6-9 September 2006 CONSORT hosted its IESF partners for their 4th Annual Global Meeting.

IESF, founded in 2002, is now one of the most dynamically developing international networks of independent executive search consultants. According to “Search Consult” magazine (August, 2006, Issue No. 28), IESF, with 86 offices in 42 countries, is No. 2 in the list of world’s largest networks (www.search-consult.com).

The Moscow AGM was attended by 33 delegates representing 36 countries. Russia has never witnessed simultaneous presence on its soil of so many leading executive search professionals.

Beside the record attendance by IESF partners, this conference differed from the previous ones in one more respect –the seminar International Migration of Top Managers was held within its framework on 7th September. In fact, this seminar, attracting the full audience at Marriott-Tverskaya Hotel (over 100 people), was one of the world’s pilot initiatives to create a professional forum for discussing this problem of ever growing importance.

Challenges and opportunities of cross-border relocation of top managers were analyzed from different angles by Joint Presidents IESF Andrew Walker (UK) and Mark Geary (Hong Kong – China), the uniquely experienced HR-specialist John Shelley (UK), as well as the Swiss-born expatriate top manager Mark Duerst, who represented for over 40 years Philip Morris International in 7 countries of the world, including a spell as CEO in Russia.

Of significant interest was also the presentation Compensations and Benefits, Adaptation Systems for Expatriate Managers in Russia by Tatyana Kroutova HR Director, BBDO Moscow.

The seminar audience consisted by more than a half of CEOs and heads of HR departments of multinational and major Russian companies. The event was covered by numerous journalists. The participants’ impression is overwhelmingly positive.

Yury Kobaladze, Managing Director, Renaissance Capital(seminar’s moderator): ‘I was honored by invitation to moderate your seminar. A very interesting meeting from which I will borrow a lot for my company’.

Vyacheslav Losev, HR Manager, British American Tobacco – Saratov: ‘In my experience, similar meetings are usually a bit boring and academic. This time, I’ve been pleasantly deceived in my expectations. Do not regret a moment to have come from afar to attend this event’.

Maxim Petrov, Deputy Head of Administrative Department, Vnesheconombank (seminar’s sponsor): ‘For our bank, this was the pilot case of supporting such projects. Your seminar has turned out to be so interesting that we do not doubt a single moment that we made the right decision’.

Mark Geary, Joint President IESF: ‘A am amazed by professional competence of Russian HR-specialists. All delegates of the IESF meeting are deeply impressed by them. We’ll certainly continue the practice of organizing similar events in other countries’.

It has to added that a solid contract was concluded right after the seminar for the search of an Italian top manager to work with a large Russian production company.