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Case Studies

Head of Indirect Channels

A Challenger Bank is looking to grow a tech-enabled Asset Finance book of £250m over a 3 year period.

Single Hire Asset Finance

The Situation

This case study highlights the recruitment process for the Head of Indirect Channels in the Asset Finance division of a UK Challenger Bank. The client aimed to establish a technology-driven flow finance business through indirect channels within their asset finance operations.

The appointed candidate would be responsible for achieving a £250 million book growth target over a three-year period.

Team Leader with experience of nurturing and developing Sales / BDM professionals.
Active network of introducers, vendors and indirect channels which complement the sector focus and credit appetite of client.
Comprehensive understanding and experience of technology platforms that underpin smaller-ticket asset finance / 'flow finance'.

Challenges

In order to ensure the correct hire, we were conscious of several key considerations:

1. The client needed to find a 'player-manager' who could strike a balance between sales excellence - including meeting significant targets - and a solid understanding of necessary credit dynamics.

2. The candidate had to be a cultural fit within the existing team. The role required maximising the potential of current resources, while transforming the team into a tech-enabled proposition.

3. The candidate would be responsible for growing the team to meet future targets, making previous success of growing a business a pre-requisite also.

Method

Our approach to achieving success with this hire, focussed on three key principals:

a) Creating a shortlist of senior leader candidates with extensive experience in indirect asset finance. Our selection process encompassed candidates from diverse backgrounds, ranging from big banks to fintech companies. This was crucial to provide full scope of the market and diversity of experiences and backgrounds.

b) Assessing each candidate's ability to strike the right tone between traditional funding approaches and a tech-driven proposition.

c) Assessing each candidates personality and motivations to ensure as best we can a cultural fit with the existing team. This was possible due to a close collaboration with the hiring manager and previous experience of working with this client.

By effectively blending our attention across these key areas of focus, we were able to build a qualified shortlist that had various options.

Outcome

The process resulted in a first time successful hire, showcasing Future_find's ability to identify and secure a candidate with the necessary mix of experience and skills to drive growth and innovation within an established team. The selected candidate was headhunting from a direct competitor, where they'd significant success in growing a similar book of business over several years.

The selected candidate made significant strides in expanding the proposition and growing the team, aligning with the client's objectives. However, after 12+ months, external market conditions resulted in an unforeseen restructuring decision by the lender, leading to the role becoming redundant. Unfortunately, this case study highlights certain challenges inherent to the commercial lending space and is a reminder of how market dynamics can impact even the most successful recruitment efforts.

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David was excellent. I felt a real connection with him throughout the process and we have continued to keep in touch since.

Junior Director Hire