FuW, Finanz und Wirtschaft, Interview with Executive Search Firm Wirz & Partners
By Rainer Weihofen, FINANZ und WIRTSCHAFT
As a consultant, he's used to working virtually, but there are signs of wear and tear, not only for himself, but also for his clients and candidates, says Erik Wirz. However, there is little evidence of this during our virtual coffee chat. The founder and owner of executive search firm Wirz & Partners is quick to get to the point and clearly shows his enthusiasm for his work.
His job is to find and place board members, CEOs, CFOs and specialists for companies with links to Switzerland. Wirz emphasises that he does many things differently from his competitors. "We are the challengers in the executive search market in Switzerland. The big players in the market have been around for a long time and rely on their Rolodex. That's not the case with me".
He founded his company more or less out of frustration. When he dealt with the big headhunters himself, the approach was often noncommittal. From his point of view, it was inappropriate to bring in young and inexperienced consultants. "I thought, instead of complaining, I'll do it myself and do it better.
"To meet my quality standards, our strategy is to only do things we understand," says Wirz. "We do three things, not fifty, and we don't follow the opportunistic principle of saying we can do whatever the customer needs."
The three areas include the two sectors of life sciences and information technology, as well as digitalisation, which Wirz describes as a horizontal discipline. He sees digitalisation not just as a technology, but holistically, as part of change management. "I believe we are the market leader in Switzerland in this respect." The days when production, marketing and sales operated separately are definitely over. It is only by working together that a company can be fully digitalised. "This is our positioning.
Erik Wirz started his career at DEC and has held senior management positions at Compaq, HP, CA (Computer Associates) and several management consulting firms. As a result, he knows from personal experience what outdated, inaccurate and incomplete data means to a business in today's environment. The "pain pattern" within boards has changed in an era where digitalisation is no longer categorised as "we'll do it when we have time". Traditional roles are now being significantly challenged.
Today, CFOs, CIOs and board members are under increasing pressure. For example, for decades many CFOs have been able to rely on budgeting based on the previous year's figures. That doesn't work in disruptive times. At the same time, there are higher expectations for the accuracy of forecast figures. So all aspects of planning need to be embedded intelligently in the business, and new tools and technologies need to be integrated. "This is where we come in. We find people who can inspire an organisation to a new vision.
This may sound simple, but today's change processes aren't about breaking down silos or introducing a new corporate structure. Multi-dimensional skills are required. Someone tasked with transforming a finance department must not only understand accounting rules, but also have a strong affinity for technology. They must also be able to inspire and foster intrinsic motivation within the organisation, so that any change does not lead to paralysis. The same applies to board members. It's no longer enough to have worked in an industry for a long time. Profiles have become more diverse.
But do such people even exist, and how can Erik Wirz find them without a Rolodex? The consultant remains vague. "We simply know a lot because we are focused and therefore close to the target industries and roles". What's more, his company has its own research team with a wealth of experience and doesn't need to rely on third parties. They also use search algorithms and so-called ontological search clouds. It's a combination of hard facts and rich word clouds. The mix varies depending on the task. The algorithms are used in the identification and research process for "data enrichment" to validate whether a potential candidate is a good fit and whether the existing data is still accurate.
"We can quickly analyse how many suitable people there are in a target market. We need a certain market size of candidates before we commit to a client. Therefore, there may be cases where Wirz & Partners declines a mandate due to a lack of people matching the required profile".
