Carlyle Group Case:
A "Picture Perfect" Solution

Industry:       Professional photography equipment

Client:            International multi-channel retailer

Search:          Group Marketing and Business Development Director

Client Situation:
Our client is an international multi-channel, professional photographic retailer. They market their range of products via catalog, the Internet and retail stores in the United States and Europe.  At the time of this search, a major concern of the senior leadership team was the company’s inconsistent messaging in the photographic equipment marketplace.  Further, there was no common theme across its three distribution channels – catalog, retail stores, and the Internet.  The need for a cohesive brand image and a unified “look and feel” for their product packaging became quite evident.  Senior management recognized the pressing need for strong leadership in marketing to ensure that innovative marketing and a unified and effective company image was in place to compete in a tough global marketplace.

A new position was created for an experienced professional who would assume responsibility for the company’s marketing and business development initiatives and move quickly to address the marketing gaps.  The individual would take on the role of Chief Marketing Officer, yet hold the title of group marketing director, in order to align with the company’s European leadership.  Filling the new position with exactly the right candidate was a critical factor that would enable the client’s executive team to assure the best overall execution of their corporate strategies. 

Solution:
The challenge of finding the best professional with proven experience in unifying marketing strategies in this complex international enterprise was one well suited to Carlyle Group’s strengths.  The firm’s research team capitalized on key assets: highly experienced partners with long-term working relationships, considerable industry knowledge and market intelligence and a network of on-target contacts.  This combination of unique Carlyle Group factors resulted in a focused target list of companies that had both “brick and mortar” and “click and mortar” operations.  The team leveraged their considerable experience in “finding the best” and identified a select few well-qualified, CMO-level executives with exactly the right experience.   In addition to identifying proven performers, the search team focused on finding candidates who best demonstrated the style, presence, and values that were most likely to fit well with the client’s unique leadership team and corporate culture.  Carlyle Group partners guided the client and the candidate through a full exploration of the many factors – business and human – that must successfully align to ensure a successful fit between candidate and client.

Successful Candidate:
Having recently built and sold a company, the best candidate brought an unusual combination of skills and experience that met the complex set of requirements. First, the candidate demonstrated an entrepreneurial attitude, one that fit the needs of the position well. In addition, this professional offered a rich background that included supervising major corporate brand initiatives for world-class multi-channel marketers in the automotive and aerospace industries.  Further, the candidate brought an in-depth background and understanding of the professional photography marketplace, having worked as a professional photographer for nearly a decade. As a result, there was a built-in functional knowledge of the client’s product line as well as an understanding of the vendors and significant market players.  Moreover, this successful candidate proved to be well-aligned with the innovative, fast-paced style of the client’s work environment.  Carlyle Group was able to find the best candidate for this client and just to round-out this solid success, the candidate was local and was ready to take on the new responsibility quickly.