Recruiting a new Chief Operating Officer

A true partnership

As dedicated sector specialists in the Aviation, Aerospace & Space markets, the search team at Oaklands Global was able to leverage a diverse international network on behalf of Texel Air. The team worked strategically using a fully bespoke search to identify a small hand-picked selection of suitably qualified and experienced candidates, that were presented to the client for initial review. The team were thrilled to progress two exceptional candidates to final interview. This was only achieved through a deep understanding of the role and the business itself, along with the excellent synergy between the Oaklands Global team and Texel Air stakeholders.

The task

At the start of 2021 Texel Air embarked on new expansion phase which included additional aircraft acquisition. Under the direction of the Board of Directors, the organisation appointed and engaged Oaklands Global to source and secure a COO for the business. This was a crucial appointment which was key to ensuring the successful setting of the organisational vision, strategies and operational resourcing requirements for the business.

Understanding the company’s mission & values

The Oaklands Global team worked closely with all key stakeholders to understand the company values and mission statement. It was agreed that the new COO had to be perfectly aligned to these values and needed a track-record of delivering with a similar value driven compass.

Pressures of COVID-19

The unprecedented pressures and challenges of COVID-19 were ever- present throughout the project. A traditional search and interview solution was ‘out of the window’ and with the support of our client, we were able to create a bespoke and hybrid interview and assessment solution that enabled a steady-paced process. In partnership we were able to conduct a robust assessment of the candidates which included, video interviews, psychometric testing, presentations and finally an in country meeting and interview with the finalist and key stakeholders.

Learn & Evolve

At Oaklands Global, we believe that a truly bespoke service is an ever evolving experience. In order to deliver at the very best of our ability, we must constantly review, update and evolve our own processes to maximise not just our own success, but that of our clients. This mandate enabled us to utilise new technologies to deliver a rigorous and predominantly remote interview process.

Getting the cultural fit right

Cultural fit has never been so important and ensuring the alignment between candidate and client is one of our foremost key objectives in each and every search. Due diligence, referencing and assessments are just some of the ways in which we are able to ensure a great match.

In Summary

The Texel Air team and Oaklands Global search team were delighted with the success of the search. This would not have been possible without the close collaboration and true partnership between the two businesses. We very much look forward to seeing the growth of Texel Air and the success of their new COO.

Further information

William Finden is the Managing Director and Head of the Aviation & Aerospace practice at Oaklands Global. He also directs the Executive Search Team day to day. William holds accreditations including MRAeS (Member of Royal Aeronautical Society) and MIRP (Member of the Institute of Recruitment Professionals).

His passion for Aviation stemmed from a young age. He is also an advocate of innovation and disruptive technologies. He work’s strategically with partners to establish robust recruitment strategies and talent pipelines to enable project delivery and growth objectives at a stakeholder level. William’s search career started in 2007 and he now manages and leads Oaklands Global’s executive search division supporting a diverse portfolio of clients with the analysis, market research, candidate selection and hiring of industry professionals across all business units.