Sherrington Associates successfully recruits Chief Commercial Officer for third-largest shipping company in the world, CMA CGM.
CMA-CGM
Established in 1978 in Marseille, today CMA CGM is a global player in sea, land, air and logistics solutions. With revenues of circa £33bn (2022), their team of 155,000 colleagues operates from over 400 offices in 160 countries worldwide and are known for their pioneering and highly ambitious company culture.
CMA CGM Group’s mission is to contribute to sustainable globalisation through better, balanced international trade that fosters both economic and social development while respecting the integrity of all men and women and the planet.
Key Facts:
Established: 1978
Offices: 750
Global Workforce: 155,000
Vessels: 593
Container TEU’s: 4,500,000
Reefer Containers: 600,000
Services: 200 maritime services, calling at 420 ports globally
Values: Excellence, Exemplarity, Imagination, Boldness
Chief Commercial Officer
Following an extensive yet highly challenging search campaign carried out by internal recruiters in both the UK and France to try to appoint a new CCO to lead UK & Ireland commercial teams, a decision was made to retain an external search partner and Sherrington Associates were appointed in summer 2024.
As a key member of the UK&I Executive Leadership team, the Chief Commercial Officer would be primarily accountable the strategic leadership of all Sales activity for the UK Agency and would need to lead and inspire the UK Sales function through a period of growth and change, in pursuit of a highly ambitious UK Growth Strategy.
The CCO would be a key figure in representing the CMA CGM Group’s business interests, representing the UK Agency at Group level, regularly engaging with Executive Leadership in both Regional Office and Head Office. CMA CGM required an exceptionally strong strategic sales leader with a strong understanding of the global shipping sector and a proven record in delivering impressive growth within a shipping or logistics company of similar size and scale.
The Search
Our team began by holding detailed meetings with CMA CGM's CEO, HR Director and internal Talent Acquisition team to thoroughly review the Job Description and define the specific criteria to include in the Recruitment Pack. Building a strong understanding of CMA CGM's values and culture, we got to work with phase one of the search - mapping and identification.
Our researchers reviewed lists of previous candidates engaged directly by the client, then set to work mapping the global shipping sector's leadership talent pool. Identifying and engaging senior commercial leaders across all continents, we held screening calls to deselect unsuitable candidates using the carefully developed Recruitment Pack and Competency Framework we'd developed during the briefing stage.
Working to demanding timescales and engaging leaders in different time-zones meant calls late into the evening, but after a few short weeks, our longest was building. At this point we met with the client again to review progress and determine which candidates to include for assessment by our team.
Assessment & Selection
The search moved at lightning pace as our clients were without a CCO and needed to appoint as soon as possible. The team worked intensely to arrange interviews with ourselves whilst simultaneously managing the client's availability for the final shortlist. After extensive discussions with candidates assessing them against the client's requirements and the competencies for the CCO role, we presented a shortlist to the client comprised of senior commercial leaders residing in both the UK and overseas.
Supporting with interview facilitation, the client moved fast to meet with the shortlist and was immediately impressed. Two candidates stood out as particularly strong and second stage interviews were scheduled on-time. Following a thorough selection process managed by the client and supported by our team, an appointment was finally made in late summer. Ian Moore, Sales Director at Hapag Lloyd joins CMA CGM in December and following a review meeting with clients at CMA CGM in November, the Sherrington team received praise about the thoroughness and efficiency of the search process resulting in an excellent outcome for the company.
Commenting on the result, Founder and Managing Director of Sherrington Associates, Rob McKay said...
We thoroughly enjoyed working with CMA CGM on this crucial senior leadership appointment. We look forward to supporting them again and wish Ian every success in his new role as Chief Commercial Officer!
Rob McKay - Founder & MD, Sherrington Associates
Pictured: (Left to Right) Liz Grimes (HR Director, CMA CGM), Joe Onions (Executive Search Consultant, Sherrington Associates), Rob McKay (Founder & MD, Sherrington Associates), Craig Roche (UK&I Group Talent Acquisition Business Partner).
