What inspired you to pursue a career in HR and executive search?

I actually “fell into executive search”. I had worked for 12 years in the UK as a sports marketing executive. As a child I had played junior tennis at a competitive level across Europe and once I realised that the path towards Wimbledon wasn’t a reality anymore, I turned my attention to the business of sports.
I found it fulfilling however something was missing with it. There were great highs from securing large sponsorship deals with global marketing directors and CEO’s at major sporting events. In 2007, I decided to change course and pursue a career within executive search. I applied for several roles in the GCC and was asked to consider a career in retained executive search. The rest was history as they since it was the perfect combination of commercial acumen and human traits!

How did your early experiences shape your leadership and business mindset?

I come from a family whereby entrepreneurial spirit ran deep. My family-built engineering and manufacturing businesses that played a significant role in west Africa. It made me realise that anything is possible and that dedication, imagination and believing in your potential can set you on a path to write your own stories. Growing up in both the UK and Nigeria, while coming from a mixed marriage shaped my view of the world in a way that I am both tolerant and seek to understand people rather then judge and label. I’ve been fortunate to be shaped by great people along the way. An early mentor once said to me when he saw me deeply upset when a large sponsorship deal didn’t come through. He said in a quiet voice “ this too shall pass”. I looked at him with a fair amount of confusion. Only to reflect on it a few weeks later to realise that in leadership as in life, there shall be ups and downs, yet nothing is permanent.

What is your vision for HR leadership and talent acquisition in the MENA region?

This is an interesting question and one that requires a separate paper! Broadly though, I think that our industry has been commoditized whereby we have lost the essence of the human connection. In addition, I feel clients are sold executives based on aesthetics and the due diligence isn’t conducted with enough rigour and detail. This is partly due to the impatience of the clients, while the consultants in our industry not standing their ground and pushing back to ensure transparency and integrity with the reports and candidates they present. At Wilton & Bain we are bringing the human centric approach back into search. Our mission is to implement the great spirit our colleagues across the world have had so much success with in implementing a culture of listening and hearing both what the client actually wants and needs while not being afraid to standup and challenge the narrative and direction of travel by the client. Lastly our pledge is to ensure our candidate experience is world class through every single phase of our process without exception!

How do you approach executive hiring in an ever-evolving business landscape?

Listen. Too often I hear clients tell me they get talked at and told what they need. The key for us is to listen carefully and come up with creative and innovative solutions that not only resonate with our clients but more importantly transpire into a hire that is transformative and disruptive for their clients.

What challenges do companies face in attracting and retaining top talent today?

Where do I start. We are still a transient region whereby expats make up a large part of the workplace. The one single point I would like to highlight is the executive experience they have with clients in the region is substandard at best. Its imperative that the candidate experience is seamless, ensuring all candidates engaged during a process, even though they are not making it to the final round should be treated and handled with care. Clients still don’t understand the impact on their brand as an organisation when candidates are treated like that. I believe this is the single most important element of any processes, yet it is almost non existent as a strategy within organisations in the region.

Can you share a transformative hiring success story that made a significant impact?

Due to the nature of our clients and the space we operate its difficult to name names. That said we worked with a large entity in the region that had worked with our competitors and had been unsuccessful. When we held a briefing meeting and asked searching questions, we came up with a search strategy and areas to seek out candidates that hadn’t been explored. We eventually found an executive who came in and had a significant impact on our client’s organisation. This was possible because we listened and put our creative hat on!

How do you see HR evolving with the rise of AI and digital transformation?

I cant speak in detail about the wider HR ecosystem, however in Retained search whereby our role is to hire leadership roles, AI is a handy tool in terms of research and garnering information from the wider internet. I would say our niche element of HR require a great deal of intuition and gut feeling beyond the scientific approach we have to assessing individuals throughout a process.

What leadership qualities do you believe are essential for success in HR?

Integrity, trust and a strong human centric are important. That being said commercial acumen are also valuable. Some of the best HR professionals that I have come across throughout my career start it of as engineers and finance individuals and they used that logical and pragmatic mindset to build well run and highly efficient HR departments.

How do you maintain a work-life balance while managing high-level responsibilities?

Not very well sometimes, and other times well. It’s important to start early and power through the critical points. The rest of the day should be for meetings and catching up with colleagues on critical projects. Travelling across the GCC makes that difficult. Sometimes its about excepting that there are times in the year that are perhaps full on and more intense that others. When those periods subside, its important to nourish your life with family and friends!

What role does diversity, equity, and inclusion play in talent acquisition today?

I think it’s a key topic and something we at Wilton & Bain take seriously. We are proud that we have several men and female partners and colleagues. In terms of our clients, I feel that we are still searching for the balance to try and infuse leadership teams with the right mix. I do inherently believe that beyond DEI, the best and right person for the role should be chosen. What many boards and CHRO I’m afraid fail to see, is that the cost beyond our fees of making the wrong hire can have a lasting impact on the business that isn’t always tangible. As the saying goes you don’t know what you don’t know, and this can not be truer when you bring in the wrong leader and he or she turns out to be the wrong fit. Lastly on DEI, I think the work being done by civic organisations in the UAE and wider GCC like IWBD will hopefully go along way in challenging corporations to look at their culture and dynamics internally to progress a more inclusive and balances workforce, especially at the leadership level.

What advice would you give young professionals aspiring to work in executive search?

Be curious and ask questions. Research and learning search at entry level or as a research gives you so much exposure into so many industries and sectors. You should see every interview as a mini-MBA. Read! Read different types of books and follow trends. If you enjoy diving into an industry for six months and immersing yourself in everything and anything about that industry, then search could be a great ride for you!

What are your long-term goals and aspirations in HR and leadership?

Its simple; build a world class organisation in the region that is human centric and focused on the absolute best in quality and integrity. Continue to build relationships and friendships throughout the region that constantly challenge me as a person to grow and learn new things