Our client is a multinational, easy instalment (BNPL) payment service provider fintech startup, who has received capital injections from 3 major investors and has started their expansion in the CEE region. Wyser helped them to find the Country Manager they needed to launch their Hungarian operation from starch.
Finding a new Country Manager
Wyser was looking for the company’s first person in Hungary, who could launch the Hungarian operation. The search was extremely urgent, as the company (being a financial services company) had to start the MNB (Hungarian National Bank) licensing, find banking partners, start hiring the local staff and set up the office, including finding a suitable location for the office.
Headhunting / search methods
Wyser Hungary created and presented a detailed hiring strategy to the Slovenian owners and management, which included a broad advertising campaign and headhunting search activity (focusing on mid-sized, multinational fintech companies and commercial banks in Hungary), in order to find the most competent and motivated candidates on the market.
It was crucial that the shortlist had to include candidates possessing the following experience & background mix / portfolio: Commercial/Finance degree, 10+ years’ experience in sales / operational management (with full P&L responsibility) in the fintech/banking industry, extensive knowledge of commodity lending and BNPL solutions, with wide range of contacts within the industry, relevant experience in investment fund management, loan processing and retail portfolio management. Experience in people management (at least 10+) and team building was also crucial, as one of his/herfirst tasks was to recruit the Hungarian operation’s staff.
Wyser set a candidate generation timeline of 2 weeks, then another 1 week for 1st, 2nd round interviews along with an extensive online personality testing procedure for applicant(s) that made it to the 2ndround at least. Wyser successfully met the deadline, and presented a shortlist of 5 stand-out candidates to the owners in 2 weeks. All 5 candidates were brought to 1st round interviews, 2 candidates made it to the 2nd round and 1 of them was successfully selected for the position.
Successful Placement
As a result of the consultants’ comprehensive research of the region’s BNPL/fintech/banking segment, it was confirmed to Wyser that the candidate who made it to the 2nd round and got the offer comes from a perfect competitor, with the right contacts and industry focus. Wyser assisted with the final selection by presenting the offer to the chosen candidate, and providing detailed feedback to the ones who participated in the process. Given that the successfully selected candidate was able to start within 1 month, Wyser also helped to ensure that, until the Hungarian company can be registered, the successfully found Country Manager could be employed by the company through Wyser by temporary employment service.