Our client is a global leader in oil-free chiller technology with operations across North America, Europe, and Asia. In recent years, the business has undergone rapid expansion, growing from a $129M turnover in 2020 to over $500M today.

CrimsonXT Energy has partnered with the company for over four years, successfully placing more than 20 professionals across engineering, commercial, and software development functions. Because of our long-term partnership, our team has developed a deep understanding of the company’s culture and operating model, meaning we are able to quickly identify candidates who align not only in skills and experience but also culturally.

Following a previous departure in the HR leadership team, the company’s executive board turned to CrimsonXT to fill a critical position: Senior Vice President of Human Resources, based in Canada.

 

 

Challenge

Our client needed to appoint an SVP of HR to oversee its global HR function across North America, Europe, and Asia. The current responsibilities were being undertaken by the company’s HR Director, leaving the leadership team overstretched and increasing urgency around the hire.

As well as a range of other responsibilities, the client looked for an individual specifically with:

  • 10+ years of HR leadership experience in international organisations
  • The ability to drive staffing plans, including compensation, benefits, training and development, and labour relations
  • A track record of supporting businesses through fast-paced growth and transformation

Due to their position in the market, the client could have attracted candidates from Fortune 500 companies with global HR experience. However, those profiles were less suited to the realities of our client’s journey – moving from a mid-sized business into a rapidly scaling global enterprise.

The ideal candidate was instead someone who could bring the global scope of experience but also the practical, hands-on capability of someone who had built and scaled HR functions in smaller, fast-growing companies.

 

Air cooled water chillers hvac

 

Solution

Leveraging our network, our energy team designed a targeted search strategy tailored to our clients’ unique requirements. Within three weeks, our team presented a shortlist of four candidates, and all progressed to interview stage.

One candidate in particular stood out to the client, bringing a wealth of global HR experience alongside a proven record of delivering transformation in high-growth environments.

The candidate had grown a business function to generate $200M in revenue and managing teams of up to 450 employees across 13 countries. They had also restructured supply chains and streamlined operations by 30%, delivering $6M in cost savings in their previous role, implemented KPIs that turned a negative profit margin into a positive 13%, while exceeding revenue targets by 30% and improved employee engagement, raising NPS scores from -13 to +45 over seven years.

The individuals combined corporate-level expertise and entrepreneurial execution, aligned perfectly with our client’s requirement for someone who could ‘walk the walk’ in a fast-changing, high-growth environment.

 

Impact

The candidate commenced the role in February 2025 and has quickly established themselves as a key member of our client’s leadership team. Since joining, they have expanded the HR function by hiring a Head of Talent Management and a Director of HR for HQ and global operations, strengthened global operations by implementing employee development programs and enhancing engagement initiatives (a top priority for the business) and provided stability to the leadership team, freeing up the HR Director and CEO to focus on broader strategic objectives.

This successful placement significantly strengthened our client’s ability to manage its rapid global expansion. We continue to support the team across multiple hiring needs, including a current search for an HR Manager for the EMEA region as part of building out the global HR structure.

Beyond HR, our teams remain actively engaged in helping the client expand its engineering, commercial, and software development functions as the company continues its impressive growth trajectory.

 

 

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