Starting from scratch: building the UK arm of a Global Family Office

Our client, Global Family Office, came to Freshminds to find their first member of their London/Global team. They wanted an outstanding commerical skill set candidate, and we managed to find one of the best possible candidates in the market for the role via our network. Since joining the team the candidate has made an incredible difference and has come back to Freshminds to help expand his team.

The brief

The Group MD and spokesman for our client wanted to hire the first member of their multi billion pound London/Global team. The client needed the best and was understandably incredibly exacting in terms of quality, as without the perfect consulting skill set mix this role would be impossible for someone to handle. The candidate needed incredibly strong analytical ability and also very strong communication skills to get along with the diverse and complex stakeholder environment. Additionally the client wanted to work to a quick turnaround.

The candidate would need to scope out the potential for their global business and narrow down suitable areas for investment, and indeed to start said investment cycles. This would be achieved by carrying out due diligence and investment business case building, as well as vast quantities of market analysis. They would also need to put together numerous pitches and presentations to C-Suite, as well as carrying out business development and opportunity spotting activities.

Who they needed:

• Only the highest calibre of candidates

• They would also need at least 5 years of highly relevant experience, ideally spent in a similar investment role.

• Someone with extremely strong communication skills

• The Mind had to be happy dealing with an at times ambiguous and very high pressure environment

Challenges:

• The complete lack of employee brand awareness posed some issues for those not aware of Family Office space, as there are no big names to lean on.

• The ambiguity and breadth of the role

• By far the biggest problem was finding the right quality candidate with exactly the mix of skills required

• The client needed to convince internal stakeholders of the value of a global offering. This was especially tricky given the large sums of money lent to the project - a lot was at stake.

• The candidate would be starting from scratch at the very bottom of a huge mountain of work and would have to make sense of everything in a very high speed, high pressure environment.

What Freshminds did

• Engaged with the Freshminds network

• Head-hunted the very best talent we could find

• Found one of the best possible candidates in the market for the role via our network

• Coached a very senior and busy stakeholder through the hiring process - navigating difficult diaries and a gruelling process

• This made sure that everyone was kept engaged throughout the process and added value in terms of market information to a client that had not hired in the UK before

Results

• We delivered a range of outstanding candidates to the timescales required 

• We found the rising star they needed in an equivalent role in a major investment bank with a double first from Cambridge and a raft of extra-curricular activities. He was the only one ever in his peer group at said bank to be promoted twice in an extremely short space of time and had immaculate credentials.

• The candidate not only delivered on the large amount of analysis and investment work, but has done so well that he has since contacted Freshminds himself to hire a junior analyst to help deal with the exponential growth his work has produced.

• As the sole employee from day one, this candidate has had a massively positive impact on results. This includes driving and steering the business through the early stages and now being able to grow the team and expand the company’s ambitions a long way ahead of schedule.

Due to the success of this candidate we were bought in to provide an additional junior candidate. Despite trying to find this new addition themselves, our close relationship with the client and understanding of their needs meant the candidate we put forward  stood out in the process and was selected for the role (over the other 30 candidates the client was considering separately). They have since proven another incredibly strong addition to the team.

The MD of the fund called Freshminds to specifically thank the consultant working on the brief for helping him hire 2 of the most impressive individuals he has ever worked with.

The senior client commented that when hiring in London he will not use anyone apart from Freshminds as we did such a good job the first 2 times, and we keep in regular contact when the client needs advice.

If this reflects outcomes that your business may require now or in the future, then get in touch for further information.