Case study
A retained search for a senior agency leader that resulted in James Reddington joining Havas Media Manchester as Managing Partner — and later progressing into the leadership of the Manchester agency.
Related service: Retained SearchThe brief
Havas Media Manchester needed an experienced Managing Partner who could bring commercial strength, credibility with senior clients, strong people leadership and, importantly, be the right fit for the agency.
At this level, having the right companies and job titles on your CV only gets you so far.
Havas wasn’t simply looking for somebody who’d already been called a Managing Partner.
They needed somebody who could handle major client relationships, lead people, make good commercial decisions and play a senior role in where the agency was heading.
The job title wasn’t the brief.
Get a Managing Partner hire right and they can have a real impact across clients, people, culture and commercial performance.
Get it wrong and it's an expensive mistake — in more ways than salary and recruitment fees.
This was a hire worth taking the time to get right.
The search challenge
There were plenty of people in the market with recognisable agency names and senior job titles.
That wasn’t enough.
We needed somebody commercially strong, credible enough to sit opposite senior clients, capable of leading good people and culturally right for Havas Media Manchester.
That’s a much smaller pool.
That's where the judgement comes in.
The approach
The search was run on a retained basis, giving us the mandate to properly map the market, approach senior people directly and understand fit before introducing them.
Get properly underneath the brief before approaching anybody.
Map the senior agency market rather than wait for applications.
Engage strong people who weren't necessarily looking.
Look beyond the CV at commercials, leadership, client credibility and fit.
Fewer, better conversations. No shortlist padding.
The outcome
James made the move after almost 24 years at Carat Manchester, where he had been Group Business Director.
For somebody to leave a business after nearly 24 years, this wasn't simply another job move.
It had to be the right opportunity for James as much as James had to be the right person for Havas.
at Carat Manchester before making the move.
What happened next
This is probably my favourite bit of the story.
James subsequently progressed into a newly created Joint General Manager role for Havas Media Manchester alongside Lucy Barnes, becoming part of the senior leadership of the agency.
Recruitment shouldn't really be judged by whether somebody accepted the job.
The better question is:
Did we help the business hire somebody who went on to succeed there?
In this case, they clearly did.
Havas Media Manchester
The wider business impact
Manchester billings in a year, as reported by Havas during the subsequent leadership period.
Read the Havas leadership updateHavas later reported that James and Lucy played a key role in the growth of the Manchester agency, including retaining the BBC account, winning new clients and contributing during a period in which Manchester billings increased by 150% in a year.
I’m not going to pretend Essential gets the credit for what James went on to achieve.
That’s James and the Havas team’s achievement.
But seeing somebody you originally introduced go on to progress within the business and become part of its leadership is a pretty bloody good sign that the original hire worked.
And ultimately, that’s what good recruitment should be trying to achieve.
Not just:
“Did we fill the vacancy?”
But:
“Did we help the business hire the right person?”
Finding the CV wasn’t the job. Finding the right person was.
The Essential view
Technology can find people.
LinkedIn can find people.
AI can find people.
The valuable bit is understanding who's genuinely good, what they've actually achieved and whether they're right for this business.
That's where recruitment earns its money.
Next step
If you’re recruiting a Managing Partner, Marketing Director, CMO or another senior marketing, digital or agency leader, I’m always happy to sense-check the brief before you start.
Even if, honestly, you don’t need a recruiter for this one.