lnterim Search launches international business area

AnnaCarin Stolpe has a solid background in Interim Search. She was recruited to the company as Director & Recruitment Consultant in 2016 and later became Partner and Regional Manager for the Gothenburg office. Before joining Interim Search, AnnaCarin worked in the financial industry in a number of commercial leadership roles. She has extensive experience of working globally, including at GE Capital and Heller Global Vendor Financial Services, where she worked with Asia and the US and was a member of the European management team.

Congratulations on your new role, AnnaCarin! How did the idea to establish Interim Search abroad come about?

It is driven by increased demand. We have made several international appointments for our Swedish clients, including in Germany, Spain, and the US. Many of the clients we work with today have international operations and want to be able to use our services for these. just as they do for their Swedish companies.

For us, the methodology is essentially the same; we already have many international and mobile consultants in our direct network and the right tools and resources to find more for specific international assignments. Once I have appointed interim consultants abroad, we have been able to present a selection of available candidates who have the right language qualifications and can work in the desired location. On several occasions, we have appointed consultants who live in one geographical area but work in a completely different one. The fact that the assignments happen to be abroad often plays a minor role for the consultants; it is the challenge and the content of the role that attracts them. On the other hand, it is incredibly difficult for clients to find the right selection and expertise for their foreign operations, which ends up usually by simply transferring someone internally or getting a tip about someone who might be suitable – without putting the candidate through a competitive selection process. This greatly increases the risk of making the wrong recruitment decision. 

Can you describe a typical customer you can help in your new role? 

Traditionally, these are listed companies with headquarters in Sweden but with some operations abroad. One might imagine that these would mainly be large, established companies, but I believe that smaller start-ups establishing themselves abroad will also benefit greatly from our services. We can offer Swedish interim consultants to Swedish companies abroad as well as local interim consultants. This could involve, for example, appointing an interim Production Manager to a foreign factory, or an interim Sales Manager with extensive local knowledge to enter a new market abroad.

What are the immediate plans for the business area?

Right now, my researcher and I are in dialogue with my existing clients. It is important that they know that I am still working with appointments in Sweden and that our International Desk functions as an extended service. What we want to investigate with our clients is what parameters they value when they need to appoint interim resources abroad. What do their foreign operations look like more specifically? Are there urgent needs in these organizations? And what profiles are needed in the longer term to take the next step? I hope that these questions will lead to continued exciting opportunities for collaboration in the future! 

AnnaCarin Stolpe can be reached at 070-690 44 05 or annacarin.stolpe@interimsearch.com.