Solutions/Executive search/Country general manager
Fast-moving consumer goods
Country general manager
A company needed a general manager to run the local P&L, distributors, and a mixed local and expatriate leadership team.
Project background
The client already had distributors and some local headcount in one Southeast Asian market. P&L, channel policy, and a mixed local–expatriate bench were still run remotely by a regional sales lead. Conflicts between the plant and modern trade were not solved on a monthly call.
Headquarters wanted to drop that regional sales lead in as country GM. Locally, the person was strong on key accounts and weak on distributor policy and local employment. After the drop-in they would still need a local operator. That is two searches.
The brief changed to a country GM who could own the local P&L. Regional sales became support, and stopped doubling as country head.
Profile
- FMCG general-management experience in the country or a like market — able to say how P&L, distributors, and modern trade are run together.
- Can lead a mixed local and expatriate bench, not only expats or only a long-standing local team.
- Can report to headquarters in English, with day-to-day decisions taken in the country organisation.
- Regional sales or single-channel profiles who had not owned a country P&L were not first choice.
Search timeline
First gate
5 business days
Second gate
About ten weeks to offer
The first list went out on business day five. A GM hire needs headquarters and the country team in the same interviews. Pay and reporting lines took longer. The offer went in about week ten.
CVs presented
Presented
8
Landed
4
Eight CVs on the first list, each with a written interview report. The client met four. The person hired had run distributors and modern trade, and would take a country-organisation seat rather than treat the job as a second regional base.
What we took from it
The hire was a local general manager. Regional sales became support. Distributor policy and headcount sat with one person. Plant-versus-channel conflicts moved to a country weekly, not a regional call.
Dropping in the regional sales lead would still have required a local operator search. Cost and time would have doubled. Changing the brief at kickoff saved about four weeks versus changing it mid-interview.
For the next brief: write who signs the country P&L. Keep the first list to people who have run a country organisation. Regional sales is a backup, not the default.