“You meet your destiny on the road you take to avoid it” – Carl Jung
This really struck a chord.
Early in my career, I was working a 360 desk, I sold, recruited, and managed my own clients. Primarily with a focus on Permanent Placement.
It was a dynamic 5 years focused on the local Accounting and Finance space in South Florida. So why did I resign?
The leadership decided we should pivot to primarily working on Contract Staffing.
I wasn’t having it, a proud Perm Recruiter, I didn’t want to work “temp positions”.
My Early Career
Fast Forward to my 2nd recruiting role, I was 2 years into a 360 role in the Commercial Marine and Offshore Energy industries, global recruiting for the most technically challenging and exciting sectors I had ever worked in.
Why did I resign? You guessed it, our new MD was brought in to pivot the business towards growing Contract Staffing. I wasn’t having it, if anything, I wanted more Executive-level searches. To break into the Retained Search space.
In come Protis Global and Michael Bitar, delivering what was clearly the highest quality Retained search work I had witnessed in my career. Serving the CPG space with iconic clients like Diageo, Red Bull, Ferrero, and Hostess Brands. The best part? They had just decided to open their HQ in Wynwood. My favorite neighborhood in my favorite city. Done deal, 2 weeks and 3 conversations and I was in!
My career at Protis Global was nothing short of exceptional; I led retained searches and managed teams to fill some of the most prominent Executive roles I ever worked on. In the process, I learned all I could about the complex CPG space and all its verticals: Sales, Marketing, Supply Chain, Finance, and Manufacturing.
All that learning brought me to a crossroads, this industry was fast-moving, gaining brand awareness was harder than ever, new marketing channels were being created, supply chains were being disrupted, and consumers wanted more transparency, they were shifting from buying brand names to buying based on attributes.
How ace Talent Curators Came To Be
All this change led me to a realization in 2018, CPG needed more flexible solutions when it came to talent. Talent that could drop in, address fast-moving changes, and exit when the project was completed. All too often, FTEs were hired to tackle project work or launch a new product that didn’t pan out. Leaving the FTE and the employer in a compromising position.
It became clear that the solution to best address this challenge was Contract Staffing, not just Skilled Temps, but Fractional Executives, and Independent Consultants as well. Talent from the industry, with specialized skills and a preference for contractual work.
The road I avoided my whole career would soon become my destiny.
On March 1, 2019 ace Talent Curators was reborn to address this opportunity. We haven’t looked back since!
To connect with Andres Rodriguez, Managing Director and President of ace Talent Curators, follow him on LinkedIn.
