For a number of years, Cornell has worked alongside a boutique management consultancy that helps organisations solve the most important business problems. They pride themselves on the relationships they have with their clients and work across a range of sectors, from global multi-nationals to start-ups and public institutions.

Following a long standing relationship with the leadership team, Cornell were asked to support them in finding a senior consultant to join their team. Being a boutique firm, whilst leading in what they offer, they weren’t, at the time, as well known in the market and therefore they were keen to receive support in not only finding the best individual, but also in expanding their market presence.

Having worked with a number of operational focused consultancies we were fortunate to have a network of individuals who we could engage with in the first instance and in the end, one of those individuals secured the role within the company. However, in order to reach that goal, we also needed to engage with the wider market to ensure we found the best talent for the company. We conducted initial screening calls and in person interviews with those who were most relevant before presenting the best calibre individuals in a shortlist to the client to review and interview themselves. We continued to facilitate organisation of interviews as well as offer management when the successful candidate was identified.

As a result of our support, they have had greater interest from candidates across all levels of the organisation and we have continued to support with more senior mandates where the specifics of the individual experience is of greater importance.

Cornell were mandated by an investment and innovation firm specializing in the retail and consumer space to help find a Director for their Investment team. The initial engagement came from the CEO/co-founder of the fund who was keen to discuss securing a Director but also have a broader discussion around succession planning. 

The diversity of the team that the client were building was of utmost importance and formed a key basis of the search, with our team proactively identifying and approaching minority ethnic and female investment professionals. Cornell were exclusively retained by the fund and both parties worked in close partnership throughout the assignment. To begin with, we spent a significant amount of time assessing the expectations of the relevant stakeholders to ensure we were fully aligned on their vision for the role and preferred background of this person. From these discussions we set out key milestones and deliverables to work towards, and we began holding weekly feedback sessions to keep the client up-to-date and benefit from key learnings and insights that had been gained.

As a primary step, Cornell carried out a comprehensive map of the European private equity market including the Middle East, specifically focusing on investment professionals at VP to Director level working within growth and buyout funds and with exposure to TMT, Consumer and/or Business Services – resulting in thousands of broadly relevant profiles. We then worked with the CEO to set specific criteria from which we compiled a priority list of candidates to be approached. 

After a rigorous search and interview process carried out over a 3-month period, Cornell helped broker an offer to the successful candidate, maintaining a close relationship in the critical period between acceptance and start date. With a strong pipeline of candidates continuing to build in the background, the fund mandated Cornell once again to run a second recruitment drive for a slightly more junior Principal role, and the chosen candidate was screened and offered within a 2-month timeframe. Our relationship with this fund has continued to strengthen over the course of both searches, and we are currently engaged on further assignments.

We were mandated by a leading mid-market private equity firm in the UK who have operations in Australia and the USA in addition to their London Headquarters.

At the time of the initial mandate, the Fund were looking to add to their Growth Acceleration Team at the Investment Director level. One of their current Directors was temporarily stepping away from the business on maternity leave and the team required a replacement at short notice to hit the ground running with a ready-made skillset. Due to the immediate pipeline of projects this candidate would require in-depth understanding of Pricing Strategy and Sales Effectiveness, preferably combining a consulting background with real-world experience in a growth environment at an SME or start-up.

The two main elements to reconcile in this project were the candidate requirements and the time constraints. Given the immediacy of the team’s need, it was logical to focus our search on ex consultants currently contracting rather than in permanent employment in order to avoid lengthy notice periods. Fortunately, Cornell’s extensive history of working in the consulting market across Europe allowed the team to quickly identify and approach several individuals in this mould. We introduced the most relevant 7 candidates to the team to be interviewed and project-managed the entirety of the interview process up to and including offer management and salary negotiation. With one of the candidates receiving an offer and accepting in the same week, we successfully completed the mandate within 2 months of receiving the brief.

Subsequently Cornell have worked on an exclusive basis to find and secure an additional hire into the G.A.T., successfully completing a search for an Investment Manager within 3 months of taking the brief. The successful candidate combined an Oxbridge education, a top-tier strategic consulting background and strong technical ability in Python and SQL which will give the Fund additional scope to build advanced data analytics into their due diligence and growth generation capacities.

Cornell were mandated by a leading energy consultancy who have grown to become the largest dedicated power analytics provider in Europe. We were initially mandated by the German office of the organisation to find a German speaking individual who could help with the growth in this part of the business. Given the success we had with the German team, we were subsequently engaged by the UK office to find a Head of Strategy. 

Being such a pivotal hire for the company, the process initially consisted of a market mapping exercise whereby we could understand how large the market was when it came to the seniority of the position as well as the need to have experience within the Energy sector. Upon completion of this, the Cornell team conducted initial conversations with those candidates that both the client and Cornell determined to be the most relevant and then discussed these further upon completion of the initial screening. The Cornell team continued to support with organisaion of interviews and offer negotiation and as a result, a successful Head of Strategy for the UK office was placed. 

Since the initial engagement with the UK office, we have continued to work alongside the team, highlighting high calibre candidates to them on an ongoing basis, particularly with the challenges that come with a more regional office within the UK

This client is a global leader in consulting, technology services and digital transformation who offer an array of integrated services combining technology with deep sector expertise. With operations in over 50 companies they have partnered with 85% of the 200 largest public companies on the Forbes Global 2000 list. 

Cornell was initially mandated by the London office to support finding a director to sit within their consumer team. This individual would be based in the London office but would be required to travel as/when required and needed experience leading teams of various levels and sizes. The initial ideas we provided as a discussion point came from our well-established network and having discussed those individuals and determined who the leadership team were interested in, we were then able to expand the search, engage further individuals and have further discussions. 

To guarantee that we were continuously aligned with the client on who was relevant for the role, there was a constant line of communication, with fortnightly meetings where we discussed profiles, realigned where necessary and also scheduled initial meetings with those candidates who were of interest. This resulted in the successful placement of a Director within the team. 

Cornell have since supported on a number of mandates from analyst to director level within the business, as well as supporting with the growth of acquisitions/other areas of the business as well as within the businesses that they’ve acquired since first engagement.

The Cornell team were mandated by a mid-sized professional services firm that works with public, private and third-sector organisations. They provide management consulting, IT consulting and technology 7 innovation services. With headquarters in London and other offices in Europe, the Nordics, the US, the Gulf and the Asia Pacific, they work with a multitude of global organisations. 

The Cornell team was engaged by one of the firm’s Partners to support in the search for a Director within the business. They were already utilising their own network and the resources of their internal HR team, but were looking to understand different avenues that they could explore in order to find the most suitable candidate for the role. 

Upon taking the brief, we leveraged our existing network, to source initial ideas that met the requisite requirements for the role. We then expanded our search to active headhunting using a variety of sources and ultimately filtered through a number of individuals with a relevant skill set. We then coordinated meetings between those candidates who were exceptional and PA’s leadership team. 

At the conclusion of the process, we successfully placed an individual into the Director position within the business and continued to support ongoing searches across the business.