A first-of-its-kind role, filled from a fraction of a per cent of the market

The client was building a brand new team in Thailand as part of a new global business initiative: a completely new capability for the organisation, and a deliberate investment in the Thai market. The brief was a Principal Forward Deployed Engineer, and the role was new globally, not just locally.

The profile required a combination that barely exists: top-tier management consulting experience, real technology depth, commercial and entrepreneurial instinct, and fluency in both Thai and English. Effectively a fraction of a per cent of the market.

And the timing made it harder. A second major organisation was recruiting for an almost identical profile at the same time, so the few people who fit were being competed for directly.

The relevant market had already been mapped through earlier searches: professionals from leading global consulting firms, founders and entrepreneurs, and people who had worked inside credible technology companies. When the brief landed, the search did not start from zero.

The successful candidate came from that existing network: someone already known to us, whose background and capabilities needed no discovering. Once the role and the initiative behind it were explained properly, he was immediately interested.

The process was long and the client's field was strong. The base salary was not the strongest part of the package, so closing the offer meant getting the candidate to evaluate the whole proposition, the bonus structure, the benefits, the scope of the role and the long-term career position, rather than base alone.