CEO retained search

CEO - Coventry & Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce

Coventry and Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce (CWCC) is a Membership-led organisation which was established over one hundred and fifteen years ago, for the purposes of supporting its’ Members and the local business base. CWCC is part of the fabric of the local economy and is held in high esteem in terms of its’ brand, reputation and influence. The Chief Executive, Mrs Louise Bennett OBE DL made the decision, after almost two decades of service to the Chamber, to pursue other interests, both professionally and personally.

The Process:

In Dec 2021, Addington Ball were appointed as retained recruiters to find a new Chief Executive. After an initial briefing with the Board, a strategy to reach the widest audience of candidates was agreed, including the creation of a compelling narrative and employee value proposition. In addition, a branded advertising campaign was developed to attract the widest selection possible. The longlist comprised of current employees of the Chamber, employees from similar organisations and affiliates, advert responses, targeted search including headhunting and strategic networking.

The Result:

Once the longlist had been evaluated and qualified against the given profile, a shortlist was submitted and the first round of interviews took place in Feb 2022, second round in March 2022 and an appointment soon followed. The newly appointed Chief Executive, Mr Corin Crane, assumed his new role in July 2022. From start to finish, the process took approximately 12 weeks.

Vacancy Overview:

Job Title – Chief Executive Officer
Salary banding - £100,000 - £115,000
Location – Coventry

Key Responsibilities:

• Reporting to the CWCC Group Board of Directors, provide leadership in overseeing the strategic performance of the Chamber of Commerce and Coventry and Warwickshire Chamber Training
• Lead and oversee strong investment in the CWCC group, its people and skills, technology and property assets
• Lead the production of the annual Business Plan, budget and longer term vision for the Chamber
• Deliver strong operational performance in line with or exceeding budgetary expectations
• Build, nurture and maintain a large portfolio of contacts which afford mutual beneficial relationships to the CWCC Group, ranging from the public sector (such as Local Authorities, Elected Mayor’s office, Ministerial / Govt Departments, Universities, Colleges and others) to the private sector (to include the larger businesses in the area and/or key influencers/leaders in business)
• Through contacts, connectivity and influence source a steady stream of developmental opportunities that will replace or build-upon existing programmes of business, trade and learner support
• Work with the West Midlands Chambers of Commerce Group to retain and/or gain contractual opportunities, such as the international trade work
• Monitor and ‘read the room’ in terms of the future business, economic and political landscape, ensuring CWCC can respond to such plus develop and create opportunities

Date Candidate Registered – 16th December 2021
Date of Candidate Acceptance – 30th March 2022
Candidate Start Date – 1st July 2022
Candidate Time to Offer – 72 working days

Job stats:

Number of Applications – 138

Candidates Vetted – 27

Candidates Shortlisted - 10

Interviews Conducted -10

Offers Declined - 0

Offers Accepted - 1