Amrop Woodburn Mann is a leading executive search and leadership assessment consultancy providing the highest quality of client-focused, industry-leading processes and services in executive search execution on the African continent.
Based in Johannesburg, South Africa, Amrop Woodburn Mann offers executive search consulting services to leading organisations, including government parastatal operations, multi-national subsidiaries and entrepreneurial ventures, to address the key executive leadership needs of those organisations, namely the evaluation, appointment and development of state-of-the-art, globally-competitive executive and non-executive talent.
With an established track record across 25 African countries over 40 years, Amrop Woodburn Mann provides existing and future clients with access to a global platform of skilled consultants and researchers, able to rapidly assess and service clients’ needs across all functions and industries.
Our professional team of consultants and graduate researchers are fully trained and equipped to be able to apply themselves to clients’ needs.
Our Context Driven approach to executive search helps our clients find Leaders For What's Next - top talent, adept at working across borders in markets around the world. Retained executive search consulting, not just head hunting or executive recruitment, provides our clients with the reassurance that their C-Suite and senior executive needs will be met with experience, professionalism and discretion. Our detailed research process is suitable across all types of organisations, and our extensive network and market engagement across southern Africa is unparallelled.
‘Many Boards spend far too much of their time on Corporate Governance Agendas and fail to add value to the strategic direction of their businesses’
As the strategic hubs of organisations, it is the primary task of Boards to ensure the enduring vitality of the companies they drive. Yet their own fitness is just as critical. Today’s Boards are running strategic and operational marathons, increasingly in the spotlight and challenged by share and stakeholder groups who have never been more informed, demanding, or vocal.
Amrop Woodburn Mann has developed a state-of-the-art Board Appraisal model which recognises the principle influences which impact on the Board’s stewardship of the business and delivery of its overriding responsibility to create shareholder value over the long term.
Our Board assessment model adopts a holistic approach to each component of a Board’s activity, ensuring that the appropriate emphasis is placed where required. Governance issues and jurisdictional guidance and legislation, while given recognition, are not permitted to overwhelm Board of Director activities. The Companies Act and King IV Corporate Governance Report provide rules-, principle- and outcomes-based guidance to promote ethical leadership, attitude, behaviour and mindset at Board level.
The philosophy employed in the assessment of the executive board focuses on Board of Directors’ Performance and Dynamics, the appraisal of all Board Directors and Board and Board Committee Composition. This ensures comprehensive, action-oriented and strategic decision-making across the organisation. The process is consultative and pragmatic with absolute discretion and total confidentiality throughout.
Navigating and leading a Board is an increasingly important role in business today, requiring market credibility, maturity, and strength of character. With a firm grasp on the company agenda, Non-Executive Chairmen and Directors add balance, by playing an integral role in guiding and complementing the executive team.
Amrop Woodburn Mann works closely with the current Board and Company Secretary to find exceptional individuals who have an elevated level of integrity and show high ethical standards in their own behaviour.
Chairpersons and Non-Executive Directors remain independent of the business and its day-to-day operations, whilst maintaining a high degree of understanding of both management and the business’ performance. Contributing to strategy development, understanding and managing risk, assessing financial reporting and ensuring appropriate succession plans are in place at executive level provide the support and foundation which enables all organisations to flourish.
Good Corporate Governance and due process suggests that a comprehensive and rigorous approach be adopted in assisting Nominations Committees and Boards in C-Suite succession planning. Selecting the most suitable individual for the position of Chief Executive Officer and other top executive and management roles in an organisation, from both internal and external candidates, provides the necessary continuity and stability.
A comprehensive research process, aligned with internal assessment and coaching as required, assures stakeholders across an organisation that they are in good hands, and that the future is bright.
Interim Executives are a select, highly experienced, group of professionals who are appointed to assignments ranging from a few months to several years. Amrop Woodburn Mann forms long-term relationships with exceptional individuals who are diverse, hands-on practitioners with strong track records of executive delivery and corporate success.
An interim appointment could be done on a retained, executive search basis or at a contingent level, as per our clients’ requirements.
As part of the executive search process to find a suitable candidate for a position, internal candidates often participate in the process. The internal candidates generally make a sincere effort to secure the role and, if unsuccessful, could become de-motivated and unproductive. Our Executive Retention Programme exists to reduce the possibility of losing a valued employee who was unsuccessful and provide a positive, navigable future path for the employee and employer to meaningfully benefit both the organisation’s future operations and the internal candidate’s career path.
