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Executive Edge
For 25 years, the team at Davies Park has been
creating success through leadership, helping
clients one executive search at a time
daviespark.com
Top Partnerships
A client relationship lasts beyond a single
recruitment. Partners at Davies Park dedicate
time to each search and every client
Davies Park
a dv e rti s i n g fe atu r e
the confidentiality Davies Park provided candidates. The whole process took
EADERSHIP STARTS AT THE TOP. WHILE THAT MAY
about four months, and we filled the position with CFO Jonathan Chia.
not be ground-breaking news, its still something every firm
Kerr says there are six to eight main points of evaluation that clients look to
should remember when looking to fill its C-suite positions.
when they are filling a C-suite position; Davies Park compiles its short list of canHiring a new executive is one of the most important decisions an
didates based on specific criteria. For example, is the companys priority focused
organization will make and companies should treat it as such. But
on someone with industry experience or with important transferable skills? No
how do you go about choosing someone who will have a positive
two searches are alike for Davies Park, because no two clients are alike. And while
impact on the direction of an organization? Thats where Davies
the team scours the world for candidates, their clients are doing what they do best:
Park comes in.
nurturing their own businesses.
For 25 years, Davies Park has been dedicated to finding the
Dr. Marvin Washington knows first-hand the benefits that a third-party organiperfect fit. When a client comes to us for recruitment purposes,
zation brings to a company in regard to its executive team. Washington teaches at
we immediately start working to understand the culture of the
the Alberta School of Business and, in addition to the MBA program, he instructs
organization, says Mike Kerr, a partner at Davies Parks Calgary office. We spend time with the hiring manager, the board of directors, several executive education training courses for organizations looking to bolster
the C-suite team without disrupting business. He says thats what makes executhe president any stakeholder in the organization to ensure that
tive search firms such as Davies Park beneficial to clients. I always come back to
we understand the expectations. Then we act as an agent for that
a sports analogy, he says. If Im coaching the Edmonton Oilers, my focus is on
organization. We become their partner.
winning the next game. Im not thinking about whos going to be on the team next
The emphasis on partnership has made Davies Park a success in
season; thats what I have scouts for. Search firms
executive recruitment. Kerr says
are like your scouts, theyre going to do all the
Davies Parks typical client relationWe have been building our clients leadership background and groundwork while you focus on
ship lasts well beyond a single
doing what you do best.
recruitment. In fact, the partners
teams for 25 years. We strategically partner
Washington also says that organizations will
at Davies Park prefer to work with
with them to identify leaders who will
find it worthwhile having someone in their corfewer clients in order to dedicate
integrate with and enhance their culture.
ner looking beyond the obvious choices. Hurley
more time to each. Organizations
- Anurag Shourie, Edmonton Partner
agrees, and this is a huge advantage to Davies
come to us because they want to
Parks extensive database and network. Often,
elevate their talent pool, Kerr
the best person for the job isnt actively searching
says. Its our job to search for the
for a new position, Hurley says. Thats where we come in; well find that person.
candidate who aligns precisely with the companys desired skills,
Theres a big difference between the best person for the job and the best person
competencies and experience. We guarantee every search we do.
looking for a job.
Ralph Young is a long-time client who has seen Davies Park in acThis is a driving factor in many of the wrong decisions that organizations
tion many times since its inception in 1989. He is the past president
make when hiring a new executive. Its often that the sample section wasnt as
and CEO of Melcor Developments Ltd., and he called on Davies
Park most recently when it came time for Melcor to search for a new extensive as it could have been. When that happens, the company wastes time and
CFO. After they met with us, they drafted a proposal and we refined resources training the new executive only to be back at the drawing board: still
searching for that perfect fit. Davies Park makes sure this doesnt happen.
it together, Young says.
