The Business Development Director on this patch had been there a long time. Long enough that the advisers on the panel knew them well, trusted him, and were used to the way the firm had always done things. They were retiring, and that would have been a simple replacement if the firm had stood still.
It hadn't. The investment proposition had moved on, and the business was heading in a new direction with a much broader investment offering. Some of the established adviser firms were dealing with them in certain areas but hadn't really heard the new story yet.
The role
A Business Development Director reporting to the Head of UK Adviser Distribution. The job was entirely adviser-focused: keep the relationships with a well-established panel and change the conversation with those firms, then build out to new ones.
Why it was hard
There was a real balance to strike. Someone too keen to change things would unsettle relationships that had taken years to build. Someone too comfortable would carry on the old conversation. The firm needed fresh eyes and a different story, from a person established advisers would still want to sit down with.
It was also a regional patch that has always been difficult to recruit for.
How I mapped it
This was an exclusive search in summer 2026, not retained, and I knew the good people on that patch. I approached around ten of them and had a shortlist of five in front of the client within ten days.
The interesting part was who was on it. A number of the people I approached, including two who made the shortlist, had already seen the role advertised and decided not to apply. The advert couldn't tell them what they needed to know: why the hire was happening, who they'd report to and where the business was going. Once I'd talked that through with them, several people who would never have applied wanted to be part of it.
I wrote about the same thing in No hiring process has a box for undecided.
The outcome
The final two were so strong that the client hired both, the second into a different role in the business. The feedback on both has been very strong since, and not only from their line manager. Other senior leaders in the business have said the same.
What it taught me
Even when you think people already know about a role, it's worth going to them and walking them through it. They rarely have all the facts, and the facts are usually what changes their mind.