the market leader for international delivery.
In order to drive the strategic growth of their e-commerce customer base the company needed to bring in an experienced Managing Director to lead the UK business and who could also use their existing industry networks to open new customer relationships. Drayton Partners were asked to undertake an extensive search across the UK B2C service industry to find an individual with the required experience, network and knowledge of this evolving sector.
It was essential that they had existing relationships and intimate knowledge of the systems and processes used by leading e-commerce retailers. They also needed to be a positive, engaging leader who could deliver the internal changes required to ensure the business was able to maximise their position within this growing market sector.
Drayton Partners Approach
The project required in-depth investigation into the B2C services sector, mapping out relevant businesses and the individuals who held senior level leadership positions within those organisations. Parcel delivery was an obvious starting point, but it was also important to consider other businesses who offered complex services to the e-commerce retail sector.
Following a result of extensive networking, personal recommendations and a targeted search, a short list was presented of senior individuals from a broad range of B2C backgrounds.
Outcome
The successful candidate was appointed within 3 months, it was an individual who worked in a business that offered IT systems solutions that supported logistics processes in e-commerce retailers. The individual had outstanding knowledge of e-commerce retail and had delivered significant Sales growth with customers in the sector.
They were in a Board level position and weren’t “actively” looking to move, however they were keeping an open mind about opportunities that would allow them to fulfil their career aspiration of moving into a Managing Director role where they could take full ownership for the company strategy.