Protiviti is a global business consulting and internal audit firm composed of experts specializing in risk, advisory, an

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Protiviti is a global business consulting and internal auditfirm composed of experts specializing in risk, advisory, andorganizational transformation, and human capital consultancy.Protiviti advises its clients in selecting the right talent for theright positions as part of its advisory services.
In one such assignment, the client faced challenges in selectingthe right candidate for a key leadership position. The client was anewly established insurance company base in Oman, and hadaggressive growth plans. The client wanted to differentiate itselfby harnessing technology in order to provide convenient services toits customers to carry out their transactions from the comfort oftheir home. Being in the nascent stage of evolution, it did nothave a clearly laid out IT strategy to support this vision.
The existing IT Department consisted of a fairly qualified team,some of whom had been with the organization since its inception 3year ago; however, the team was driven largely by day-to-dayoperations, fire-fighting, query resolution, and gathering businessrequirements for system enhancements. There was a generalperception that the IT function was not responsive enough to caterto the dynamic nature of the evolving insurance industry landscapeand consumer needs. The teams were process oriented and felt thatrequests from customer facing departments were coming in an ad-hocmanner.
In this context, the client now wanted to fill in a keyleadership position—a Chief Information Officer (CIO)—and appointedProtiviti to assist them in evaluating and identifying the best fitcandidate for the position; the bank then shortlisted fourcandidates. Protiviti studied the business context, identified thejob specifications and conducted preliminary assessment coveringtechnical and leadership skills. The following were theobservations of the top two candidates:
Candidate A is a very confident and assertive individualcurrently heading the IT Department of a very large, wellestablished and old insurance company in the country. He led a teamof more than 100 staff and was actively involved in the developmentof the IT strategy as a mandate from the Board; however, he hadonly 3 years of experience in the insurance industry while theother 12 years were in telecom and the Oil & Gas industries. Helooked at the big picture and preferred to delegate a lot of tasksto the team. He expressed comfort in stakeholder management andconfidence in resolving situations where there are disagreements.This candidate was very well read and followed the latest globaltrends in insurance, banking, technology, and relatedindustries.
Candidate B is an internal candidate leading one of the teams inthe IT Department. He was a structured, planned and organizedindividual and has been with the company since its inception 3years ago and has more than 14 years of experience in the insuranceindustry. He is well aware of the work environment, leadershipexpectations, growth plans, and operational aspects of IT in aninsurance company and also the regulatory and compliancerequirements. Being an internal candidate, he knew all thechallenges the department is currently facing and had a clear, welllaid out plan for the IT function if he were offered the CIOposition. His communication skills were satisfactory and showedsigns that he requires to polish his capabilities in managingstakeholder demands and expectations.
What are some of the technical & leadership skills that youfeel should be assessed at the recruitment stage and why?
Which candidate do you think should be offered the position andwhy?
What impact would candidate A have on the team if selected forthe position? Please provide reasons.
What impact would candidate B have on the team if selected forthe position? Please provide reasons.