The engagement at a glance
Anonymized process account
Protect an executive decision from shifting criteria and impressions.
The engagement moved from intake design through structured evaluation and decision support.
A process account of a retained search run against a written standard.
A concise summary of the engagement detailed below.
Problem context
The situation behind the search
First Financial was in the middle of a digital transformation. Its newly formed Enterprise Digital Solutions Group needed a Chief Digital Officer who could build new digital capabilities, not simply maintain an existing function.
The target leader needed transformation experience from outside banking while still understanding retail and commercial finance. The company also had no established compensation baseline for the new role, so the search had to solve both candidate identification and salary banding.
The approach
How Qualigence addressed the challenge
STEP 1
Search by transformation experience
Instead of ranking companies by headcount, Qualigence targeted individuals actively leading digital transformation at selected organizations across multiple industries.
STEP 2
Map each leader's operating context
For every person identified, researchers mapped peers, direct reports, and leaders above them to understand scope and find adjacent candidates.
STEP 3
Move into evidence quickly
The blended, cross-industry research approach put the team into candidate vetting conversations within one week of kickoff.
STEP 4
Build compensation data during the search
Every compensation conversation documented base salary and total structure, creating a market-derived salary band for a role First Financial had not hired before.
Documented evidence
Outcomes from the engagement
Candidates vetted in the first week
Qualigence identified and vetted viable leaders from several non-banking industries within one week.
A live-market salary band
Compensation evidence gathered during outreach gave First Financial a baseline for the new Chief Digital Officer role.
Stronger cross-industry comparison
The multi-industry scope produced candidate and compensation benchmarks unavailable from a banking-only search.
A hire matched to the transformation mandate
The selected candidate's digital transformation experience aligned with the specific scope of First Financial's initiative.
Relevant organizations, roles, and methods
- First Financial
- Chief Digital Officer
- Enterprise Digital Solutions Group
- Retail banking
- Commercial banking
- Digital transformation
