Confessions of a Headhunter: Fame Isn’t Governance

Written by Raj Tulsiani

What is your rule for putting candidates forward, and why is it so important?

Green Park only put forward individuals who can add value, do the job, and are genuinely interested, because the only shortlist that matters is the one that we are invested in and confident in providing the right solution.

Fame Isn’t Governance

Many years ago, the Chair of a household-name organisation
came to us with a polite update:

“You’ve done a great job filling our non-executive director roles. For the Chair role, though, we’ve gone with the most famous, high-end global firm.”

I thanked them and asked why they were telling me, rather than the partner who’d done the work. They paused, then said:

“Would you consider a joint appointment?”

Commercially it made sense. Our fee would be materially lower than theirs, but still viableso we agreed, and I asked our researcher to work closely with the global firm. If we were going to partner, we might as well learn.

The organisation was losing serious money each month.

Meanwhile, the global firm was visibly excited about one thing: shortlisting a very famous movie star.

I couldn’t see any universe in which that person would want the job, could do the job, or should be anywhere near the job. A Chair role is governance, judgement, calm, credibility especially in a burning building.

So I asked our researcher a simple question: “Why are they pushing this so hard?”

After a few meetings and a handful of expenses, she came back with the most honest answer she could get:

“They want them on the shortlist because they can. It proves their global reach.”

That was the moment it clicked: some firms build shortlists to signal status. We build shortlists to solve problems.

From that day on, we doubled down on our rule: we only put forward people who can add value, do the job, and are genuinely interested, because the only shortlist that matters is the one that produces a better outcome.

Learning: Don’t confuse celebrity with capability.

If you’d like to learn more about Green Park executive search methodology as an executive search partner who adds value? Connect with Green Park's talent advisory team today.