Executive Search in Spain
Akens\Nordburg supports international companies in the search for Managing Directors, Country Managers and other leadership profiles when the decision has a material impact on the business, the organisation or a period of change.
We work from Spain with an international perspective and particular depth between Spain and Germany, Austria and Switzerland (DACH).
When a leadership position requires Executive Search
A leadership search is rarely limited to finding people who have previously held a similar title. The company context, relationship with headquarters, stage of the business and actual degree of autonomy can substantially change the profile required.
Executive Search is particularly relevant in situations such as planned succession, confidential replacement, the appointment of new leadership for a subsidiary, a period of growth or transformation, or a search that has remained open without producing sufficiently suitable candidates.
In many of these situations, the most relevant professionals are not actively participating in recruitment processes and need to be identified and approached directly.
The search begins before candidates are contacted
For a leadership role, the job description usually tells only part of the story.
The stage of the organisation, relationship with headquarters, existing team, growth expectations and real level of autonomy can considerably change the type of candidate the company needs. This is particularly relevant for Managing Director and Country Manager roles: two companies in the same sector may use the same title while looking for very different profiles.
Before starting the search, we therefore work with the client to understand the context of the mandate and test its requirements against the market. We also examine how the mandate fits the reality of the candidate market: availability, compensation level, location, languages, sector experience and the expectations associated with the level of responsibility. When one of these factors significantly constrains the search, it is better to identify it at the beginning rather than after several months of process.
Direct Search beyond the visible market
In leadership searches, the relevant universe rarely coincides with the people who happen to be looking for a job at that moment.
Through Market Mapping and Direct Search, we identify companies, sectors and career paths where the required experience may be found, including profiles that are not active in the market. The approach is selective and, where the mandate requires it, conducted with the appropriate level of confidentiality.
The market also generates useful information during the search. The reaction of candidates with comparable backgrounds helps test whether the scope of the role, compensation, reporting line or specific requirements are aligned with market reality.
Assessing beyond the CV
For a senior leader, formal correspondence with a job description is not enough.
Alongside career history, we examine the actual scope of responsibilities held, level of P&L ownership and autonomy, type of organisation led, international exposure, context of changes delivered and motivation for the next step.
In subsidiaries of international groups, the ability to operate between two realities is particularly important: meeting headquarters expectations while at the same time leading the business and team in the local market.
The purpose of the assessment is to give the client a solid basis for comparing candidates against the real mandate, rather than only against a list of requirements.
Selected assignments completed successfully
Country Manager Succession
Planned succession of a Country Manager for the Spanish subsidiary of a German industrial company.
The project required an understanding of how the local business had evolved, what headquarters expected from the next stage and what type of leadership the organisation needed after the long tenure of the previous executive.
Confidential Managing Director Replacement
Confidential replacement of the Managing Director of the Spanish subsidiary of a German company.
Discretion throughout the process, direct candidate approach and the ability of the new executive to work between the local organisation and headquarters were central elements of the mandate.
Between headquarters and the local organisation
Many of the leadership searches we manage take place in organisations where the final decision involves both the subsidiary and international stakeholders.
Our experience between Spain and the DACH markets is particularly relevant when the executive needs to combine local autonomy with reporting, governance and the expectations of a German, Austrian or Swiss parent company. That depth does not limit the scope of our work: we also support other international companies when the mandate fits our experience.
When the leadership role is also the company's first critical hire in Spain, the mandate may also form part of our First Hire & Market Entry work.
Are you preparing a leadership search?
If you are defining a leadership position, preparing a succession or need to manage a confidential replacement, we can review the context of the mandate and the relevant market.