Strengthening SMARDT Chillers Australia’s Financial Leadership

Client Overview

SMARDT Chillers is a global leader in high-efficiency, oil-free centrifugal chillers, with operations spanning multiple countries. To sustain its growth in Australia, SMARDT Chillers Australia sought to strengthen its financial leadership team and ensure seamless financial operations aligned with its global strategy.

Challenge

SMARDT Chillers Australia faced key challenges in:

Reshaping its Finance Team, starting with the recruitment of a Finance Manager.
Recalibrating expectations for the CFO role, ensuring a smooth transition and alignment with the company’s operational goals.
Managing stakeholder expectations between the CFO Group in Canada and the HR team in Australia.
Recruiting both key positions within a tight timeframe (4 months).

Solution & Approach

Guillaume Gaguin played a critical role in restructuring SMARDT Chillers Australia’s finance team through targeted recruitment, strategic advisory, and stakeholder collaboration. The key actions included:

Finance Team Reshaping & Recruitment Strategy

Successfully recruited a Finance Manager, establishing a strong foundation for the finance team.
Worked closely with the leadership team to redefine role priorities and job expectations.

CFO Recruitment & Transition Planning

Assisted in recalibrating the company’s expectations for the CFO role, ensuring alignment with both Australian and global business objectives.
Led the search and recruitment process, leveraging an extensive finance professional network to secure a high-caliber candidate.
Ensured a smooth transition between the outgoing and incoming CFO, mitigating disruption to financial operations.

Stakeholder Engagement & Process Optimization

Collaborated with the CFO Group in Canada and HR team in Australia to align hiring strategies with business needs.
Optimized the recruitment process to successfully fill both roles within 4 months, exceeding standard industry hiring timelines.

Results & Impact

Finance Manager and CFO successfully recruited, strengthening SMARDT Chillers Australia’s leadership team.
Optimized role expectations and responsibilities, ensuring smooth transitions and operational continuity.
Enhanced collaboration between global and local stakeholders, aligning financial leadership with corporate strategy.
Achieved accelerated recruitment timeline (within 4 months), reducing downtime and ensuring business continuity.

Conclusion

Through targeted recruitment, strategic alignment, and strong stakeholder collaboration, Guillaume Gaguin successfully restructured SMARDT Chillers Australia’s finance team. His expertise in finance talent acquisition and market insights enabled the company to secure the right leadership to drive sustainable growth and financial efficiency in Australia.