Ex-sailor Lands Big Corporate Fish

THE prospect of interviewing Gerry Davis is daunting. He is the managing partner in the Asia Pacific of recruitment giant Heidrick & Struggles and the first thing that crosses your mind is: What do you ask the master of the interview?

As soon as you put the first garbled question to him, it feels like youve just done something stupid in a job interview. You begin to panic.

But then Davis switches roles and does what the interviewer should — he makes you feel better about the question and gives you a cogent and pointed reply.

Davis started his career in the navy — so it is no wonder that he is capable of concise questions and answers.

"It (the navy) gave good management and leadership ability, early people management as well as supply management (experience). I went to the US and around Australia," Davis told BusinessDay from Heidrick & Struggles worldwide headquarters in Chicago.

Davis managed to complete three degrees and a diploma and eventually worked his way into logistics management.

As attractive as the deep blue sea was, he found he was not married to the ocean and found the opportunities limited.

"I was positioned for a significant career in the navy, then in material management or project management, but when I came back to Australia I realised that the job opportunities would be limited.

"It would be 30 years to spend only six years in a job that really interested, so that wasnt particularly appealing."

So Davis sailed for the private sector and found himself, in the late 1980s, in the pioneering area of IT systems management.

"I joined Lend Lease communications group. And, yes, it was fairly early days, with the introduction of private networks and sophisticated communications systems and training rooms and video conferencing."

After a stint in consulting for several large companies, including establishing Booz Allen Hamilton in Australia, he is now Asia Pacific managing partner of Heidrick & Struggles, one of the worlds most successful recruitment firms.

So, why does he do it?

"Ive always been fascinated by careers and career paths, and the need to think strategically about not just your skills, but how you can leverage them to the benefit of your employer and your benefit.

"Its got a number of elements in that its a consulting activity and youre dealing with senior clients, whether its a board or a chief executive or one of their direct reports, and theyre dealing with the most pressing issue today: which is to understand the availability then access talent."

Davis emphasises that the professional imperative has an associated moral imperative when dealing in human capital.

"It is a job that carries with it a heavy responsibility and that is to both the client and the candidate and I think it would be short-sighted to move into sales mode and position an opportunity in such a way that a candidate accepted an offer and it was a poor fit."

He says his role is to make businesses rethink the way they look at their management and, through that, their entire business. "Upfront, when you consult with someone, you challenge their thinking, and you encourage them to think about leadership competencies as opposed to just technical qualifications or particular job experience."

He points out that the biggest challenge for someone in his position at the moment is not only to find the best people, but to adapt to the attitudes younger management has towards employers.

"The concept of life-time employment was challenged and became defunct.

"I think generation X, as they grew up, saw their parents or their friends parents become unemployed at short notice and were facing the reality that life-time employment from a given employer was now just an outmoded concept rather than a reality.

"The impact of that has been that generation X executives have internalised this learning and chosen to be more independent and build up their skills and experience, so in any given situation they have the ability to move on to another opportunity if the job no longer challenges them or no longer exists."

As for the current exodus at the top of Australian companies, Davis says it is the product of increased demands on executives.

"I think what were seeing is a reduction in the half-life of chief executives. I think boards and shareholders are far more active and less tolerant of poor results.

"Executives are therefore subject to much greater pressure than perhaps they were previously, meaning that they themselves make a deliberate decision that they will not stay in these type of pressured roles … or because of perceived underperformance, the boards have run out of patience."

EDUCATIONGraduated from Chevalier College Bowral, bachelor of arts degree majoring in economics and a master of commerce degree in accounting and financial management from the University of New South Wales. He also has a graduate diploma in finance from the University of Technology, Sydney, and an MBA in strategy and management from the University of Washington.

WORK EXPERIENCERoyal Australian Navy working in material and supply management. Managing director On Australia, a joint venture between Telstra and Microsoft, senior executive at Lend Lease corporation and chief executive of Lend Lease Employer Systems. Executive director of Business Development of ISSC Australia and established Booz Allen Hamilton in South-East Asia and Australia.

AGE 49

BORN Helston, Britain

HOBBIES Football (soccer), sea kayaking, scuba diving, skiing, reading and travel.

YOUR LAST HOLIDAY? Skiing — Chamonix, France.

AVERAGE WORK HOURS IN A DAY? 10

FAVOURITE RESTAURANT Icebergs, Bondi

HOW DO YOU GET TO WORK? Car or ferry.

WHAT ARE YOU READING? Chindia: How China and India are revolutionising global business by Pete Engardio.

FAVOURITE DRINK? Corona or a good glass of red.

FAVOURITE SPORTS TEAM? Liverpool Football Club/Socceroos

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