Kincannon & Reed President Addresses Global Ag Investing Conference on Making the Search for Talent More Strategic
New York, NY (PR Newswire) May 6, 2010
Greg Duerksen, President of Kincannon & Reed Global Executive Search, addressed the Global Ag Investing conference today on making the search for talent more strategic. The conference, held at The Roosevelt Hotel in New York, is designed to provide public and private market investors with insights about the opportunities and challenges of investing in agricultural lands, private equity, and infrastructure.
Duerksen noted that investors spend thousands of hours on legal, financial, and operational due diligence, but neglect to apply the same rigor to evaluating the individuals who will be responsible for generating the expected return on investment. As a result three common hiring mistakes are often made: (1) Hiring for technical capability, rather than business aptitude; (2) Hiring someone with a great education and investment pedigree, but lacking in operational experience. Duerksen commented, "A smart person is not necessarily wise or experienced. To be successful in the global agricultural investment context, you need both a vivid imagination of what can go wrong and the guts to take action." (3) Hiring passively, not actively. Duerksen stated, "The people ag investors need are not likely to be in the circles they know. The best candidates must be proactively identified and personally sold on the opportunity. We often see investors put more weight on who suggests a name rather than conducting a broad and deep evaluation of capabilities and fit. If you don’t actively look for it, talent will be the limiting factor in the success of your investment."
Duerksen added, "Investors negotiate hard to get the last 10% off the acquisition price and would work diligently to increase the return on that acquisition by 10%. The same principle applies to talent acquisitions. You should hold out for the last 10% of what you need rather than settle for 90%. When it comes to senior leadership, the difference between 90% and 100% is not 10. That difference is everything."
The full text of Mr. Duerksen’s presentation is available upon request.
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 Contact: Ellen von Fange 540-941-8331 www.krsearch.com
Kincannon & Reed Names David G. Jensen as Managing Director, Biopharma Life Sciences
Scottsdale, AZ (PR Newswire) April 27, 2010
"Dave has outstanding credentials and is a great fit for this important new position. We recognize how important it is for our clients to work with a Principal who knows their business, knows the leaders in their space, and brings many years of experience matching top talent with organizational needs. Dave’s corporate, entrepreneurial, and recruiting industry experience, as well as his expertise in biotech and pharmaceutical life sciences, will serve us well," commented Greg Duerksen, President of Kincannon & Reed.
Prior to joining Kincannon & Reed, Dave Jensen was CEO at CareerTrax Inc., a consulting firm for the biotechnology industry. Previously, Jensen served as Founder and CEO for Search Masters International, a company he later sold. Prior to Search Masters International, Jensen served as Executive Recruiter for Govig and Associates of Scottsdale, Arizona, where he opened a successful life sciences practice.
David Jensen is a well-recognized life sciences author and speaker, and is seen regularly in industry events conducting workshops on topics such as the worldwide biotechnology industry. He has been a guest speaker at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Karolinska Institute (Sweden), Princeton University, Harvard University, and many others. His monthly column "Managing Your Career" has been seen for more than seventeen years in magazines like BioPharm and Contract Pharma, and he writes a monthly column, "Tooling Up," for the publisher of the journal SCIENCE. Jensen currently serves on the Editorial Advisory Board of the Journal of Commercial Biotechnology and is a Contributing Editor for Contract Pharma.
Dave Jensen affirmed, "I am thrilled to be joining the Kincannon & Reed team, tapping their enormous worldwide network to find the best talent for the Biopharmaceutical business." Jensen will be based out of Kincannon & Reed’s Scottsdale, Arizona, office.
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 Contact: Ellen von Fange 540-941-8331 www.krsearch.com
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