A roundtable was held at the IE Business School in the Aula Magna with the organization of the Spanish Chapter of the Association of Executive Search Consultants AESC.

The session was opened by Luis Truchado, Partner DIrector of Voyer Iberoamérica / EuroGalenus, who remarked the origins of the profession as a differentiation of Strategic Consulting in the 50s in the U.S.

Pablo Bernad, Partner Director of Spencer Stuart Spain emphasized that the most contrasted method to minimize the risk of a high level recruitment is based on following a comprehensive approach and not skipping steps: escaping overconfidence. In addition, an executive search consultant should invest time in learning about the culture of the company and its values, which are generally not written and require the experience and intuition of a good consultant.

Plácido Fajardo, Managing Partner of Leaders Trust / Alto Partners focused on the executive search process in addition to the necessary development and internal promotion: companies must have an inventory of their leadership talent, succession plans and rotations. He stressed the importance that the professional challenge also meets the candidate’s career and the importance that professional reference checking has in a good hiring process.

During the live roundtable some more topics were discussed: how to “get on the radar” of good consultants, the importance of giving feedback to interviewed candidates, expatriation trends and matters on diversity on boards and executive committees.

Sonal Agrawal, Country Managing Partner - Accord Group India, Member - Global Operating Committee - AltoPartners