Background
A 700-person, privately owned firm — best known for land development — wanted to break into the public works space.
Locally, they had 10 engineers focused on land development, but no presence in the public market and no leader to make it happen. The key to success? Bringing in an executive who could spearhead the initiative and build a new division from scratch.
The Challenge
They didn’t just need someone who could win work. They needed an executive-level seller–doer: a leader who could train staff in a new service area, hire and retain new talent, and still roll up their sleeves to manage projects until the team was upskilled.
A real challenge — but also a unique opportunity for the right person.
Our Approach
We recommended a full executive search led by one of our Directors with over a decade’s staffing experience.
Together with one of our recruitment coordinators, we mapped the market in detail: identifying every Vice President in the public works space locally. Using our database, LinkedIn, company leadership pages, AI lead tools, and online rosters, we left no stone unturned.
Next, our marketing team created tailored presentations to show each candidate the opportunity and the vision. Combined with in-depth Director-led meetings, 27 Vice Presidents were presented with the role and screened for motivation, business-development track record, and team-building experience.
From there, we worked closely with the client to manage the process — keeping expectations aligned on both sides and driving the search to completion in just one month.
The Results
The new Vice President of Public Infrastructure is now fully onboarded. He’s already delivering projects, and has introduced career paths and training systems for the division.
The firm is now hiring further for the new division — and their growth targets are already ahead of schedule.
