Case overview
An international household and personal care products company wanted to strengthen the legal function of its Kazakhstan office and asked us to find a head of legal.
The main challenge was finding someone familiar with the corporate culture of Western consumer goods companies, a background available from very few employers in Kazakhstan.
We had no ready-made database of candidates with that profile. Through direct search, professional networking, and referrals, we built a pool and filled the role. The candidate took the position and remains with the company.
This case may help recruiters working in closed senior talent markets and companies seeking leaders with a specific sector and cultural background.
Case background
The client, an international household and personal care products company, needed a head of legal for its Kazakhstan office.
The candidate needed legal qualifications and international company experience, as well as a strong understanding of the corporate culture of Western consumer goods companies. That experience mattered for working effectively with headquarters and for understanding the global company’s approach to risk management, contracts, and regulators.
Challenges
Few employers in Kazakhstan had a similar culture, mainly offices of other international consumer brands. Their legal leaders were rarely actively job hunting and did not post resumes publicly. We also had no established candidate database for this profile: the market for legal leaders with consumer goods expertise was small and closed.
What did we do?
Job boards and public LinkedIn profiles did not reach the target group, so we conducted a direct search. We began by mapping Kazakhstan employers likely to share the client’s culture: international FMCG companies, offices of multinationals with Western management standards, and legal advisers who had served such clients.
We then used several layers of professional networking. Contacts in the legal community, corporate counsel associations, and industry referrals helped us identify potential candidates and obtain their contact details.
We assessed each candidate against three criteria: legal expertise, including local law and international standards; sector experience in consumer goods or adjacent fields; and cultural fit, including work in matrix organizations and with global headquarters.
This produced an initial candidate list. Further interviews and reference checks narrowed it to a shortlist for the client. After interviewing the candidates, the client chose a finalist who met all the requirements, including familiarity with the culture of international consumer goods companies.
Results
Before: A closed market for consumer goods legal leaders, no ready candidate database, and few Kazakhstan employers with a similar corporate culture.
After: An initial list of 15 candidates from direct search and networking, a shortlist of three finalists, and one successful hire.
The candidate became head of legal and has remained with the company for more than eight years.
Key lessons for recruiters
Searching a closed market for senior legal leaders
1. Cultural fit can matter more than formal experience
For leadership roles in international companies, technical skills can often be developed. Familiarity with the company’s culture, decision-making, and communication with global headquarters may require prior experience.
- What to do: Assess the candidate’s cultural background as a separate criterion. Look beyond industry to the types of organizations where they have worked, whether Western corporations, family businesses, or public agencies.
- Why it works: Someone already familiar with a Western company’s culture may settle in faster and be less likely to leave because of a cultural mismatch.
From this case: Familiarity with the client’s culture became a key selection criterion and contributed to the hire’s long tenure.
2. In closed markets, networking can replace a candidate database
If you lack a database for a niche role, build contacts in the professional community instead of waiting for one to develop.
- What to do: Invest time in professional associations, industry conferences, and relationships with experts, even without an active project.
- Why it works: When a difficult brief arrives, trusted contacts can provide referrals and introductions quickly.
Result: Lacking a database did not stop the search. We reached candidates through several layers of networking in Kazakhstan’s legal community.
3. Long-term retention is a strong measure of a successful hire
Filling a role is about more than a candidate’s start date; how long they stay matters too.
- What to do: Assess motivation, values, and readiness to work within the client’s culture for the long term, as well as professional skills.
- Why it works: Candidates aligned with a company’s culture and values may stay longer, reducing the cost of another search and onboarding.
Outcome: The hire has stayed for more than eight years, supporting the decision to assess both formal and less visible aspects of fit.
4. Niche markets require a close look at career paths, not just employers
When few companies provide a direct comparison, look more broadly for people who gained relevant experience through adjacent paths.
- What to do: Review earlier roles, projects for international clients, and consulting work with Western companies as well as a candidate’s current employer.
- Why it works: A lawyer from a consulting firm serving consumer goods clients may know the sector better than an in-house lawyer whose employer seems to fit on paper.
Conclusion
Searching a closed market for senior leaders calls for professional networking, careful review of career paths, and attention to cultural fit.
- For recruiters: Invest in professional relationships even without active projects. They can become your most valuable resource for niche assignments.
- For companies: When hiring leaders for international offices, consider experience in a similar corporate environment alongside technical expertise. This can make adaptation easier and support retention.
