INTRODUCTION OF HORTON INTERNATIONAL

A presentation of our global and local capabilities

…how we do it?

PREPARED BY: Zsolt Pintér Hon. Professor of Human Resources & Career

Management at the Pécs University of Sciences Co-founder & Managing Partner

Horton Int’l. USA Hungarian Branch Office H-1137 Budapest, Katona J. u. 3.

BUDAPEST

GLOBAL COVERAGE

40 Countries 45 Cities/offices

Americas Asia Pacific

Europe

Atlanta Baltimore Buenos Aires Chicago Hartford Los Angeles

New York Rio de Janeiro Sao Paolo San Francisco

Santiago de Chile Toronto

Bangkok Beijing Bombay Hong Kong

Hanoi Jakarta Melbourne Seoul

Shanghai Singapore Sydney Taipei

Tokyo

Athens Barcelona Birmingham Brussels Frankfurt Helsinki Copenhagen Lisbon London

Madrid Milan Munich Paris Rome Stockholm Utrecht

Zürich

CENTRAL-EASTERN EUROPE Bratislava Budapest Kiev Moscow Posnan Prague

Warsaw

MILESTONES – GLOBAL

Bob Horton establishes R. H. Horton in the US Geographic extension of activities First global and European meetings ‘Horton Group International’ – the global

organisation; ‘A Member of...’ period Establishment of strong independent local

offices with professional partners; all offices took ‘Horton International...’ name

Horton became a highly integrated worldwide

search firm with fully global coverage and strong local professional experience

Horton International is considered among the

top 20 global search firms by ‘Executive Research News’, ‘Executive Search Review’ and ‘Financial Times’

We are global in our standards of excellence and our rigorous application of the Horton International Process.

We are local in understanding our clients' needs, the local culture, language and practices.

1978:

1980-89:

1988-91:

1989-95:

1995-98:

1998-00:

E X E C U T I V E R E C R U I T E R NEWS ERNJULY 1994

THE WORLD’S LARGEST RETAINED EXECUTIVE SEARCH PRACTICES

(Exclusive ERN estimates)

’93 Revenues in $ millions*

1 Korn/Ferry (a)** $136.8

2 Heidrick & Struggles** 109.5

3 Spencer Stuart** 102.1

4 Egon Zehnder International (b)** 100.2

5 Russel Reynolds Associates 92.0

6 Amrop International (c) 74.2

7 Paul Ray Berndtson 60.4

8 GKR Neumann (d) 55.4

9 Ward Howell International 54.0

10 Norman Broadbent International/International Search Partnership 41.5

11 Accord Group (e) 33.1

12 TASA International 29.0

13 Transearch International (f) 28.6

14 Boyden 24.3

15 A. T. Kearney Executive Search** 23.9

16 KPMG Peat Marwick/Foster Partners 23.8

17 The Hever Group 22.4

18. Horton Group International 21.4

19. International Exec. Search Assoc. (h) 18.1

20. Penrhyn International (i) 11.4

* Exclusive ERN estimates in millions of dollars, less expenses. ** Indicate firm’s auditor verified net revenues. (a) Fiscal year ended April 30, 1994; Figures do not include revenues from Strategic Compensation Assoc and Korn/Ferry’s organization consulting practice, which ERN estimates at $9 million, combined. (b) Fiscal year ended Oct 31, 1993. (c) World network includes Lamalie Amrop International in U.S. (d) Includes $2 million in revenues from affiliate Morgan & Banks, but growth rate does not include Morgan & Banks affiliation. Also included: Bourbonnais Baker Harris/Canada and RES GKR Neumann/South Africa. Not included: Non-search professional fee revenues totaling $52 million. (e) World network includes Johnson Smith & Knisely Accord in U.S. (f) World network includes Martin H Bauman Assoc and Kreutz Consulting Group in U.S. Fiscal year ended March 31, 1994. (g) World network includes Kenny Kindler Hunt & Howe in U.S. (h) World network includes Gilbert Tweed Assoc in U.S. (i) World network includes Leon a Farley Assoc, Houze Shourds & Montgomery and Smith & Sawyer in U.S.; Fiscal year ended June 30, 1994.

FULL REPORT AVAILABLE: Ranks World’s 20 Largest practices and 40 Largest in U.S., also notes revenue trends, number of search consultants and researchers, billings per consultant, number of offices. Includes analytical comments on trends, anomalies, other ups and downs. $15 postapid from Kennedy Publications by calling 800-531-0007.

Copyright 1994 Executive Recruiter News. Reproduction without permission is strictly prohibited.

Kennedy Publications, Templeton Road, Fitzwilliam, NH 03447. 603-585-6544.

