Jon Boyle joins Warren Partners as a Partner in the industrial practice, with more than three decades of executive search experience in infrastructure, transport, logistics and mobility. His career has been spent placing leaders into complex, capital-intensive businesses with challenging margins and a globally mobile talent pool.
“Many of the most complex businesses are actually some of the most difficult to manage profitably…and are often regarded as unglamorous,” Jon says. “At the same time the sharpest leadership talent is often looking elsewhere – consultancies, branded companies and financial services, for example – which is what makes the search in this sector both challenging and interesting.”
That fascination with difficult operating environments has shaped his practice. He works with businesses that move people and goods by air, land and sea – airports, ports, logistics operators and transport groups – and with the investors backing them. Much of his work involves partnering with funds at critical points in their cycle, assessing and strengthening leadership teams in portfolio companies. The track record is international: Jon established Heidrick & Struggles’ Dubai office in 2008, spent six years leading assignments across the Middle East and has completed assignments in more than 20 countries spanning EMEA, North America and Asia.
Fresh thinking
One previous project captures his approach. One of the UK’s major airports, which was routinely ranked among the UK’s worst for passenger satisfaction, wanted a new Chief Commercial Officer. “The CEO didn’t want to see the usual suspects,” says Jon. The sector’s senior leaders all knew each other, and the airport needed someone who could bring fresh thinking about improving the passenger experience during a period of significant growth and disruption, The candidate also needed a track record of driving digital customer engagement.
Jon placed a young and upcoming talent from outside of the sector. The candidate had led digital transformation work, driving ancillary revenues by reaching young customers through app-based pre-booking. His experience was unconnected with aviation and the airport’s shareholders were sceptical on the grounds that his comparative youth and lack of aviation knowledge was potentially a risk. The appointment went ahead – and the airport’s passenger experience and overall profitability improved significantly.
The candidate also prospered and Jon helped him in his next move. “He is currently the CCO of a much bigger airport,” Jon says. “And I’m sure he will be a CEO of the future.”
Why Warren Partners
What attracted Jon was the calibre of the people. “In my first few days, that view of their excellence was only confirmed and amplified,” he says. “I’ve seen a lot of people in our industry over a long period, and I’ve been really impressed by the quality of this team.”
Julia Fearn, Managing Partner at Warren Partners, said of the appointment: “Jon brings a depth of knowledge in infrastructure and industrial leadership which strengthens the company considerably. His instinct for looking beyond the obvious candidate – and his track record of getting those appointments right – is exactly the kind of expertise our clients value.”
He sees the firm as a brand with real quality that has further to go and his ambition is to help broaden its reach and build out the industrial practice.
“This is an intensely human and privileged activity,” Jon says. “Clients often tell us things they would not want their colleagues, markets and stakeholders to know. Candidates tell us things that are deeply personal. A genuinely valuable adviser is somebody who has got a point of view that is backable and evidenced and is not afraid to give their opinion.”
