Boy Done Good

6233

That is the distance, in kilometres, from Fort Smith, Northwest Territories, to London UK.

But to get from one to the other can take you half a lifetime.

Mark Carney is the recently installed Governor of the Bank of England. Born in the tiny settlement of Fort Smith, he now presides not only over the 7th biggest economy, but the body that regulates London’s powerful financial markets.

The Bank of England is famous for its rituals and customs. It is among the oldest and most venerable institutions in a country famous for its old and venerable institutions. So what’s a kid from the Northwest Territories doing in the top job?

Well, to start with, he was in a top job somewhere else – the Bank of Canada – doing good work: Canada had weathered the financial crisis pretty well thanks largely to conservative fiscal policies. Also, Carney had lived in Britain, and had experience running an economy, and had a background in investment banking. Check, check, check.

As the team at Ambit read and talked about his appointment, we realized that this was one of the most comprehensive and impressive executive searches in modern memory. And it made us feel proud not only as Canadians, but as a search firm – this was self-evidently a great example of how the right person is out there for any job, but that finding that person and making them see that they were born to do it, is the challenge we love.

And ok, so maybe we didn’t do this search, but the same principles apply – whether you’re handling an executive search in Toronto or looking for someone to run a major global economy.

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