Sometimes board recruitment is a straight-forward replacement exercise. At others, it is part of a development strategy as the needs and nature of your organisation changes. The latter was very much the case for hand hygiene firm EcoHydra, who found themselves facing unprecedented demand as the Covid-19 crisis took hold.
Needing to expand rapidly to meet demand and at the same time respond to significant changes in consumer behaviour, particularly a sudden shift to e-commerce, the company quickly realised they needed to bring more and different expertise onto their board as part of their growth.
Working with Women on Boards
Clifton Melvin, the Chair of EcoHydra’s board, came to Women on Boards for support with this recruitment process. He said, “I have known Women on Boards for a few years and have always been an admirer of their mission and ethos.”
As part of our Premium Vacancy Service Package, we advised on the candidate brief, advertised the role to our network and reached out to members who fitted the requirements, during the full lock-down period in spring/summer 2020.
Clifton Melvin
“Rachel Tranter led the assignment and was highly engaged, proactive and supportive, being both a sounding board and a conduit for interaction with the candidates.”
“The calibre of candidates Women on Boards was able to present was extremely high and the final decision was very difficult,” Clifton said, “I was delighted to have the opportunity to work with Women on Boards to appoint 2 new non-executive directors to the board of our rapidly growing business, EcoHydra, and was delighted with the result.
“I now hold Women on Boards in even higher esteem and look forward to working with them again.”
When you consider the newly appointed NEDs, it is easy to see why EcoHydra chose to take on multiple new board members as they bring such different yet highly relevant expertise.
Zeina Hatem Popovic
Zeina had decided in early 2020 that it was the right moment in her career to take on a non-executive role. With characteristic focus, she had joined Women on Boards and attended our Get on Board webinar and a number of networking events to hone her plan.
“I was targeting non-listed companies to experience a different environment to my day job at Google,” she explains. For Zeina the team at EcoHydra was a key attraction to the role. “From the first call I was very impressed with them. They were clearly talented. Humble, but also strong leaders.”
She identified that her experience in consumer goods, distribution, e-commerce and international markets would all be useful to the firm. “Your credibility comes from the contribution you make, so you need somewhere you can really add value,” she considers.
Caroline Cartellieri
Caroline was seeking a for-profit consumer board role, to build on her charity and NHS trustee experience. She was particularly excited to hear about the role at EcoHydra.
“I am committed customer of theirs,” Caroline explains, as a family member’s health condition means she has long been a regular user of hand sanitiser and EcoHydra is by far her preferred brand.
“I felt I could add value in their direct-to-consumer channel in particular,” Caroline says, as she has significant experience in e-commerce, user experience and digital marketing. She was also given confidence by the professional recruitment process. “It was a very smooth, straight-forward process. I have nothing but the best to say,” she adds, “I also appreciated Rachel from Women on Boards checking in throughout.”
It is also worth noting that EcoHydra ran a fully online recruitment process, which enabled them to bring in new talent even in the height of Covid-19 restrictions.
With a strengthened board, EcoHydra is perfectly positioned to expand innovatively with the fast-growing need for its products in a changing environment. We look forward to seeing how they – and their new board members – progress.