Three Months from Search to Seat:
Cella’s Executive Placement Team Delivers Savvy Martech Leader
When an executive’s role remains open or is improperly filled, the revenue loss for companies can become astronomical. In some cases, the gap can represent anywhere from 100 - 215% of the employee’s annual salary.1
Without a proven method and a track record of success, finding experienced executive leadership candidates – especially those with a martech focus – can get complicated at best and profoundly costly at worst. Our client’s 18-month placement gap was holding them back from transforming their digital marketing strategy. They called on Cella’s executive placement team with their urgent need to find a marketing leader who possessed the industry experience and marketing technology expertise they needed to keep their business competitive and protect their service portfolio.
Client Profile
Privately-held, non-bank full-service mortgage lender, licensed in all 50 states
Manages $225B in loans, with more than $5B in revenue, focused on inclusive home ownership – from first-time home buyers to service members and veterans
Ranked the #1 FHA and #1 VA loan servicer in the U.S. and top residential lender, finding cost-effective ways for buyers to save money on mortgage payments
More than 4,000 employees and recognized by USA Today as a top workplace in the U.S. for four consecutive years
With mortgage service demands reaching billions of dollars, our client had to find a knowledgeable marketing executive with related industry experience to lead their digital marketing efforts. From lead generation to retaining existing business, remaining relevant and versatile in a rapidly-changing digital marketing landscape was a top priority for them. It was imperative to find a tech-savvy leader to execute a multi-channel, data-driven marketing strategy.
Client Need
The role that would oversee these efforts, a Senior Vice President of Digital Marketing, had remained open for nearly eight months. Our client decided to appoint an internal employee to the role, but it became clear over time that the key benchmarks weren’t being met. Up against the realities of a long-vacant and, in turn, an inexpertly occupied position – along with the significant loss of revenue those gaps represented – the company decided to begin searching to backfill this executive role.
In addition to finding the right professional for the job, the client wanted to recraft the role itself to focus on marketing technology and its requirements while balancing the change management situation that accompanied replacing the role. The client needed a leader who could stand up a more sophisticated digital marketing team and execute a strategy that would advance and protect their service portfolio: current loan retention and business growth.
The company’s 30-year HR veteran thought they had tapped the market thoroughly but had not found a candidate with the specific skills and experience they needed. The company urgently required an insightful, forward-thinking approach to avoid further loss of revenue, and a partner who could approach the process discreetly while the job was still occupied. After months of dead ends, they called on Cella to conduct a niche search.
Cella's Solution
Our client asked us to help them navigate their delicate situation that required discretion, expertise and search methods that would deliver success – quickly. Our team carefully listened to our client to understand the journey they had been on, the challenge to navigate the circumstances with their current employee, and the martech-focused and industry-related skill set they needed for this critical leadership position.
Our executive recruitment team plunged in and began their thorough search among our expansive pool of candidates, searching for leaders who fit the client’s criteria. While the company’s HR lead had thought they had looked everywhere possible, our nationwide, high-touch and high-impact process identified senior-level candidates who were actively and passively searching. These candidates all possessed the digital, marketing and creative skill sets the company needed.
Cella’s executive placement team presented the client with a variety of candidates, the client selected those they wished to meet, and they chose a candidate that suited all of the role’s requirements. In a fraction of the time the company had spent with the role either open or inexpertly filled, Cella’s team identified, placed and onboarded the executive leader that transformed their company’s digital presence and achieved their objectives for the role.
The Outcome
Cella delivered in less than three months. From search to seating the candidate, Cella’s proven methods delivered the client’s ideal digital marketing executive. This professional came in on day-one with the related industry experience the client needed and the expertise to stand up a sophisticated digital marketing team that generated successful campaigns and delivered the ROI our client wanted.
Cella’s Service Differentiators
Client onboarding process, careful listening and understanding of the client’s needs
Sensitivity to discretion required for a highly-confidential placement
Expansive nationwide network and deep pool of relationships provides experienced candidates with the tailored skills the client requires
Commitment to promoting only live jobs ensures clients and candidates can expect high-quality placements with industry experience and results tied to ROI
A curated process with hire, train and place methods identify high-caliber candidates in a fraction of the time most searches take
Exclusive, highly collaborative carve-outs for scenarios where deadline-critical volume hiring is needed
