Aqualung case study – EMEA E-commerce Director placed in retail and healthcare company in France

About:

Aqualung is a key player in personal aquatic equipment for recreational and professional use. The Montagu Private Equity-backed business is a historical expert in SCUBA diving and has expanded its offering to complementary areas such as swimming, aqua fitness and free diving.

Requirement:

Due to our pre-existing relationship with Montagu Private-Equity, La Fosse Executive was selected to help identify an e-Commerce director for Aqualung. The incoming person would be tasked with the deployment of their EMEA e-Commerce platform, which came as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and a subsequential drastic increase in online shopping.

Solution:

Working with both Montagu and Aqua Lung, La Fosse ran a quick process presenting a shortlist of 5, of which 2 progressed to final stage. Only candidates with extensive experience working in online retail (or traditional retail brands with a strong online presence) were considered for the position, due to the specific industry knowledge required.

Result:

The process was complete within a month, with the successful candidate accepting the role and starting remotely before beginning to travel regularly to Nice, France. We placed a candidate who previously held the role of VP Digital, Director of e-Commerce and Omnichannel EMEA at Pandora. Prior to this, they were the Assistant VP e-Commerce for TJ Maxx Europe and the VP e-Commerce Director Europe at Levi Strauss & Co. The candidate had worked across Europe throughout their career, having been located in 7 countries overall.

Learn more about our senior e-commerce capability here.