REPRINT

FINANCIAL TIMES WEDNESDAY 12 NOVEMBER 1997

TOP 20 GLOBAL EXECUTIVE SEARCH FIRMS Net Revenue 1994-96, Executive Search Only

1994 1995 1996 1995-96

($m) ($m) ($m) (% change)

Korn/Ferry 169.0 208.0 248.4 19

Heidrick & Struggles 135.0 161.0 199.8 24

Spencer Stuart 130.0 147.0 178.5 21

Egon Zehnder 122.0 146.0 164.2 12

Amrop 96.0 126.7 153.9 21

Russel Reynolds 127.0 132.0 147.3 12

Ray & Berndtson 69.0 90.0 108.0 20

Ward Howell 70.0 73.0 89.0 22

GKR Neumann 64.0 72.0 84.3 16

TranSearch 38.6 50.2 56.1 12

Hever 36.4 44.5 49.0 10

Norman Broadbent 44.3 57.5 48.6 -15

Boyden 31.7 40.4 47.7 18

TASA 36.0 40.0 43.0 8

Horton 25.0 30.5 42.7 40

IIC 24.2 35.2 40.1 14

A. T. Kearney 28.5 31.4 37.8 20

Accord 32.0 32.6 35.0 7

Alliance 23.1 29.0 31.9 10

INESA 18.4 25.1 25.2 <1

Total 1,320.3 1,572.6 1,830.5 16

Source EIU

REPRINT

VOL. 10 NO. 2 A HUNT – SCANLON PUBLICATION MARCH 1998

THE GLOBAL 25: AMERICA’S LEADING INTERNATIONAL SEARCH FIRMS

FIRM DIRECTOR WORLDWIDE OFFICES CONSULTANTS

ACCORD GROUP (JOHNSON SMITH & KNISELY)

100 Park Avenue, 15th Floor, New York, NY 10017

Gary Knisely

(212) 885-9100

30 96

BOYDEN

375 Park Avenue, Suite 1509, New York, NY 10152

Sheila McLean

(212) 980-6480

63 76

EMA PARTNERS (LAUER, SBARBARO ASSOCIATES)

30 North LaSalle, Suite 4030, Chicago, IL 60602

Richard Sbarbaro

(312) 372-7050

29 112

EURAM CONSULTANTS (BATTALIA WINSTON)

300 Park Avenue, New York, NY 10022

Dale Winston

(212) 308-8080

24 38

D.E. FOSTER PARTNERS (KPMG PEAT MARWICK)

570 Lexington Avenue, 14th Floor, New York, NY 10022

Dwight E. Foster

(212) 893-2300

40 180

GARDINER, TOWNSEND & ASSOCIATES

101 East 52nd Street, New York, NY 10022

E. Nicholas P. Gardiner

(212) 230-1889

1 2

THE HAAS ASSOCIATES

443 West 24th Street, New York, NY10011

Margaret Haas

(212) 741-2457

2 2

HEIDRICK & STRUGGLES

245 Park Avenue, New York, NY 10167

Gerard R. Roche

(212) 867-9876

50 285

THE HEVER GROUP (KENNY, KINDLER, THOLKE)

530 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10036

Roger M. Kenny

(212) 328-0440

27 72

HORTON INTERNATIONAL

420 Lexington Avenue, Suite 810, New York, NY 10170

Robert H. Horton

(212) 973-3780

36 119

IIC PARTNERS (SLAYTON INTERNATIONAL)

181 West Madison, Suite 4510, Chicago, IL 60602

Richard C. Slayton

(312) 456-0080

36 100

INESA PARTNERS (GILBERT TWEED ASSOCIATES)

415 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10017

Janet Tweed

(212) 758-3000

17 75

INTERNATIONAL TECHNOLOGY PARTNERS (FENWICK PARTNERS)

57 Bedford Street, Suite 101, Lexington, MA 02173

Charles Polachi, Jr.

(617) 862-3370

13 22

INTERSEARCH (CONEX INCORPORATED)

150 East 52nd Street, 2nd Floor, New York, NY 10022

Fred Siegel

(212) 371-3737

82 161

A.T. KEARNEY EXECUTIVE SEARCH

222 West Adams, Chicago, IL 60606

Charles W. Sweet

(312) 648-0111

33 109

KORN / FERRY INTERNATIONAL

1800 Century Park East, Suite 900, Lost Angeles, CA 90067

Michael Boxberger

(310) 552-1834

71 321

LAMALIE AMROP INTERNATIONAL / WARD HOWELL

Thanksgiving Tower, 1601 Elm Street, Dallas, TX. 75201

Robert L. Pearson

(214) 754-0019

80 298

PENRHYN INTERNATIONAL (LEON A. FARLEY ASSOCIATES)

468 Jackson Street, San Francisco, CA 94111

Leon A. Farley

(415) 989-0989

12 40

RAY & BERNDTSON

301 Commerce Street, Fort Worth, TX 76102

Paul R. Ray Jr.

(817) 334-0500

42 130

RUSSEL REYNOLDS ASSOCIATES, INC.

200 Park Avenue, New York, NY 10166

Hobson Brown Jr.

