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AREAS OF EXPERTISE

EXECUTIVE SEARCH

Ridgeway specializes in banking, asset and wealth management, private equity, fintech, technology, digital and retail recruiting.

We find exceptional senior executive talent for our clients, spanning large, multi-national companies to smaller, private equity-backed portfolio companies. Most of our work is based in the US and Europe, yet our reach is truly global; we’ve completed assignments in Africa, the Middle East and Asia.

We take pride in partnering with our clients to ensure they have the appropriate leadership to take their firms to new heights.

BOARD APPOINTMENTS

We work with Fortune 100 companies, family offices and charities on both corporate and advisory board functions.

We assist pre-IPO companies recruit non-executives to successfully go public. We help large and small companies introduce women onto their boards. We work with companies that need to internationalize their boards. We assemble advisory boards to assist our clients fortify their digital strategy and penetrate new markets.

ASSESSMENT AND SUCCESSION PLANNING

Corporate boards need to plan for the future. Who is going to run the company when the team moves on or the Chair retires? These are issues that Ridgeway is equipped to help solve.

We assess the strengths of an existing team, identify potential gaps in the board’s collective skill set and provide our clients with a solution.

CASE STUDIES

Finding the first chief financial officer for a body new to the private sector

FIELD

Executive Search

OFFICE

Boston

THE ROLE

A former government body that had moved into the private sector needed a new chief financial officer. They had used another search firm and failed to find one. We were well known by the new senior team at the client. They trusted us to do what was a difficult assignment.

WHAT WAS NEEDED

The salary was less than the market rate so candidates had to be attracted by the mission of the business more than the compensation.

THE SOLUTION

The previous firm had suggested casting the net wide. We suggested a rifle shot approach and this was the key to solving the problem. We spent time working out what the successful candidate might look like by understanding the ethics of the business and who it would appeal to.

Regulatory approval was then needed but the appointment was made. We were awarded the Head of Strategy assignment subsequently.

Helping a retail client get up to digital speed

FIELD

Executive Search

OFFICE

Boston

THE ROLE

A leading retailer asked us to source a digital director. They chose us because we understood the language of retail and the key issues in a way that other headhunters did not.

The client thought our pitch document was insightful, imaginative and persuasive. It brought new ideas to the table and was not just a list of previous assignments done.

WHAT WAS NEEDED

We provided creative ideas on whom to approach that were not just pulled out of the database. We knew the up and coming people as well as the established names. The client commented that he felt we enjoyed the assignment.

THE SOLUTION

A clear front runner emerged so the task was to keep the candidate motivated and to remind the client to be in touch with that candidate at every stage.

The successful candidate started the new role four months after the start of the search.

Encouraging a fortune 500 company to look further afield for a new board member

FIELD

Board Appointments

OFFICE

Boston

THE ROLE

Our client, an engineering and machinery business, is the market leader in its sector. The board wanted to add a non-executive director. It wanted expertise on how to manage businesses across several countries and business cultures.

WHAT WAS NEEDED

Location was flexible and candidates did not need prior board experience. The client’s preference was for a chief executive, business unit head or commercial director from another service company but we persuaded them to look at functional heads in supply chain, procurement and IT as well.

THE SOLUTION

The successful candidate was a female in a supply chain and procurement leadership role at one of the largest engineering groups in the industry. It was her first board and non-executive role.

Identifying Future Talent Sources for a Bank

FIELD

Assessment and Succession Planning

OFFICE

Boston

THE ROLE

An emerging retail bank asked us to identify future potential leaders for their organization. The analysis covered the primary functional roles within the bank. The client wanted us to identify five to six possible future hires.

We were approached by the Chair and subsequently established a close relationship with the HR department and helped prove that Ridgeway was up to the task, despite the fact that they had a long-standing relationship with a competing search firm.

WHAT WAS NEEDED

In addition to being tasked with finding other companies with similar corporate cultures, we were asked to identify potential candidates without approaching them. The client recognized our efforts to ‘get inside’ the company’s culture to source the most appropriate candidates. We simultaneously completed two board assignments for the client.

THE SOLUTION

The work was completed ahead of schedule and the client appointed a Head of Risk, one of their primary goals for the year.

Assessing the Existing Team for a Financial Services Client

FIELD

Assessment and Succession Planning

OFFICE

Boston

THE PROJECT

A leading credit house asked us to assess its senior team. We pitched for the business against a leading international firm. The client was conscious of its own image problems and the obstacles they would face in attracting top-tier talent. We were awarded the assignment because we understood the culture of the firm and the dilemmas it faced.

WHAT WAS NEEDED

We worked with an independent industrial psychologist to assess the candidates’ personalities and motivations. The client liked how we conducted the assessments and felt involved in the process.

THE SOLUTION

The senior team was interviewed and underwent psychometric tests conducted by the psychologist.

This process identified the potential successors by analyzing each team member’s personality. It not only confirmed the client’s instincts but uncovered things they did not know about their own people. Those assessed were also very positive about the exercise and felt it was truly beneficial.