On Wednesday 25^th October 2023, we held a webinar on Intelligent Automation: People, Processes & Performance Excellence for our senior Finance & Accountancy network in the Netherlands.

Georgia Wright, Associate Director, hosted three expert speakers who shared their experiences with artificial intelligence and how it could affect roles of the future.

Firstly, we heard from Alla Slavinskaya, the Director, Digital Business Consulting at EPAM, who talked us through AI+ perspectives. She also addressed the elephant in the room: Where do humans add value in the era of AI?

Next, Chris Gunning, Finance Transformation Leader – Global Shared Services at NielsenIQ, explained why it should no longer be solely about process optimisation for effectiveness and driving value through efficiencies – creating a unique experience through cutting-edge automation is vital.

Finally, Aline Bonaccorso, CFO France and The Netherlands at T-Systems International, shared her experiences of conceptualising and establishing front and back office for various departments, ensuring operational excellence and continuous improvement.

Georgia then conducted a question-and-answer session with the three speakers, going through some of the comments and questions submitted by attendees during the event, including:

• What are the key challenges facing Finance leaders in terms of governance?
• Which industries are early adopters of AI?
• Which new skills will be needed when AI evolves?

As the Finance & Accountancy function continues to develop, we want to ensure that we deliver topics that are of interest to our network through our events and partnerships.

If you have any suggestions for future events, please get in touch with Hannah Mallia, who leads our Finance & Accountancy recruitment division in the Netherlands: [email protected]

Thank you to Alla, Chris, and Aline for sharing their experiences and thoughts with all those who attended the event, and to all delegates who joined the session and shared their questions and comments.

On Thursday 21^st September 2023, we held a roundtable for our Human Resources network in Switzerland on Neurodiversity at Work: For Flourishing People and Organisations.

Neurodiversity is gaining great attention at an exponential rate. But what is neurodiversity – in general, and at work?

Why is it important for individuals and organisations in the context of Equity, Diversity & Inclusion (and beyond)? And how can neuroinclusive workplaces be created that benefit wellbeing, sustainable performance and flourishing for all?

Attendees of this event were invited to actively participate in exploring and understanding neurodiversity at work, raising awareness on key issues and the benefits of incorporating it in any ED&I and/or wellbeing strategy, and what actions they can take as a result.

Keely Straw, who manages our HR recruitment team in Switzerland, and Drew Larcombe, Recruitment Consultant, were joined by the wonderful Joanna Williams, Positive Psychology Coach, Consultant & Trainer, and Founder of Flourish.

Fascinated by people and science, Joanna facilitates individual and organisational flourishing. In practice, she uses evidence-based approaches and a strengths-based lens to offer pragmatic, accessible and thought-provoking learning experiences and consultancy.

Joanna shared her expertise with the group, before we held a Q&A session and break-out discussions in smaller groups.

It was a very open and honest discussion that started with: If you don’t understand the language someone is using, you can’t have a conversation.

It is essential to understand how we, as recruiters, can adapt our processes to ensure that we listen and understand those who are talking.

We would be keen to hear your thoughts and understand if you would be interested in future roundtable events, either dedicated to ED&I or broader HR topics.

If you have any suggestions, please reach out to Keely: [email protected]

On Wednesday 6^th September 2023, we were invited to speak at the CIPS Switzerland Are you fit to be CPO? event in Zurich.

The Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply (CIPS) brought together Procurement leaders from across Switzerland to discuss the concept of career progression and how to obtain the role you want in the future.

We were joined at the event by CIPS Switzerland’s Pauline King and Varsha Asarpota, as well as two fantastic speakers:

• Giuliana Orsini – Chief Procurement Officer at TE Connectivity
• Jay Han – Previously the Human Resources Business Partner at Deloitte

Speaking on behalf of EMEA Recruitment was Neil Cope, Director of our Procurement & Supply Chain recruitment division in Switzerland, and Charlotte Cruise, Senior Consultant, who specialises in Procurement roles across Switzerland.

Neil and Charlotte presented a summary of the employment market in Switzerland, looking at the type of company currently hiring, the level of seniority most in demand, and the changing skillsets required by our clients.

We also highlighted some key statistics on the current strength of the employment market within Procurement & Supply Chain.

Neil and Charlotte then took delegates through a pared back version of EMEA’s Career Pyramid, which is a tool we use with candidates when providing a bespoke Career Consultation. This gave attendees a basic understanding of typical career progression within Procurement & Supply Chain, highlighting the skills and relationships they might need to become a Chief Procurement Officer.