(212) 351-2000

33 180

SPENCER STUART

525 Market Street, Suite 3700, San Francisco, CA 94015

Joseph E. Griesedieck

(415) 495-4141

41 240

TASA INTERNATIONAL

750 Lexington Avenue, New York, NY 1022

John McLaughlin

(212) 486-1490

32 80

TRANSEARCH INTERNATIONAL (EXECUTIVE SEARCH INTERNATIONAL)

60 Walnut Street, Wellesley, MA 02181

Les Gore

(617) 239-0303

60 161

WORLD SEARCH GROUP (THE ONSTOTT GROUP)

60 William Street, Wellesley, MA 02181

Joseph Onstott

(781) 235-3050

19 N / A

EGON ZEHNDER INTERNATIONAL

350 Park Avenue, New York, NY 10022

Victor Loewenstein

(212) 519-6000

48 204

Copyright 1998 Hunt-Scanlon Publishing Greenwich, CT (800) 477-1198

REPRINT

MILESTONES – HUNGARY

Andrea Tánczos and Zsolt Pintér establish thefirst ES consultancy in Central-Eastern Europe ‘Manager Contact Ltd.’

The first exclusive interview with a ‘headhunter’ (Zsolt Pintér) in the Hungarian press by HVG Search and selection of top executives of 14

daughter companies within the Hungarian Oil and Gas Co. (OKGT predecessor of MOL)

Competition of the Hungarian State Property

Agency: we won among 57 personnel consulting companies and got the opportunity to search for executives to head transformed state companies

Establishment of the local ‘Horton Hungary Ltd.’ separated from ‘Manager Contact Ltd.’’

Horton International became one of the most reputed ES consultancies in Hungary; Zsolt Pintér is Horton’s VP Central-Eastern Europe

1989:

1990-92:

1990:

1992:

1995:

1998:

HVG 1990. ÁPRILIS 21. 21

VÁLASZOL EGY SZEMÉLYZETI TANÁCSADÓ

„Mindkét fél elképzeléseit ki kell nyomozni”

HVG: Az önök cége – a hasonló nyugati vállalkozásokkal ellentétben – soha nem tiltakozott a fejvadász megnevezés ellen. Cégismertetőjükben azonban „személyzeti tanácsadás” szerepel. Mivel foglalkoznak valójában?

P. Zs.: Magyarországon a személyzeti munka általában a kontraszelekciót s legfeljebb a politikai megfelelést juttatja az emberek eszébe, míg a fejvadászatról hajlamosak azt gondolni, hogy annak révén – bármilyen eszközök bevetésével – végre a megfelelő szakemberek kerülnek a megfelelő posztokra. Mi valóban ezért dolgozunk, de ez nem azonos a szakemberek egyik cégtől a másikhoz való elcsábítását jelentő fejvadászattal. Szerintem egyébként sem a megnevezés, hanem a munka valódi tartalma a lényeges.

HVG: Tehát nem vállalnak semmilyen közösséget a hagyományos személyzetisek-kel?

P. Zs.: Merőben más a mi munkánk, mint az övék, de – azért ezt is el kell mondani – velük szemben mások voltak az elvárások is. Magyarországon hosszú ideig úgy tűnt – sőt, kevés kivétellel a gyakorlat még ma is az –, hogy érdemi munkaerő-gazdálkodásra, minőségi munkaerő-kiválasztásra nincs szükség. Az általános elosztási modellnek megfelelően gyakorlatilag a munkaerőt is szétosztották. A munkaadó és a munkavállaló egymásnak való megfelelését csak annyiban vizsgálták, hogy a jelentkezőnek van-e képesítése az adott feladat ellátására vagy nincs. Ez vezetett a „papír a lényeg”-szemlélet eluralkodásához, az alibi-iskolák, gyorstalpalók elszaporodá-sához. A modern személyzeti tanácsadó cégek – így a miénk is – viszont az adott munkára jelentkezők alkalmasságát mérik, pszichológiai, szakmai, egészségügyi, alkalmassági tesztek, személyes konzultációk alapján.

HVG: Ön szerint mérget lehet venni arra, hogy egy személyzeti tanácsadó cég által közvetített szakember be is válik majdani posztján?

P. Zs.: Különbséget kell tenni alkalmasság és beválás között. Mi például az általunk kiközvetített személyre 100 százalékos alkalmassági garanciát tudunk vállalni: vagyis arra, hogy az illető az adott munkakör betöltésére szakmailag, egészségileg és személyiségi tulajdonságai alapján alkalmas. A beválásnál azonban már kettőn áll a vásár: nagy szerepe van annak a közegnek is, ahova az illető kerül, valamint annak, hogy valóban teljesülnek-e a munkáltató által ígért feltételek.

HVG: Magyarországon már két nagy-múltú nyugat-európai személyzeti cég is kínálja a szolgáltatásait. Hogyan tudnak labdába rúgni mellettük?

