When one of Uzbekistan's largest private banks needed to appoint an IT Director, the challenge extended well beyond technical expertise. This case illustrates how Be-EXEC identified and assessed senior technology leaders in a limited executive talent market, balancing deep technical capability, leadership experience, and the ability to lead a technology function of more than 300 employees, while meeting the expectations of the bank's Supervisory Board.
The search was conducted within the local market, with the final hiring decision made by the bank's Supervisory Board.
- Limited Executive Talent Pool
One of the key challenges was the size of the local market. The number of qualified candidates was limited, requiring a deeper assessment and a highly targeted search approach.
- Scale of Leadership
The client was looking for more than an experienced IT executive. The role required a technology leader capable of managing development processes, building an effective engineering organization, and leading a team of more than 300 employees. While many candidates demonstrated strong technical expertise, not all had experience managing organizations of this scale.
- Executive Assessment
The evaluation process focused not only on technical competence but also on leadership maturity and experience working in large organizations at a level expected by the Supervisory Board.
- Thorough Candidate Verification
Given the nature of the market, additional verification of professional experience was essential. Some candidates tended to overstate the scope of their responsibilities, making detailed reference checks and background verification a critical part of the process.
- Multi-Stage Approval Process
The project included several interview stages, offer discussions, and final approval by the Supervisory Board. After the preferred candidate was selected, several rounds of negotiations were conducted before both parties reached an agreement.
During the project we:
- built a broad long list of candidates within the local market;
- conducted an in-depth assessment of technical expertise, leadership experience, and delivered projects;
- verified references and validated the actual scope of candidates' responsibilities;
- supported candidates throughout every interview and negotiation stage;
- coordinated communication between the client and candidates until final approval.
- assessed 56 candidates;
- presented 5 shortlisted finalists to the Supervisory Board;
- successfully completed the search and supported the selected candidate through to joining the company.
