Partnering for Leadership: Client Insights on Executive Search Services

Three C-suite executives from Unilever, MSD, and Banca Intesa explain what separates great executive search firms from average ones. 

When multinational corporations need to find the right leaders in Serbia and the Balkans, the challenge goes beyond sourcing CVs. They need partners who get their culture, know the market, and understand how to match senior executives with roles where they’ll actually succeed. 

This white paper from Stanton Chase Belgrade, Serbia’s top executive search firm for 20 years, shares honest feedback from three executives at major global companies operating here. They explain what they actually care about when choosing and working with executive hiring partners. 

What’s Inside?

• Nebojsa Popovic (Unilever) talks about why search firms need to understand company culture and spot the kinds of leaders who actually succeed, not just the ones who interview well. He also explains why multinationals need flexibility that their own HR departments often can’t provide. 
• Nebojsa Skuljec (MSD) focuses on transparency and trust. He explains why the best executive search partnerships don’t end when someone signs a contract; they include follow-ups at 3 and 6 months to make sure the placement actually works. 
• Darko Popovic (Banca Intesa) describes how good executive recruitment firms provide real market intelligence and help define what a role actually needs before starting to look for candidates. 

These are specific, practical perspectives from executives who’ve hired dozens of senior leaders in Serbia’s market. If you’re evaluating executive search firms, benchmarking your approach to executive hiring, or planning succession at the C-suite level, this white paper gives you direct input from people doing the work. 

Get Executive Search Insights From Top Executives

Click here to read the English version of the white paper

About the Author

Milos Tucakovic is a Managing Partner at Stanton Chase Belgrade. He is also Stanton Chase’s Consumer Products and Services Global Sector Leader.  

He brings 20 years of executive search expertise and nearly 40 years of experience in human resources and management. A licensed A&DC Assessor, Miloš also coaches CEOs and General Managers on leadership development. 

Miloš is a member of the Knowledge Committee of Serbia and previously taught management at the Academy of Applied Studies – College of Hotel Management in Belgrade for 16 years.