The Fight for the Right Executives
06-April-2009 - "It should be a buyer’s market for talent. So why do some industries still have a fight on their hands?"
Smart businesses go courting during downturns, enticing a caliber of talent they wouldn’t ordinarily be able to woo. But many companies in technical industries are having a hard time filling key roles, global recession notwithstanding.
The booming sulphur industry is a case in point. At present, the global annual output of sulfur is about 40 million tons and it is expected to reach 55 million tons in 2011. Yet, attracting operations managers, general managers and sales executives to this global industry proved challenging as top engineering, mathematics and physics graduates flocked to lucrative careers with investment banks and hedge funds. Regardless of whether this may change in the wake of the worldwide financial crisis, Greg Duerksen, president of the global executive recruiting firm Kincannon & Reed, said companies in sulphur and allied industries such as other fertilizers and commodity chemicals must prepare to compete more forcefully for the talent they need to sustain and extend industry growth.
“Operations management roles have clearly been the most difficult to fill, and engineering, general management and sulphur sales roles have also been challenging,” Duerksen said, citing a recent Kincannon & Reed survey of sulphur executives. Duerksen detailed the survey results in a presentation to the Sulphur World Symposium in Madrid, Spain.
In it Duerksen describes the causes driving the shortage of qualified and experienced talent, including:
- Cutbacks in bench positions, international assignments and other developmental offering
- Relocation reluctance on the part of executives, particularly those with children in high school
- Demographic factors, especially expected retirement rates among aging world workforces
- A mismatch between what schools produce and what companies need.
“Companies in sulphur and related industries are going to need comprehensive strategies for finding and keeping executives with the right skills,” Duerksen said. “The war for talent is winnable, but it will take smart, competitive and innovative compensation plans, retention tactics, talent development, and relentless recruiting.”
Kincannon & Reed (www.krsearch.com) is the only retained executive search firm focused exclusively on the food, agribusiness, and life sciences sectors. Founded in 1981, the company serves clients throughout the world from its offices in the Americas, Europe, and Asia / Pacific.
Media note:To request a copy of the complete presentation “The War for Talent”, or to arrange an interview with Greg Duerksen of Kincannon & Reed, call Carly Magill at 651-271-6866 or e-mail carly_magill@groupleaf.com.
Kincannon & Reed Global Executive Search Adds Four New Principals to its International Team
25-March-2009 - The retained executive search firm of Kincannon & Reed is increasing its global capabilities with the recent addition of four new Managing Directors.
“Kincannon & Reed is enjoying strong growth through a steadily increasing number of assignments from organizations around the world,” said Kincannon & Reed president Greg Duerksen. “We are bullish on the potential for continued growth in 2009, as current economic conditions make it imperative that organizations recruit superior talent. The need for leadership has never been greater. These new team members improve our ability to serve clients in global assignments as well as respond to local needs in their respective geographies.”
Joining the firm are:
Tobias Eichberg, based in Darmstadt, Germany
Mr. Eichberg is an expert in the agricultural equipment sector. He began his career as a sales and marketing director for a family-owned agricultural machinery company and progressed to DLG (German Agricultural Society). At DLG, he was the Division Manager and Deputy CEO for the Test Center for Agricultural Machinery and Equipment. Later he expanded and managed Agritechnica, now the world’s largest trade show for agricultural equipment and technology, with 340,000 attendees.
Remy Goetgheluck, based in Lyon, France
Mr. Goetgheluck has spent his entire career in the agribusiness industry. He led the integration of insecticide activities during the merger of Hoechst and Schering to form AgrEvo in 1994, and later when Hoechst AG and Rhône Poulenc SA were combined to form Aventis in 2000. Mr. Goetgheluck has been an active member of the Executive Committee of AgrEvo and Board Member of Bilag, a joint venture of Bayer CropScience based in India. Most recently he ran Bayer’s €1.4 billion global insecticide business. He is an Ingénieur Agronome from the National Agronomy Institute in Paris and holds an MBA from INSEAD.
Jürgen Reckefuss, based in Melbourne, Australia
Mr. Reckefuss has had a long and successful career in the pharmaceutical and agribusiness industries, beginning with the Schering Pharmaceutical division in Latin America and continuing in Europe and the Middle East. He headed the agribusiness unit for Schering in Australia and New Zealand and participated in the formation of AgrEvo, becoming a Managing Director. He was invited to join the Board of the National Registration Authority (NRA) and serves as Adjunct Professor of the University of Queensland.
Mr. van Wielink’s expertise lies within the vegetable and flower seed industry. He began his career at Royal Sluis, a pioneer and leader in hybrid vegetable and flower breeding. At Seminis, Mr. van Wielink became general manager of the Dutch business unit and the European production and logistics center, and later was promoted to senior vice president of production and logistics. He is a graduate of the Agricultural College in Dordrecht, Netherlands and the Institute of Nijenrode.
Kincannon & Reed (www.krsearch.com) is the only retained executive search firm focused exclusively on the food, agribusiness, and life sciences sectors. Founded in 1981, the company serves clients throughout the world from its offices in the Americas, Europe and Asia/Pacific.
Editor's Note: Photos of executives are available upon request. Please contact Carly Magill carly@groupleaf.com 651-271-6866 for images.
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