P. Zs.: Én úgy gondolom, ehhez a munkához is szükség van a magyar állapotok speciális ismeretére. Már csak azért is, mert nem egyszerűen közvetíteni kell a konkrét követelményekkel fellépő munkaadó és a határozott ambíciókkal rendelkező munka-vállaló között, hanem először ki kell nyo-mozni gyakorlatilag mindkét fél elképzelése-it is. A munkáltató általában nem tud pontos munkaköri leírást adni, nincs kialakult munkahelyi követelménystruktúra. Sokszor még azt sem tudják eldönteni, milyen nyelvtudást követelnek alkalmazottaiktól. Csak Magyarországon lehet olyan kezdetű hirdetést olvasni, hogy „Két idegen nyelvet beszélő…” Első lépcsőben mi a konkrét követelményeket kényszerítjük ki a munkál-tatókból, azután kezdjük a keresést, majd a kiválasztást. Magyarországon egyébként egyedül mi vizsgáljuk speciális tesztekkel az elméleti és gyakorlati szakmai ismereteket.

HVG: Tapasztalataik szerint általában milyen a jelentkezők felkészültsége az adott munkakör betöltéséhez szükséges követelményekhez képest?

P. Zs.: A szakmai felkészültséggel általá-ban nincs baj, annál több az önismerettel, ön-menedzseléssel? De még ha valaki tisztában van is saját értékeivel, legtöbbször akkor sem tudja eladni magát. Persze ebben mi segíteni tudunk.

HVG: Magyarországon leginkább jó kapcsolatok kellenek ahhoz, hogy valaki el tudja adni magát – minél jobb egy állás, annál inkább…

P. Zs.: Biztos, hogy bizonyos állásokat ezután is személyes ismeretség alapján fognak betölteni, de ez mindenütt a világon így van. Akio Morita, a SONY cég alapítója „Made in Japan” című könyvének kulcsmondata például így hangzik: „Sose bízz ismeretlen ügyvezető igazgatóban!” A cég vezetőjét a tulajdonos máshol is általában személyes ismeretségi köréből választja ki. Más kérdés, hogy „jobb helyeken” ez a kör többdiplomás, több nyelven beszélő emberekből áll. A cégek második emberét, szakértői gárdáját azonban már kizárólag a rátermettség alapján szokás kiválasztani. úgy gondolom, hogy e gyakorlat meghonosítása nem pusztán elhatározás kérdése, hanem a magántőke fokozatos térhódítása egyszerűen ki is fogja kényszeríteni. A valódi tulajdonosoknak létérdekük, hogy vállalkozásaikat a legtehet-ségesebb szakemberek irányítsák.

HVG: Egyelőre azonban még az állami vállalatok vannak túlsúlyban, azok pedig elsősorban nem felvenni, hanem elbocsátani kényszerülnek a munkaerőt. Gondolom, ez meglehetősen kedvezőtlenül befolyásolja a keresletet szolgáltatásaik iránt.

P. Zs.: Bármennyire hihetetlen, az utóbbi időben néhány cég éppen a leépítés megalapozására kért fel bennünket. Ennek persze legtöbbször személyes oka van: a hosszú évek óta együtt dolgozó kollégáknak nagyon nehéz megmondani, hogy mostantól alkalmatlanok, s a munkájukra nincs többé szükség. Az azonban már más dolog, ha egy kívülálló cég objektív teszteléssel indokolja meg az elbocsátást. Ráadásul mi ezeknek az embereknek a legtöbb esetben azonnal tudunk az eredményüknek megfelelő új munkahelyet ajánlani.

HVG: A Manager Contact kínálatában tehát több az állás, mint a munkavállaló?

P. Zs.: Mi szinte kizárólag magasan kvalifikált, nyelveket beszélő szakemberek, elsősorban vezetők közvetítésével foglal-kozunk, s irántuk egyelőre kielégíthetetlenül nagy a kereslet.

JAKUS IBOLYA

Egyre-másra alakulnak Magyarországon is a többnyire magasan kvalifikált szakemberekközvetítésével foglalkozó úgynevezett személyzeti tanácsadó cégek. Vajon ezen túl márabban is reménykedhetünk, hogy az állások betöltésénél a szakértelem végre többet fognyomni a latban, mint a személyes ismertség – egyebek mellett ezt kérdeztük PintérZsolttól (32 éves), az első kizárólag magyar érdekeltségű személyzeti tanácsadóvállalkozás, a Manager Contact ügyvezetőjétől.

REPRINT! HVG 1990. ÁPRILIS 21.

