Eunomia – CEO for a global sustainability consulting business

The brief: a CEO for a prominent sustainability consulting business with 150 people operating across the UK, Europe and the US

Eunomia is a 150 person, international and independent sustainability consultancy. Founded in 2001 it has developed a prominent public and private sector client base for organisations across the UK, Europe and the US. It is highly values-driven, and its consultants work in partnership with clients, offering a deeply personal service based on their specific needs.

The business had been jointly managed by two of the original three founders who were looking to appoint an inaugural CEO to take the business forward. The new CEO would play a vital role in creating clear strategic direction for the organisation, while navigating an increasingly competitive landscape. The CEO would also be a determined champion of the values of the business, and ensure that Eunomia retained and developed a strong team.

Diverse commercial candidate pool and successful appointment

Our unique approach – whereby a dedicated researcher was assigned to this project only for 2 weeks – allowed us to have broad ranging and meaningful conversations with potential candidates, focussing on people from competitor advisory businesses, and a range of listed commercial companies doing impactful work in sustainability.

We provided Eunomia with candidates who had evident experience of leading at the highest levels, a knowledge of growth management, strategy implementation and excellent team leadership.  Candidates were either tested CEOs or Executive Directors looking to step up into the top position. We searched in the professional services sector to ensure that candidates understood the challenges and opportunities of working in this space.

• 16 candidates were presented for consideration (38% female)
• 6 candidates were interviewed, 2 of whom were female

The appointed candidate was previously the Global Head of Sustainability at PA Consulting. She has a background that spans both sustainability and technology, with proven experience of developing and leading successful business teams.