Head of Production — Manufacturing, Russia

Manufacturing

The Challenge

Following an enquiry from a large Russian conglomerate, MSC Headhunting was retained as manufacturing executive recruiters to headhunt for a new factory manager. After extensive consultation with the company owners, we gained a thorough understanding of the business and the role requirements. The company had an extremely urgent need: they had recently purchased a site and built a brand new high-specification production line that had just been completed. They urgently needed an expert to ensure a smooth start-up, maintain steady production, and optimise equipment to realise its theoretical capacity.

A further challenge related to the equipment installed at the factory. It was brand new and imported from abroad, meaning only a small number of specialists in the world knew how to run and maintain this specific technology. Every week without production was costing the company vast sums of money, creating immense time pressure on the assignment.

Our Approach

Our teams worked around the clock to ensure the shortlist was delivered within three weeks. Given the international nature of the assignment, this included conducting face-to-face interviews in the United States, Canada, Germany, Belgium, United Kingdom, Austria, and Romania, coordinating closely with our Russian headhunters throughout the process.

The Result

A shortlist of four of the world's leading specialists, all willing to relocate to Russia, was presented to the client. All candidates were invited to meetings at the Russian factory and company headquarters. The most experienced and senior individual was hired quickly, made immediate progress, and enabled the site to begin production within weeks. The company is now the leading manufacturer of specialist products in Russia, selling domestically and exporting to Western Europe as its largest market.