SATURDAY, 23rd May 1992

1657

Announcement of the results

State Property Agency’s competition

for personnel consulting firms

The management of SPA considers successful the competition for personnel consulting firms with closing date of 15th April 1992. The following 21 firms of the 57 participants have been considered to occasionally give them assignments: 1. Manager Contact (Hungarian) 2. H. Neumann International (Austrian) 3. Hill International (Austrian-Hungarian) 4. Catro-Szenzor (Austrian- Hungarian) 5. Microsystem-Carrier 6. Ernst & Young (international) 7. PSP. Siklóssy & Patrner (German-Hungarian) 8. PMC. Budapest Ltd. (Austrian-?) 9. IMC. International Man. Cons. Ltd. (German-Hungarian) 10. Price Waterhouse (international) 11. Hay Management Consultants Ltd. (Amerikan-?) 12. Dr. Pendl & Dr. Piswanger Man. Cons. Ltd. (Austrian-

Hungarian) 13. ÉTV. Construction Further Education Enterprise 14. Szelektor Manager Mediator and Cons. Bureau

(Hungarian) 15. Ergonosoft Ltd. (Hungarian) 16. Economix Co. Ltd. (Hungarian) 17. T-csoport (T-group) Partnership (Hungarian) 18. T. J. Mirko (Swiss) 19. NMC. Nijsse Man. Cons. (Dutch) 20. Menedzser Mediátor Partnership (Hungarian) 21. KGI. and Szolorg. (Hungarian) Several of the above listed and registered firms shall be invited for price offer in case of concrete assignments and the management of SPA should decide only based on the concrete offer.

GUIDELINES OF ASSESSMENT

1. Acquaintance of the situation of Hungary 2. Reputation 3. Professional methodology of selection 4. References 5. Guarantees 6. Fees, expenses

Oppinion of the Jury

Manager Contact (Hungarian)

Locally founded consulting company, one of the firsts. Performs selection with methodology elaborated by themselves of very high standards. There are 1200 people in their database. They put special emphasis on the assessment of technical-professional knowledge and condition of health. Applies both forms of search and recruitment.

Methodology of selection: fulfilment of high standards of a logical process.

References: reflect higher than avarage local acquantaince.

Fields of operation: general.

Minutes of the Jury

Budapest 9th May 1992

„THE ANTECEDENTS The State Property Agency announced a competition for personnel consulting firms for the search/recruitment and selection of: – senior executives (company MD-s, CEO-s) – managers – members of the Board of Directors – members of the Supervisory Board – of state owned enterprises to be restructured and

privatised” The closing date for the competition was 15

th April

1992.”

„There were 57 participants altogether. As a result of the preliminary selection – which has been performed by experts invited by the SPA, Ms. dr. Katalin Fodor, Mr. dr. György Nyilas and Mr. Ferenc Smaroglay – 21 applications reached that professional level, which was required by the SPA from the participants.”

PRIVINFO (“Privatisation News” officially published by the SPA),

15th June 1992”

REPRINT

Budapest Business Journal INTERVIEW 7

BUDAPEST BUSINESS JOURNAL, MARCH 25 – 31, 1996 VOLUME 4, NUMBER 17

BUDAPEST BUSINESS JOURNAL INTERVIEW 7

Hints from the guru of executive hiring

Q: What do you do? A: There are three levels of consulting

companies: the executive search company, recruitment consulting companies and employment agencies. Our company is a typical American-style executive search company. What we do is, we are looking for medium- and top-level executives for big Hungarian companies and for big or medium-sized international companies. When we are looking, let’s say for a chief editor, we call the Budapest Business Journal, and we ask the Chief Editor, ‘Do you want to change?’ And he says, ‘Oh, I don’t know. Please call me back at home’, or whatever. This is the so-called direct search, a targeted search. When we are looking for a manager or executive we make a target list of companies, 25 to 30 companies, and we try to poach candidates from these targeted companies. So when my friend, for instance, earlier deputy of human resources for Shell Hungary, told me, ‘Zsolt, I have been contacted many times by international headhunting companies, so I am very good.’ I told him, ‘Karl, you are very good. But this is not because of your name. It’s for the company name.’

Q: What do you tell readers in the book?

A: I’m making the final corrections now, and as I’m reading I’m thinking, ‘This is genius!’ I must tell you very frankly: I’ve seen many American books about that, some German materials also, and nothing compares if you take the chapters in their logical process. From the first step, whether you should change or you shouldn’t change your work, to what you are suited for — what are your abilities, skills, knowledge and so forth. After that you must think about whether you should retrain, study something new or not. Management school, language school, PC school, etc. Then all this material you must turn into a good CV. These are the basics; 110 pages of that. Many readers will turn it off, they’ll say, ‘No, I’m not interested in that. I’m interested in how to put together a CV, how to prepare for the interview and so on.’ But it’s very important, because in the CV you must stress your positive points. And you should decide, ‘What am I suitable for? What am I interested in? Am I interested in, let’s say, law?’ but in law you can be a lawyer, a solicitor, a judge and so on. How do you decide it?

I give some tips. For instance, you can go to a chamber, or you can go to a society and ask, ‘Who is the best man in this society of judges?’ And I go to him

and I ask, ‘Please, give me 20 minutes. I don’t know anything about your profession, but I’m interested. Could you tell me something? What kind of personality is needed in that profession? What’s your working day like from the morning till the evening? Why did you choose this profession? Do you like this profession now?’ This is very important.

