Company Life Stage – Recovering from impact of COVID, ‘build and strengthen’ mode modernizing ways of working to prepare for sustainable and accelerated market position and future growth.

Situation - $2B Foodservice business within $3B growth company. History of impressive and consistent bottom line growth yet impacted by COVID amplified supply chain challenges ubiquitous among most Foodservice suppliers. Focus on efficiency, innovation, systems and processes, as well as continuously build and develop a high-performance sales organization.

Challenges & Opportunities

• Cultural Fit - Filling a critical role with a leader who would embrace the rich people-first legacy culture while driving next generation transformation and growth.
• Location - Engaging candidates who were willing to relocate to corporate headquarters in the future despite the upsurge in remote work and increasingly expensive housing market in high cost of living location.
• Needle in the Haystack - Identifying and securing stand out talent against a tight list of candidate criteria within the Foodservice sector, which is already broadly lacking the ‘contemporary’ skillset.

Optimal Fit Factors

• Progressive leader with advanced process, planning and analytics skills
• A current front-runner possessing the necessary growth agility for the future executive leadership bench
• Visionary and inspirational leader with keen attention to recruiting, coaching, developing and retaining high performing talent
• Executive presence and demonstrated cross-functional influencing and collaboration skills
• Strategic innovator with growth mindset

Approach

• Swiftly identified the Foodservice industry’s top contenders. Wired in the industry, Wolf knew where to hunt. To guarantee no stone was unturned, Wolf activated a secondary research strategy to source new potential candidates utilizing our active network, proprietary database and trusted source network from industry associations, brokers, and third-party consultants. Wolf swiftly cut through the clutter and narrowed in on the right talent.
• Conducted an extensive and rigorous vetting process with a short list of candidates, further narrowing the list to only candidates who were deemed ‘optimal.’ After introducing the slate of four finalists, Wolf continued to consistently engage with the candidates to further validate original assessment of the candidate’s fit and motivation for the role.