Travel & Leisure

Spain

Assignment

We developed our relationship with this large national ferry services company by securing them talent for a number of commercial positions in middle management. Based on this success, we were later brought onboard to deliver against an ambitious plan of recruiting three new members of their six panel board of directors. As tourism is one of the largest industries in Spain (16% of GDP), the challenge was to secure the best talent with the skills and adaptability needed to implement a new business strategy.

Solution

The positions recruited for were Commercial Director, Revenue Management Director and Chief Digital Officer. Initially the client was only interested in candidates coming from competitors, but after initially testing the market, the Hays Executive team suggested a more open-minded approach and they agreed to see a wider range of profiles from within the tourism sector.

Our research team in Madrid were able to identify and attract talent nationwide with experience in hotels, FMCG and airlines. They contacted potential candidates from direct and indirect competitors and as well as from top companies in different sub-sectors of the tourism industry. They had a keen eye for professionals that demonstrated the adaptability to move to a new location and instigate a fresh approach in a new market.

Result

Within six weeks of taking on this challenge, our team successfully secured the new board members for the client. We organized and supported both offline and online interviews and also provided support and advice throughout the assignment in regards to packages, relocation and onboarding and referencing. Due to the success of this project we continue a strategic relationship with the client to recruit for other key hires using the same methodology.