We are planning a follow-up webinar to this event, giving attendees the opportunity to discuss their own career paths in more detail. If you would like to learn more about this event, please reach out to Neil: [email protected]

We are pleased to continue our long-standing relationship with CIPS Switzerland, having sponsored the joint CIPS, CSCMP, and Kanton Zug conference for the past seven years. We are sponsoring the next annual conference on Thursday 26^th October 2023.

On Thursday 15th June 2023, we hosted the third and final event in our A Journey in Personal Leadership series, in partnership with Institute of Management Accountants (IMA).

This event, How to Create your Personal Inspiring Vision and Roadmap to Success, took place at TradeXBank in central Zurich on Thursday 15th June from 16:00-17:00. There was also an opportunity to network with fellow attendees afterwards, with food and drink provided.

Jonathan Cave, Founder and CEO of MyPhy, trained delegates on how to clarify and communicate where you want to go and how you want to get there, as well as how to identify behaviours to provide the foundation stones for successfully achieving your objectives.

This was the final event in a series of three sessions that we’ve hosted in partnership with IMA Switzerland Chapter, our career development partner.

The first event, How to Find your High-Performing Self and Leverage this in your Career, was held in Geneva in December 2022.

The second session, How to Boost your Energy Levels & Apply this to your Daily Life, took place in Zurich in March 2023.

If you’re interested in attending similar upcoming events, please reach out to Mark Robinson, Associate Director in our Finance & Accountancy recruitment division in Switzerland: [email protected]

Mark attended the event in Zurich, along with Meriel Graham, Director, Mike Baldwin, Associate Director, and Annie Gosnell, Senior Consultant.

Jonathan Cave was a highly-trained lawyer/partner in a multi-family office in Geneva, where – for almost 15 years – he helped high and ultra-high-net-worth families grow their businesses and protect their fortunes.

At the age of 40, he reoriented his career and trained in coaching, public speaking and leadership.

On Thursday 22nd June 2023, we’re joining our partner, CSCMP Switzerland Roundtable, for its face-to-face networking event.

People, Future Skills & Development in Supply Chains will take place at The Circle at Zurich Airport from 18:00-21:00 on Thursday 22nd June.

In the last few months, high volatility and business disruptions exposed supply chains to major events, such as transportation and port congestion, material shortages, and inflation.

The past year has highlighted a changed industry with higher vulnerability. It is clear that future organizations will need agile, change managing and more digital-enabled capabilities.

In fact, in many companies, professionals are not ready to face these challenges – strategic thinking, planning and problem solving are no longer sufficient.

What are the new skills required in today’s (and future) Supply Chain organizations? How can companies level up their Supply Chain team competencies?

Alongside attending the event and networking with delegates, we will also be speaking about our recent market insights. John Byrne, our Switzerland Country Director, will be joined by Charlotte Cruise, Senior Consultant in our Procurement & Supply Chain recruitment team, to share their expertise.

John has presented at a number of Chartered Institute of Procurement & Supply (CIPS) events in Switzerland, showing keen skills in identifying market trends.

Charlotte has also worked with CIPS on development events, particularly focused around Women in Leadership across Procurement & Supply Chain.

We were proud to become an official sponsor of CSCMP Switzerland Roundtable in January 2023. Its mission is to connect like-minded Supply Chain professionals, develop their leadership and management skills, and further educate those looking to learn more about the Supply Chain discipline, through events like this one.

We hope to see you there on 22nd June.

If you’re interested in buying tickets, please visit CSCMP’s website: https://fienta.com/people-supply-chain-cscmp

If you have any questions, please reach out to Neil Cope, Manager of our Procurement & Supply Chain recruitment division in Zug: [email protected]

On Thursday 20th April 2023, EMEA Recruitment joined IMA (Institute of Management Accountants) at the IMA European Finance & Accounting Conference: A New Frontier in Amsterdam.

During this event, leaders from across the Finance & Accountancy discipline investigated the current matters, trends and advancing technologies presenting themselves in the competitive market, including sustainability, cybersecurity and Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DE&I).

Along with the discussion of hot topics, this was an opportunity to engage with leaders and advance your professional network.

Michael Bentil, one of the Senior Consultants in our Dutch Finance & Accountancy recruitment team, presented our Career Consultancy: The Three Stages of a Finance Career – from the technical stage, to managerial and strategic.

Michael also provided insights into how to effectively plan a five to ten-year career path. 

EMEA Recruitment is pleased to offer you a trial membership of IMA’s career development resource, which can help you advance your Finance & Accountancy career. Find out more and take advantage of this offer through our website: https://www.emearecruitment.com/institute-of-management-accountants

If you have any questions or wish to attend similar events in the future, please contact Michael to register your interest: [email protected]