True Appoints Regional Lead for Middle East and North Africa
March 28, 2024 – Global talent provider True has named Paul Navratil as regional lead for the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). “Paul’s arrival marks a pivotal moment for True in MENA,” said Sam McGrath, True’s general manager, EMEA & APAC. “His wealth of international experience and strategic acumen align perfectly with our vision for growth and client success in the region. His expertise in executive human capital consulting will have a transformative impact on our leadership advisory capabilities.”
Mr. Navratil brings 28 years of consulting and talent advisory experience driving strategy and change across financial services and global industrial enterprises. He has worked extensively in the Middle East and brings knowledge of the region to True. Mr. Navratil has experience in assisting clients to align strategy, leadership, talent, and organization.
Throughout his career, Mr. Navratil worked at consulting firms such as EY, PwC and Deloitte, helping clients to develop strategy, drive real transformation, and maximize enterprise value. He has held various sector leadership positions in both regional and global roles and has also worked for a global investment bank, as well as in several leading energy companies in strategy and transformation roles.
At True, Mr. Navratil will split his time between France and Dubai. He is fluent in English, French, and Spanish. “I am thrilled to embark on this journey with True, leveraging my global experience to partner with our clients across the MENA region to continuously evolve leadership and its role in driving enterprise value,” said Mr. Navratil. “Understanding diverse markets and cultures has been integral to my career, and I look forward to contributing to True’s expansion in this dynamic region.”
Related: True Appoints Head of Advisory, MENA & APAC
Working in both the private and public sectors, True Search has offices throughout the U.S. as well as the EMEA and APAC regions. Since the late 1990s, the firm’s founders have refined their search process with a blend of data-centric insights, relationship-building, and experience to produce a methodology that consistently improves hiring decisions and accelerates growth. The firm’s clients include Jet, Work Front, and Summit Partners. True Search is a subsidiary of True Platform, a global portfolio of human capital services and products for high-growth tech and tech-enabled organizations. True recently placed No. 6 on the Hunt Scanlon Media “Top 50 Recruiters” ranking.
New Non-Profit Practice
True also recently launched a non-profit practice, dedicated to building leadership teams that drive social impact. The practice will be led by partner Alice Gibbs. “We stand at the intersection of technology and purpose-driven work to bring an agile and disruptive approach that aligns well with the needs of nonprofit organizations,” said Ms. Gibbs. “These organizations are solving urgent and complex social challenges and they require a search partner who understands that and brings tech-enabled efficiencies and access to the diverse, tech-savvy global talent market we know at True.”
True Acquires Executive Coaching and Assessment Company Bleeker
True recently acquired Bleeker, an executive coaching and assessment company. Bleeker’s assessments, derived from neuroscience, and their inquiry-based coaching services have been rebranded as True Advance and are now part of True’s platform of products and services. “Through integrated assessment and coaching, True has enhanced our comprehensive talent management platform, solidifying our role as strategic partners to businesses building their leadership,” said Joe Riggione, co-founder and CEO of True. “True Advance provides leaders with invaluable insights about themselves, while simultaneously offering companies transparency into prospective hires’ performance and alignment with the existing leadership team dynamics.”
“Integrated assessment and executive coaching solutions is one of the fastest growing segments within executive search,” said Scott A. Scanlon, CEO of Hunt Scanlon Ventures. “This all ties into the integrated human capital models that we’ve been helping our M&A buy-side clients think through and build out. If we look at human capital solutions as a matrix it is easy to see how team building, employee engagement surveys, culture assessments, leadership consulting, and executive coaching all work in unison to provide a highly tiered, strategic approach to talent. It’s been a slow build to this point, but we believe integrated human capital solutions are the new growth platforms for search firms.”
“The foundation of the practice is True’s track record of work with mission-driven companies,” the search firm said. “With over 2,700 executive and board placements in edtech, healthcare, life sciences and climate tech companies, True Search can bring mission-oriented talent from private-sector companies into the non-profit sector.”
New Leader in Asia
True also recently announced that partner Sean Lee will take the helm as regional lead of its Asia operations. Alex Gold, the regional lead since 2017 and True’s first hire in Asia, will return his focus solely to search and will remain with True Search as a partner. Mr. Lee will lead the growth strategy and day-to-day operations for Singapore and broader Asia, True’s fast-growing region. He will also remain a key partner in the healthcare and life sciences practices and support clients globally.
“Sean has been an instrumental partner in accelerating the growth of the healthcare and life sciences practices and played a key role in globalizing relationships for the firm,” said Sam McGrath, GM, EMEA & APAC. “We’re confident that he’ll further strengthen the global synergies across the True platform as we continue to thoughtfully expand our business internationally and support our global and local clients in Singapore and broader Asia.”
Related: True Launches Private Equity Practice
Contributed by Scott A. Scanlon, Editor-in-Chief; Dale M. Zupsansky, Executive Editor; Lily Fauver, Senior Editor – Hunt Scanlon Media
