LAYING THE FOUNDATION

When a prominent dental laboratory platform approached Townsend Search Group for support in hiring a new human resources (HR) leader in 2023, they were already familiar with our work.

Townsend had placed a chief financial officer (CFO) with the client company three years prior. Following that, our team completed searches for a number of other finance and administrative positions. Now, after a series of acquisitions, the company sought a vice president to oversee its human capital strategies.

THE TOWNSEND SEARCH JOURNEY

At the time of the search, the client company had six locations in North America. Each facility had up to 250 employees, and some had dedicated HR professionals. The company needed a C-suite-level leader who could standardize personnel management across the organization.

The vice president of HR would influence all aspects of business operations. They would help staff navigate workplace issues and build a comprehensive training and development program for employees. They would also supervise recruitment and retention, create a competitive compensation structure, and enable continuous operational improvement.

DELIVERING TALENT. EMPOWERING CHANGE.

Because the Townsend team had a deep knowledge of the company, we quickly identified a pool of qualified candidates.

During the interviews, one immediately stood out. The candidate had experience working for a large company as a regional HR director, overseeing several business locations. In an on-site session, they gave specific counsel to a manager dealing with a personnel challenge, which the manager then implemented to great success.

The candidate was placed and, since then, has systematically transformed the company’s HR function. With professionalized, modernized systems now in place at every level of the organization, the CFO has been able to fully re-focus on their role — realizing the company’s ambitious vision for growth.