Market Segments

The manufacturing environment can be tough. Speed, quality and cost reduction targets can be complicated by contradictory issues surrounding people management. At the same time, of course, it can also be extremely rewarding.

It is our aim to find those executives who don't just enjoy working within automotive manufacture but actively thrive on its inherent challenges. Simply put, we aim to find those individuals who are considered to be the very best for any given role - and then help our clients persuade them it is time for a change.

Passenger Cars

The manufacture and distribution of the passenger car is set for a revolution. The status quo will change in the next year to two years with consolidation amongst the major OEM's brought about by economic forces and the downsizing of once surging markets.

Add to this the changing nature of the passenger car and the trends that have been forced on it. SUV has been upstaged by the Crossover. An upsurge in demand for B Car platform vehicles has impacted on the traditional home of the C platform market place.

Further dramatic changes are taking place with the urgent introduction of Hybrid models; most OEM's will have come to market in 2010 and 2011 with viable electric cars.

The world of passenger cars is changing drastically and sharply. We as a firm are keeping abreast of these manufacturing, engineering and distribution challenges in order to be able to identify and recruit the right talent for our clients for key management positions.

Commercial Vehicles

The commercial vehicles industry has seen many years of strong growth, accompanied by consolidation and the creation of global partnerships and joint ventures. Today, the industry is facing new challenges: a significant slowdown in volumes and ever more stringent emission standards as commercial vehicles are regarded as major threats to the environment in most countries. As a result, advanced engine technology, powertrain systems and components will be required to make major advances in the years to come. Courland International has a long tradition of working in this industry to help clients attract, develop and retain best-in-class talent to ensure competitiveness in what has become a truly global and highly complex business.

Industrial Machinery

The world of industrial machinery and agricultural equipment is a highly diversified and fragmented marketplace. Just a few players per market (sub)segment dominate the scene. Clients may need to globalize their business and/or reorganize their business processes to achieve a different management DNA. We work with our clients to support them by defining the problems together before trying to fine tune the solution.

Automotive service providers need to have a strong focus on quality, continual improvement and service delivery. They must have thought carefully about - and implemented - solid systems to improve client service levels, and be flexible enough to be able to respond quickly to change.

The candidate market is in many ways very similar to the industry itself; it is constantly changing, extremely flexible, and subject to a number of pressures - not least of all legislative requirements. The result is that every candidate requires an individual and tailored response - every time.

It is our responsibility to ensure we carefully respond to individual requirements, truly understand our markets, and are able to predict relevant trends in order to fully support these clients.

The component industry constantly reinvents and optimises itself based on the varying demands of its OEM clientele. In an environment where change is a constant, the core skill required of a manger shifts over time. In a highly competitive and price sensitive market, we are able to support our clients on their road to success, even while it may seem to be still under construction. Our role in this process is to offer our clients a sounding board to discuss and map the road ahead, as well as to provide quality candidates that can help them reach the intended destination.

The consumer's impression of vehicle distribution and the retail sector is often a simple one, seeing this highly complex sector of the automotive industry as largely price sensitive and transactional in nature.

This could not be further from the truth, with successful executives having to manage significant operations with dynamics that are constantly changing. It is recognized that there is a global shortage of good retail management. This is compounded by very few automotive executives from other sectors being able to make the successful transition to the world of automotive retailing.

Courland International has carried out executive searches for a multitude of significant retailers around the world; finding talent where others have often failed. The key to this success is the deep knowledge of the make-up and workings of the retail sector that we have garnered over the past twenty years; this profound understanding enables us to expertly audit a potential candidate's experience.