Why the book is credible is that I don’t teach from a soapbox corner at the university. I don’t teach something because I read it in a book. I was kicked out of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1985 and I tried to get a new job. I tried 25 places, 25 advertisements and other methodologies. I have done it. I know how to do that. This is my experience.

Q: What trends do you see in the Hungarian marketplace?

A: I write in the book that if you want a job right now as a qualified person, you cannot find one if you don’t speak languages. This is the firs big demand. Until 1990, in the university departments only two or three departments were so-called language-requiring departments. This was foreign trade, international affairs and transportation. Now all faculties are filled with languages-requiring departments. Because they have realised that without languages you can’t do anything.

PC skills are also very important. And the management schools also very important, the business schools. The problem, if you don’t have business school, is the following. Okay, you

finished in Cambridge. I finished in Wharton, and we can speak and we understand each other well, no problem. We know the special technical expressions and so on. And all the others below this level, they don’t understand. ‘They are speaking Russian? Chinese?’ They don’t understand. This is the reason I tell people they should get into business school. Perhaps not for an MBA, but maybe a certificate in management studies, the lowest level. You will find the same distinct names, the same expressions and so on. And even the assistant will then understand what I’m talking about. This is very important to understand the Western business methodology, the Western business culture.

What I’ve observed in Hungary is that there is a new generation, because if you have worked 10 years or 15 years for the so-called state-owned company, in commerce or trade, you are accustomed

to the state-owned methodology. And if you want to make a new sales department, you cannot get through to these people. They are built for that, who are now 40 or 45. This is the reason many companies who are looking for a new sales department say to me, ‘Zsolt, when we will build up the department, we don’t take old people. I mean 35- or 45-year-old people. We will take new people. We will train them. They are energetic, dynamic and they know what they want.’

Q: Are people then who spent most of their careers before 1989 doomed in the new marketplace?

A: In my own old CV, a so-called traditional CV, there were four lines about where I studied. ‘I finished the Moscow Institute of International Relations, was honored with a Lenin certificate, and also with a special Red Star Medal from the Soviet Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ It was four lines. Now, with a new situation, new conditions, I wrote, ‘I finished a very famous political science school abroad.’ That’s all. This is a new situation. You must change yourself to the new situation. For instance, I suggest to people who turn to me and say, ‘Mr. Pintér, I was

working with the Party earlier.’ Or, ‘I was working with the MDF earlier. What should I do with that?’ I say, ‘Please, don’t include that in your CV. Please tell them, “I worked with the local administration.” Or for the government administration. No one will ask.’

The biggest problem for Hungarians is that we cannot sell ourselves. For instance, I ask an American candidate, ‘What do you know about personal computers?’ He will tell me, ‘I’m professional in Norton Commander. I’m professional in Windows. I’m professional in DOS. I’m professional in WinWord 6.0.’ He’s professional in everything! In fact, he’s not so professional, but not bad. You will ask the same level Hungarian and he’ll say, ‘You know… I’m not very bad in computers. Of course I’m not professional, but… I know something about DOS, Windows, WinWord, Excel, etc.’ This is the situation. You Americans are well prepared how to sell yourselves in the market and it’s very important. So my aim is to teach Hungarians also.

Q: What advice can you offer students who are looking for their first job, who don’t have any track record to fall back on?

A: I suggest all university students start to work already in their university years. When I finished university in 1983 it was not considered very suitable to deal with sales. But if you are a student working in that, and want to get a job after you graduate, it’s good experience. For instance, a student who has been working for a Balaton restaurant as a waiter, he can include that in his CV. ‘Yes, I have working experience as a waiter.’ So perhaps the potential employer will expect that he already knows client service. ‘Keep smiling! Yessir! Yessir! What would you like?’ It is important for students that they should work, and not wait for Poppy and Mommy to pay for everything. It is very important to get working experience. During the summer you can sometimes get a job with a big company, even if it’s cleaning. But to have the culture to find out what is that company, what do the people look like, what kind of materials do they have? And to make contacts. And perhaps afterward, those contacts, after two years, three years, can help you.

Q: Has the concept of a career outlived its usefulness in an age when yesterday a person’s a waiter, today they’re doing desktop publishing and tomorrow they’re selling washing machines?

A: You must be open-minded. It’s a whole process. It’s a permanent hunting for jobs, a permanent search for a profession. You cannot be stabilized and say, ‘OK, I have a profession and that’s all.’ You must always re-qualify yourself. The most important thing in the book is that you shouldn’t wait for anybody to help you. You must help yourself. The last 40 years were built on the fact that you were socialized for waiting for the state, waiting for Godot. Godot will help you. Now from the book you can read that if you don’t do anything, you won’t get anything.