Weve done the due diligence, Hurley explains. The background check, the
After the initial meetings with the search consultant team, a cliinitial interviews, the references were completely committed to finding the best
ent typically steps back, as was the case with Melcor, while Davies
person. We dont just fill the position and walk away. We truly become an extenParks partners use their extensive database, market knowledge,
sion of our clients, and thats what has set us apart all these years.
and international network to perform a client-tailored search. The
team reviews the organizations strategic and business plans to gain
further insight into the direction of the company and identify the
best person to take it there no stone is left unturned. Davies Park
TOP TIPS TO CHOOSING
considers all aspects. Is it a new position? Was there a termination?
AN EXECUTIVE SEARCH FIRM
Was it retirement? Is the company in growth mode? What other
positions may need to be filled on the horizon?
1. Find a firm that has experience placing great candidates in your industry,
It was an iterative process that included a committee and a long
at the level you are looking to fill.
list of candidates, Young says. Later, we had debriefs with Davies
2. E
nsure the firm has a deep understanding of the challenges of your sector.
Park after meeting with each short-listed candidate.
3. Find out if the firm is willing to spend time learning about the specifics of
Part of what sets Davies Park ahead is that partners are involved
your business.
in every search. Elizabeth Hurley, Davies Parks longest standing
4. Ask your executive search consultants if they have completed similar
partner in Edmonton, says partners provide quality assurance and
searches in the past year, 18 months, or three years.
oversight for every search. Other firms may just send a salesperson
5. Find out, through references and word of mouth, if the firm has had
to meet with clients, but Davies Park doesnt do that, she says. The
great success or a string of epic fails.
senior consultant youre meeting becomes your ambassador in the
6. Ensure that you relate, on a personal level, to the partner who is acting
marketplace and will find your next executive.
as your agent.
Young was also impressed with the level of professionalism and
daviespark.com
Davies Park
Finally, in the late 1980s Gerry Davies offered him a job at the
ERRY DAVIES AND DARWIN PARK, PICTURED
firm he worked at the time, but Park said he would only join
opposite, started Davies Park 25 years ago, when the two
efforts on one condition: that they start their own business.
were in their 40s. They seemed to some like an unlikely
In September 1989, Davies Park
pair to be running an executive
Executive Search was born.
search company. We often joked
Great leadership has a profound impact
We had a lot of loyal clients,
that we were a jock and a history
says
Gerry Davies. Darwins and
major starting a business from
on the places where we live and work.
my
relationships
with the different
scratch, says Darwin Park. His
We are proud of making our communities
parts of the industrial world were
post-secondary background was in
stronger through our professional and
really strong. This is a business
physical education, while Davies
philanthropic work.
that really runs on personal conhad a degree in history.
tact, so if youve done good work,
Education aside, the pair brought
- Ardyce Kouri, Edmonton Partner
people tended to follow you. Our
a wealth of experience in managetiming was great.
ment and recruiting, after working
Several years later, in 1997, they would expand into Calgary, and
sometimes at the same firm and sometimes at competing firms, Park
a decade later, Vancouver.
says. We had often said wed rather work together than compete.
Davies Park
a dv e rti s i n g fe atu r e
MILESTONE MOMENTS
1989
1991
1997
2003
2004
2007
2009
2010
2012
2014
DARWIN PARK,
Founding Partner
GERRY DAVIES,
Founding Partner
Davies Park
Words of Support
Davies Park
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Davies Park
a dv e rti s i n g fe atu r e
EDMONTON
Elizabeth Hurley | Anurag Shourie | Ardyce Kouri
1505 Scotia 2, 10060 Jasper Avenue
Edmonton T5J 3R8
TEL: 780.420.9900
E-MAIL: careers@daviespark.com
CALGARY
Allan Nelson | Mike Kerr
1810, 300 - 5th Avenue SW
Calgary T2P 3C4
TEL: 403.263.0600
E-MAIL: consult@daviespark.com
VANCOUVER
Greg Longster | Tony Kirschner
880-609 Granville Street, PO Box 10358
Vancouver V7Y 1G5
TEL: 604.688.8422
E-MAIL: executive@daviespark.com
Davies Park
TORONTO
Rob O Brien | Kartik Kumar
3670, 130 King Street West
Toronto M5X 1E2
TEL: 416.238.5622
E-MAIL: toronto@daviespark.com