CEO, Regional Airline
Client
With ~700 staff and 180 M€ revenues, our client is a regional French airline, owned by the local chamber of commerce as well as a major international airline. The airline is run by a president (who manages the shareholders and relations with public authorities) and a managing director, who runs the company day to day. The two need to operate in very close collaboration. Following the retirement of the Managing Director, were mandated to very confidentially recruit a new Managing Director.
Role
Founded 20 years ago, the airline had developed successfully with a fleet of 14 short range aircrafts. After an incumbent, who had focussed on building strong technical and operational foundations, the new Managing Director was expected to develop a convincing growth strategy and improve operations efficiency.
Candidate
We quickly learned that airline is a rather complex business, with extremely diverse skill bases (pilots, technicians, ground personnel, digital sales & marketing…). To succeed in the role, it was essential to have business experience running an airline P&L. We focussed on our research on French speaking candidates you were either running (i) an airline or (ii) the French office of a large foreign airline in Paris. This led us to call candidates in all French speaking airlines throughout the world,
Outcome
We presented a shortlist of 5 candidates coming from all over the world, all with direct experience of running a regional airline. From this list, we recruited a seasoned CEO, who had worked 20 years in the airline industry and was just about to leave his current role. 3 years after his appointment, he mandated us to recruit his Human Resource Director.
With ~700 staff and 180 M€ revenues, our client is a regional French airline, owned by the local chamber of commerce as well as a major international airline. The airline is run by a president (who manages the shareholders and relations with public authorities) and a managing director, who runs the company day to day. The two need to operate in very close collaboration. Following the retirement of the Managing Director, were mandated to very confidentially recruit a new Managing Director.
Role
Founded 20 years ago, the airline had developed successfully with a fleet of 14 short range aircrafts. After an incumbent, who had focussed on building strong technical and operational foundations, the new Managing Director was expected to develop a convincing growth strategy and improve operations efficiency.
Candidate
We quickly learned that airline is a rather complex business, with extremely diverse skill bases (pilots, technicians, ground personnel, digital sales & marketing…). To succeed in the role, it was essential to have business experience running an airline P&L. We focussed on our research on French speaking candidates you were either running (i) an airline or (ii) the French office of a large foreign airline in Paris. This led us to call candidates in all French speaking airlines throughout the world,
Outcome
We presented a shortlist of 5 candidates coming from all over the world, all with direct experience of running a regional airline. From this list, we recruited a seasoned CEO, who had worked 20 years in the airline industry and was just about to leave his current role. 3 years after his appointment, he mandated us to recruit his Human Resource Director.