‘In a natty bow tie and conservative black suit, Zsolt Pintér exudes a mixture of élan and reliabilitythat has led him to the top of Hungary’s headhunting industry. A self-described economist, diplomatand foreign trade expert, he is Managing Partner of Horton International, a leading executive searchconsultancy. His soon-to-be-released book, Zsolt Pintér: ‘How to Build a Career?’, is thefirst text on career management written by a Hungarian about the Hungarian job market. Pintér isnothing if not self-confident about himself and the book: “I’m making the final corrections now, andas I’m reading I’m thinking, ‘This is genius!’ I must tell you very frankly: I’ve seen many Americanbooks about that, some German materials also, and nothing compares.”

Reporter Ben Sullivan met with Pintér at his plush Katona József u. office in District 13, wherewith antique weapons adorning the walls, tropical fish burbling contentedly in a large tank and a bustof Lenin glaring from a crowded desk, Pintér expounded on the changing nature of Hungarianemployment. The following is an edited version of their conversation.

Zsolt Pintér: “I don’t teach from a soap-box corner at the university. I don’t teach something becauseI read it in a book. I was kicked out of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1985 and I tried to get anew job. I tried 25 places, 25 advertisements and other methodologies.”

BUDAPEST BUSINESS JOURNAL, MARCH 25 – 31, 1996 VOLUME 4, NUMBER 17

REPRINT

25%

9%30%

28%

8%

Medium-sized intl. companies

Global corporations

Smaller local firms

Smaller foreign firms

Big/medium-sized local firms

ASSIGNMENTS BY CLIENTS

15%

18%28%

29% 10%

Techn. specialists e.g. "Sr. Key Account Mgr.”

Top level experts: "lean MFG. facilitator", "6 sigma

Master Black Belt"

CEO, GM, MD

2nd level: COO, CFO, CIO, VP

Techn. executives: HRM, Logistics,

Marketing

ASSIGNMENTS BY POSITIONS FILLED

1. METHODS OF SEARCH 2. METHODS OF SELECTION 3. FEE STRUCTURE 4. GLOBAL

EXPERIENCE

Direct search among targeted companies Fresh research on every assignment Focus on professionals who are not actively seeking new positions Search within our in-house database ‘Good-old-boy-network’ – word of mouth

‘HAP’ = ‘Horton Assessment Process’ – professionally elaborated and both internationally (36 years) and locally standardised (24 years): includes multiple structured inter-views and reference checking.

Fixed % of the first year’s taxable compensation (to include bonus or other cash incentive, but exlude benefits such as stock options, company car and pension).

36 years

5. LOCAL

EXPERIENCE 6. SEARCH TIME 7. EXPENSES 8. PAYMENT CONDITIONS 9. GUARRANTEES 10. ‘OFF-LIMITS’

ARRANGEMENTS

24 years

Search period: 30 - 60 days (from start till the introduction of shortlisted candidates

No search time limit!

Fixed % of the retainer fee – at the beginning of the assignment to cover direct costs (data base access, communication, printing and postage-courier charges; candidate and consultant travel; other incidental costs.

The fee should be paid in three equal parts: one third at the start of the assignment as a

retainer (first installment); one third upon the personal introduction of

3-5 shortlisted candidates (second installment); one third on completion: immediately upon

the conclusion of an Agreement of Service between the client and the candidate (third installment).

12 months replacement guarrantee.

24 months full protection for anybody within the client’s organisation

Infinite for the candidate placed there

HOW TO CHOOSE A SEARCH CONSULTANT?

THE SEARCH PROCESS

First contacts and initial client meeting(s) PHASE 1

1 - 2.

‘Personnel Requisition Form’ – a guide for the Client

PHASE 2

Signing the Memorandum of Agreement

2.

3.

3 - 4.

Identify ~60 targeted companies, incorporating client recommendations

Identify ~85 appropriate prospective candidates within targeted companies

Client Review of targeted companies and individuals: feedback as to which prospects

appear most and least attractive to client

Consultant gathers data: company background, organisation, culture, management style; industry

and competition; position requirements.

PHASE 3

4.

weeks

THE SEARCH PROCESS CONT'D.

. 4 - 5.

6.

6 - 7.

7-8.

weeks

PHASE 4 Candidate Contact and

Initial Screening

PHASE 5

Candidate is not interested

5 - 6.

Candidate Contact and Initial Screening

Candidate is not suitable

Further contacts and follow-up referrals

Consultant evaluation of candidates selected

PHASE 6

Candidate rejects the

opportunity

Client does not like the candidate

Client makes an offer to candidate No. 1.

Client and consultant select the top 2 candidates

for next meeting

Candidate profiling and introduction of top 3-4 shortlisted candidates

1. THE COMPANY

Year and the short history of the foundation/transform/privatisation;

The most important milestones in the life of both the parent company/international organization and the particular subsidiary firm;

Scope of activity, the most relevant branches;

Market position (strong points, weak points, competition, competitors;)

The business situation (turnover, financial results, cash-flow, investments, number of employees, blue collar/white collar ratio, employee turnover, condition of machinery/equipment etc.)

