C-Level Executive Search
A confidential executive search mandate to place a Chief Financial Officer for a GCC-based industrial automation and engineering business — identifying a leader capable of driving financial governance, supporting regional expansion, and bringing deep project-based finance expertise to a highly specialised sector.
- Limited availability of sector-specific CFO talent in Bahrain — the active candidate market could not meet the brief
- Requirement for a candidate combining both operational finance depth and strategic leadership capability
- A highly competitive regional market for senior finance professionals across industrial and engineering businesses
- Strong project-based financial management expertise was essential, not optional
By moving beyond the active market and engaging passive candidates through confidential headhunting across Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE, we secured a high-calibre CFO who is now leading financial strategy, cost control, and regional growth for the client.
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Project Description
An industrial automation and engineering firm operating across the GCC required a CFO to strengthen financial governance, support business expansion, and bring the commercial acumen needed to navigate a complex, project-driven operating environment.
The mandate demanded a rare combination: a finance leader with both the strategic vision to shape GCC-wide growth and the operational grounding to manage project-based financial structures in an industrial context. With sector-specific CFO talent scarce in Bahrain and the broader regional market highly competitive, only a targeted headhunting approach — drawing on deep sector networks across multiple geographies — could reliably deliver.
Our Solution Was Designed
A confidential, sector-targeted headhunting search across the GCC
We ran an executive search across Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE — targeting candidates specifically from industrial automation, EPC, and engineering companies where the combination of project finance expertise and operational leadership is most concentrated. Rather than relying on active candidates, we engaged senior finance professionals through confidential headhunting, ensuring the search remained discreet and the shortlist genuinely competitive.
Each candidate was assessed not just on technical finance credentials, but on leadership capability, project finance experience, and commercial acumen — the three dimensions the client needed most. The result was a shortlist calibrated precisely to the brief, without compromise on any axis.
- Executive search conducted across Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE — maximising the talent pool across key GCC markets
- Targeting focused on industrial automation, EPC, and engineering companies — where relevant CFO profiles are concentrated
- Passive candidates engaged through confidential headhunting — accessing talent not visible in the active market
- Assessment criteria built around leadership capability, project finance expertise, and commercial acumen
Driving Measurable Impact
In a market where sector-specific CFO talent is genuinely scarce, we delivered a high-calibre placement — securing the offer in a competitive hiring environment and ensuring a seamless transition into the role. The placed CFO is now actively leading the client’s financial strategy, cost control agenda, and regional growth initiatives across GCC operations.
Results
- Successfully placed a high-calibre CFO with strong GCC industrial and engineering sector experience
- Offer secured within a competitive hiring market — confident candidate management through to close
- Seamless onboarding aligned with the client's operational requirements and timeline
- CFO now leading financial strategy, cost control, and regional growth initiatives across the business
Key value delivered
- Access to niche senior finance talent — reaching candidates invisible to standard search methods
- Strong executive search expertise across the GCC — multi-market reach from a single accountable partner
- Deep understanding of industrial and engineering-driven businesses — sector fluency built into the process
- Focus on long-term business impact — placing a leader built for the client's next phase, not just the immediate need