Building a Diverse Leadership Team

A publicly-traded, multi-billion dollar technology and IT services company, initially a subsidiary of a larger corporation, was on a journey towards full independence. Engaging N2Growth’s executive and board placement services, they were committed to expanding their Board’s diversity and increasing the number of independent Directors. This was essential as they aimed to fulfill their commitments to Wall Street and the public within the year. 

As part of their continued growth trajectory, the client also sought to reshuffle their C-Suite leadership team to better align it with their long-term strategy. To drive further strategic product development, enhance client partnership, and deliver with excellence, our client sought to identify their first Chief Transformation Officer and a new global Chief Operating Officer.

The client had become a global player in customer experience, with a particular focus on sectors that some competitors were leaving. Surprisingly, they had done so with minimal technical expertise on their Board. This was a significant gap because their customer base included some of the world’s best-known Fortune 500 tech firms, and their services were largely tech-driven. To round out their board’s capabilities, our client sought leaders with the necessary technical knowledge who also aligned with their organizational values of collaboration, engagement, and willingness to challenge and serve as a sounding board for senior leadership.

The company’s rapid growth resulted in a disorganized catalog of client offerings. The role of the Chief Transformation Officer was to bring a solution-oriented mindset to their consulting practice, lead internal digital transformation, and significantly enhance their externally-facing digital transformation service line. Once this work had begun, the client also recognized that they would need a Chief Operating Officer capable of leading the delivery of this more complex, solution-oriented portfolio. 

As a market leader in prioritizing employee experience and DEI, our client’s expectations were that we would bring a diverse slate of candidates to the table for all three roles, including not just candidates with racial or ethnic diversity but also those with diverse backgrounds and experience. The bar was high!

N2Growth’s unique approach enabled us to discern critical areas of opportunity and develop a clear vision of the right leaders for these roles. We conducted a global search, meeting candidates from across the technology spectrum, including senior executives from the big four tech companies and key players in emerging spaces like crypto.

In the search for a Board Director, N2Growth successfully placed a former senior IT and digital executive from an adjacent industry with specific expertise with the client’s offerings and evaluating emerging players in the space for acquisition. Her leadership characteristics aligned perfectly with the client’s values, and she accepted the offer to join the board, contributing to the audit committee going forward.

N2Growth’s iterative approach for the Chief Transformation Officer role resulted in identifying a senior executive from a larger digital services provider. Although not actively searching for a new opportunity, she was drawn in by the client’s people-centric culture and highly collaborative leadership team. She was committed to the role just 47 days after initial contact.

Our efforts in the COO search led to a final slate of three candidates from three different countries. With a deep understanding of the dynamics and personalities of the candidates, as well as internal and external stakeholders, N2Growth placed a global candidate in the role who the client did not initially expect to be a great fit but who brought the necessary skill set, experience, and leadership mindset needed for the company’s continued evolution.

Throughout this process, N2Growth’s commitment to understanding the client’s unique needs and comprehensive market mapping led to the successful placement of three critical roles in under a year, helping to shape the future of this rising technology and IT services company.