When a global FMCG group committed €50m to a new flexible packaging facility in Poland, they approached Chad Harrison International with a challenging brief: build an entire leadership team from scratch within 12 weeks of ground-breaking.
The Brief
We were tasked with sourcing 9 senior roles simultaneously: Plant Director, Operations Manager, Technical Director, Quality Director, HSE Manager, Finance Controller, HR Manager, Logistics Manager, and Sustainability Lead. All required Polish language capability alongside international packaging credentials.
Our Approach
Rather than running sequential searches, our dedicated project team activated our European flexible packaging network simultaneously across all disciplines. A CHI project room was established with a dedicated team of 6 consultants, each owning specific functional tracks.
- Day 1–14: Network activation, 47 candidates long-listed across all 9 tracks
- Week 3–4: Structured competency interviews conducted in Warsaw and via video
- Week 5–6: All 9 roles at final interview stage with 2–3 shortlisted candidates each
- Week 8–11: Offers made, negotiated, and accepted for all 9 positions
The Outcome
All 9 roles were offered and accepted within 11 weeks — one week ahead of the client’s deadline. The facility opened on schedule. 24 months post-placement, 8 of 9 leaders remain in post — a retention rate that benchmarks in the top 5% of greenfield recruitment projects in our database.
CHI’s ability to run parallel searches at pace without compromising on candidate quality was critical. This is not something a generalist recruiter could have delivered. — VP HR, Client Organisation