HR Director, European High-End Consumer Goods & Apparel Company
CDS Executive was retained by a European high-end consumer goods and apparel company to find a Human Resources Director. The client had unsuccessfully tried to find qualified candidates through numerous local recruitment firms on a contingency basis. Our mandate was to identify, source and secure an experienced human resources professional who was capable to develop and implement a unified global HR system into their rapidly expanding Japan operations. Within a relatively short period of time, our client's Japan operations had grown to become one of the most important and profitable subsidiaries worldwide. Given the fast level of growth of sales revenue and expansion of the local operations, the HR infrastructure was not the primary focus of the organization and did not mature in line with expansion of the overall business. It soon became evident that the Japan operations needed to build a more structured and solid HR platform in line with the overall global business strategy in order to sustain this growth by maximizing the employee's potential and retaining and managing a strong workforce.

We were recognized by our client as having a strong track record of success within the consumer goods sector, as well as having extensive knowledge of retail operations here in Japan. After engaging in the assignment, it became evident that there were differences of expectations for the new hire partially due to cultural differences, language limitations and a lack of understanding of the differences of the labor market in Osaka and Tokyo. Working as the liaison between the local Japan management and the overseas headquarters, we were instrumental in successfully executing the search process by educating both sides with actual market analysis and feedback, and working closely with our client's top executives to re-engineer a smooth and timely recruiting process that involved key decision makers across borders.

After an extensive search within the consumer goods industry, we recommended a candidate that came from a completely different sector, but possessed solid HR skills and the type of international mindset that would be able to effectively bridge the gaps between Japan and overseas. Our client agreed with our assessment of the market and this key assignment was filled.

Japan Financial Controller/Plant Manager, Leading Manufacturer of High-Quality Confectionery Products
CDS Executive was retained by a European based manufacturer of high-quality cocoa and chocolate confectionery products to search for two crucial positions in their expanding Japan operations. Our client had entered the Japan market a few years prior by establishing a small sales office. However, due to the large growth potential of the Japan and Asian markets, the future global strategy of the organization focused on Japan with the decision to increase their capabilities by establishing a local manufacturing facility. The success of this project was compounded by extremely tight deadlines, not only to bring these key persons onboard, but to also ensure that they were trained thoroughly overseas and with enough time to implement the local operating processes and start actual production within a timeframe of just over 6 months. If this task could not be accomplished, the alliance with a key partner was at risk for our client.

Both roles posed different challenges due to position specific technical requirements. However, the assignments were equally difficult in that the candidates needed to be highly bilingual (reporting lines were to overseas) and also possess a very hands-on entrepreneurial spirit and the ability to work in a start-up environment. Communicating directly with the Asia Pacific Directors in our client's overseas offices, we provided frequent reports of the search activity and consulted on solutions to overcome obstacles that slowed the process and put meeting the established deadlines at risk. After an extensive search, we were able to identify, qualify and present a short list of candidates for consideration in line with our client's overall expectations and smoothly negotiate the conditions of employment that were willingly accepted by the selected professionals.