Short description of your ‘company culture’ and ‘philosophy’;

Provisions for the future (your ‘vision’, ‘mission’ and ‘your strategy’) including the production/sales forecast, expected results, potential competition on the market, strategic goals and marketing aims etc.)

2. PURPOSE STATEMENT The overall reason for the appointment (e.g. development, replacement).

3. DESCRIPTION OF NEED

Job Title

Location

Reporting structure: He/she reports to He/she will be on the same reporting level as He/she will have reporting directly to him/her

4. RELATIONSHIPS The most important internal and external relations, parties.

CREATING THE ’PROFILE’

CREATING THE ’PROFILE’ CONT'D.

5. ACCOUNTABILITIES/RESPONSIBILITIES The most important tasks, responsibilities; fields in which this job must achieve results in order to fulfill its purpose! What, when, how, why etc. should be done and what kind of management competencies should be taken into account e.g. goalsetting, planning, controlling etc. 6. ORGANIZATION CHARTS 7. CANDIDATE PROFILE & KEY SELECTION CRITERIA Age (ideal – acceptable) Nationality Sex Language skills Personal dimensions (ideal personality, intellectual skills and abilities) Technical know-how, job knowledge and experience

Educational background Breadth of professional experience Breadth of management experience Depth and range of technical know-how (computer skills etc.)

Other requirements 8. COMPENSATION & BENEFITS Total yearly salary Yearly bonus (in % of the salary) Company car Holidays Housing Relocation assistance Private medical cover Life cover Private pension fund Stock option Others

INDUSTRY EXPERIENCE

Automotive and components industry/parts mfg./EMS (‘Lean manufacturing’; ‘Six Sigma’; ‘QS 9001’)

Mass manufacturing

Energy production, energetic services (oil-petrol and electrical industry)

Construction industry

Telecom./mobile

Financial services

Wholesale & retail commerce (sales & marketing)

FMCG

WHAT MAKES US DIFFERENT?

36 years international experience as a fully integrated global executive search and management consulting firm.

Thorough industry and functional expertise in all markets through 45 offices in 40 countries.

We were the first in Central-Eastern Europe and Hungary starting Executive Search in September 1989 – unrivalled 25 years local experience and information network in Hungary.

Ideal size – large enough to ensure in depth coverage with a global delivery capacity, yet able to function as a boutique provider offering flexible customized service, ‘fine needlework’ and focused reasearch expertise.

All of our consultants are not only employees, but shareholders/partners; so we all are highly interested in the success of projects and the highest quality of our services.

Limited ‘Off Limits’ – by design, our business is concentrated with select relationships in a given industry in order to form key strategic partnerships.

We have an exceptionally high rate of satisfied clients: over 85% of our firm-wide revenues are derived from repeat business – a natural out-growth of our disciplined focus and consultative service-oriented approach.

SOME OF OUR REFERENCES Client: Delphi Automotives Hungary (GM affiliate) Assignment: Plant Mgr., Logistics Mgr., Fin. Controller for the new greenfield factory Referee: Mr. Steve Gillespie, Country Manager Hungary

Client: CREATON Tiles Hungary (ETEX Group Belgium) Assignment: Plant Mgr., Manufact. Mgr., Country Mgr. for the new greenfield factory Referee: Mr. Tibor Schmidt, Country Manager

Client: General Motors Acceptance Company (GMAC) Hungary Assignment: CEO Hungary Referee: Mr. Dieter L. Nicodemus, Vice President GMAC

Client: SLC Techn.gies Brussels (Aritech WorldW, later GE Security) Assignment: Country Manager Hungary Referee: Mr. Karel Mertens, HR Director Europe

Client: Whirlpool Hungary Ltd. Assignment: Director Finance, VP Marketing Referee: Mr. László Gerő, Managing Director

Client: Lidl AG (discount retail chain of German origin) Assignment: Managing Director for the Hungarian subsidiary Referee: Mr. P. Oskiersky, COO Europe

Client: SKF Swedish Bearing Co. Ltd. Assignment: Financial and Logistics Director Referee: Mr. István Kállay, Managing Director

Client: MOL Co. Ltd. (Hungarian Oil and Gas Co. Ltd.) Assignment: CEO-s for 14 subsidiaries (e.g. TIGÁZ, DÉGÁZ, DDGÁZ etc.) Referee: Mr. Flórián Kugler, VP Human Resources

Client: Philip Morris-Eger Tobacco Ltd. Assignment: Setting up the whole Finance Division; various senior executives Referee: Mr. Péter Lendvay, HR Director Hungary

Client: Guaber Co. Ltd. Bologna-Italy Assignment: Area Manager Hungary and Central Europe Referee: Mr. Paolo Gualandi, Owner & CEO

Client: BNP Private Equity Fund Hungary Assignment: CEO Referee: Mr. Jeffrey Grady, Vice President