Summary

This global apparel and lifestyle company faced an aggressive timeline to establish an independent technology organization while continuing to support enterprise operations, digital commerce, and a large retail footprint. As the organization transitioned away from shared services provided by its former parent, it needed to build the internal technology capabilities required to support long-term business growth.

The newly appointed CIO was responsible for creating an enterprise technology organization from the ground up. Beyond hiring technical talent, the company needed experienced leaders who could establish infrastructure, modernize enterprise platforms, strengthen digital capabilities, and support critical business systems across the organization.

Building an entirely new technology organization during a complex corporate carve-out required more than traditional recruiting support. The company needed a trusted partner capable of providing strategic hiring guidance, market intelligence, and access to highly specialized technology professionals who could help execute an ambitious transformation roadmap.

Solutions

Although this was our first engagement with the CIO, we quickly became an extension of his leadership team. We began with a comprehensive needs assessment to understand the organization’s business objectives, technology roadmap, organizational structure, and hiring priorities. We then developed a strategic recruiting plan focused on identifying the technology leaders needed to execute the company’s transformation.

“Corporate carve-outs create unique hiring challenges because every technology hire has a ripple effect across the organization. Success depends on finding leaders who can execute today while building the foundation for tomorrow.”

— Jackie Connors, CEO, The Connors Group

In the beginning of our engagement, the recruiting strategy focused on building the leadership team responsible for executing the organization’s transformation. We targeted professionals with experience leading enterprise modernization initiatives who could balance immediate operational demands with long-term strategic objectives. These leaders would assume ownership of infrastructure, enterprise applications, financial systems, product lifecycle management, retail technology, digital commerce, and customer-facing platforms while helping establish the processes and governance needed to support future growth.

As the engagement progressed, our partnership expanded alongside the organization’s evolving priorities. What began as a series of executive technology searches developed into a long-term relationship supporting multiple phases of the company’s technology transformation. From enterprise infrastructure and digital commerce to retail modernization, enterprise applications, and specialized consulting engagements, we continued delivering highly specialized talent as new business initiatives emerged.

Over approximately 20 months, our team supported nine technology and digital searches, presenting 58 qualified professionals, facilitating 41 client interviews, and successfully completing nine critical placements across executive leadership, enterprise applications, digital commerce, retail technology, infrastructure, and consulting roles. Key placements included:

• Vice President, IT Infrastructure: Hired to build the organization’s enterprise infrastructure capabilities while establishing the technology foundation needed to support future growth. The search concluded in approximately three months after presenting six qualified candidates and generating two client interviews.
• Vice President, Digital Solutions: Recruited to lead the company’s enterprise digital strategy across customer-facing technologies, including digital commerce, CRM, web, mobile, and omnichannel initiatives. We presented 20 qualified candidates, resulting in 11 client interviews and a successful executive placement.
• Director, Retail Solutions: Identified a technology leader responsible for modernizing retail systems, supporting omnichannel initiatives, and improving the in-store customer experience. This search resulted in 15 qualified candidates presented, 13 client interviews, and a successful placement.
• Director, eCommerce & Web Solutions: Placed a leader responsible for standardizing the organization’s digital platforms and supporting enterprise web initiatives during a period of rapid digital growth.
• Director, Financial Systems, Senior Manager, PLM Development & Architecture, and Manager, EDI Compliance: Successfully recruited specialized leaders responsible for strengthening enterprise systems, supply chain technology, and business-critical integrations supporting the organization’s continued transformation.

As the organization continued to mature, our partnership expanded beyond the initial transformation roadmap. We supported additional direct hire and consulting engagements across technology and other business functions, including a specialized marketing copywriter consulting engagement and a highly confidential Director of Web Applications search supporting the company’s evolving Shopify environment. These engagements reflected the trust established throughout our partnership and our ability to deliver specialized talent as the organization’s priorities continued to evolve.

By the conclusion of the initial transformation, the organization had successfully assembled key technology leadership across infrastructure, enterprise systems, digital commerce, retail technology, financial systems, and product lifecycle management. Those leaders provided the expertise needed to support the company’s transition to an independent organization while laying the technology foundation for continued innovation, operational excellence, and long-term business growth. Today, we continue to partner with the organization, providing both consulting and direct hire talent across multiple disciplines as new business needs emerge.

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