Situation
A leading construction company underwent a significant leadership restructure, creating a critical new position for a Business Development Executive to join the Executive Leadership Team. This influential role would report directly to the board and play a pivotal part in shaping the organization’s long-term strategic direction while opening new market opportunities.
The position required a senior executive with both deep industry knowledge and proven ability to drive business growth at the executive level. Given the strategic importance of the role and its direct board reporting relationship, the company needed a candidate who could immediately contribute to high-level decision-making while building new revenue streams.
The organization engaged PeopleScout’s Apex professional search solution to identify and secure this critical executive talent within their competitive market.
Solution
The Apex team implemented a comprehensive market intelligence strategy to identify the highest-caliber business development professionals across the construction sector:
Comprehensive Competitor Analysis: Conducted a national search across all direct competitors to identify top-performing business development executives with proven track records in similar organizational environments.
Strategic Market Mapping: Developed detailed market mapping across all related industries, focusing on candidates’ existing contact networks and established sales relationships that could provide immediate value to the client.
Market Intelligence Sharing: Provided comprehensive market data to the client to support informed decision-making throughout the selection process, including salary benchmarking and candidate availability insights.
Diverse Candidate Development: Created a highly diverse candidate longlist to ensure all possibilities were thoroughly explored, maximizing the potential for finding the ideal cultural and strategic fit.
Rigorous Shortlisting: Identified and presented eight high-quality candidates for the initial interview phase, ensuring the client had multiple strong options to consider.
Results
The strategic market mapping approach delivered outstanding outcomes within the accelerated timeframe:
- Rapid candidate identification: First interviews arranged just four weeks into the assignment
- Thorough evaluation process: Facilitated four rounds of stringent interviews to ensure optimal executive selection
- Successful placement within budget: Secured the preferred candidate at the agreed compensation level
- Strong contingency planning: Maintained a motivated backup candidate ready for immediate engagement
The successful Business Development Executive brought both the industry expertise and strategic vision required to drive the company’s long-term growth objectives, with established market relationships that provided immediate value to the organization’s expansion plans.
