Case Study

Signa Sports United – A race for the best talent

Finding Signa Sports United’s next Chief Accounting Officer and VP of Group Strategic FP&A.

The client

Signa Sports United (SSU) is a global specialist sports e-commerce company headquartered in Berlin and listed on the New York Stock Exchange. It owns businesses and brands in bike, tennis, outdoor and team sports.

The assignment

STOIX was retained to identify a new senior finance leadership team to support the recently appointed Group CFO, Alex Johnstone with the professionalisation, finance transformation and building of a world-class finance function for Signa Sports United.

Following an IPO in December 2021, there was a need to move swiftly and accurately to identify high-calibre, experienced senior leaders including a Chief Accounting Officer and VP of Group FP&A. The CAO required extensive experience working within retail, listed environments with knowledge of SOX compliance and deep expertise of SAP and Finance Transformation. The VP of Group Strategic FP&A mandate required broad experience across corporate finance, data and business intelligence, value creation and investor relations. Both mandates had a need for individuals to be both hands-on and strategic as well as resilient and adaptable.

Our solution

STOIX’s solution was to combine a rigorous search methodology with an innovative, agile, and modern approach. This meant delivery of a Pan-European market mapping process, best practice headhunting and presentation of candidates on a video platform to showcase the character and values behind the CV.

The process

567

Candidates identified

61

Interviews

5

Shortlisted candidates

2

Offers

Client feedback

STOIX really listened to our requirements, which enabled them to produce a very high-quality pipeline of candidates. I would see interviews on their web platform with only the highest-quality, prescreened candidates that were interested in the role. They understood what my pain points were, were conscious of my time and provided a higher quality service compared to other Search Partners.

Alex Johnstone
Group CFO

Candidate experience

STOIX has a different approach to hiring the right candidate which works well for the candidate and the client. My experience with STOIX was on the candidate side, they make you feel quite at ease so it is easy to be your authentic self which then allows you to go into more detailed discussions, rather than a technical checklist which is more a traditional approach. No hesitation in recommending STOIX as they provide a great service and a seamless recruiting process.

Amber Cooper
Chief Accounting Officer