THE CHALLENGE

When Continuum Powders appointed new CEO John Cousins, the business quickly identified the need to separate overall company leadership from responsibility for the commercial organisation.

That created the need for a new Chief Revenue Officer — a senior executive who would sit within the company’s leadership team and take ownership of its revenue-generating functions.

The remit covered:

• Sales and commercial leadership
• The wider revenue organisation
• Marketing and digital marketing
• Commercial strategy and revenue growth
• Leadership of the teams supporting customer acquisition and growth

But Continuum wasn’t simply looking for an experienced commercial executive.

The successful candidate needed to understand the highly specialised world in which Continuum operates — including additive manufacturing, metal powders and advanced manufacturing — while also bringing a proven record of leading commercial teams and delivering against ambitious revenue targets.

Just as importantly, the candidate needed to fit Continuum’s culture, values and future direction.

WHY KENSINGTON360?

Continuum already had an established relationship with Kensington360 and CEO Phil Hodson.

Kensington360 had successfully supported the company on previous commercial appointments, including sales leadership positions, giving Continuum confidence in both the recruitment process and the quality of candidates being presented.

For Continuum, Kensington360’s position within the additive manufacturing industry was particularly important.

The team has spent more than a decade embedded within the sector, building relationships with the people and companies shaping the global additive manufacturing market.

As Continuum explained:

“Kensington’s embedded in the additive manufacturing world. Phil’s network is broad in that world. He knows a lot of people.”

With a proven track record, an established relationship and a deep understanding of the market, Continuum awarded Kensington360 the search on an exclusive basis.

It was the most senior position Kensington360 had undertaken for the company to date.

GOING BEYOND THE JOB DESCRIPTION

From the beginning, the search went beyond matching a CV against a list of technical requirements.

Kensington360 invested time upfront understanding what Continuum actually needed from its next commercial leader.

That included exploring:

• Leadership style
• Commercial track record
• Industry credibility
• Cultural alignment
• Company values
• Executive presence
• Long-term fit within the leadership team

Continuum highlighted this as one of the biggest strengths of the process.

“He invested the time up front to really understand what we were looking for — not just a job description and a skill set, but what were the real qualities that we were looking for.”

This allowed Kensington360 to represent the opportunity accurately in the market while identifying candidates who could genuinely succeed within the organisation.

A CONSULTATIVE EXECUTIVE SEARCH PROCESS

Throughout the assignment, Kensington360 operated as an extension of Continuum’s internal team.

Communication remained consistent throughout the search, with weekly meetings used to review the candidate pipeline, discuss progress and align on next steps.

Rather than simply forwarding resumes, Kensington360 actively managed both sides of the process — representing Continuum to the market while also bringing candidate feedback and expectations back to the leadership team.

As Continuum described it:

“He was advocating both on our behalf to candidates, but on behalf of candidates to us, which is exactly what his role is.”

This transparency helped maintain momentum throughout what was a strategically important senior leadership appointment.

USING VIDEO TO IMPROVE THE SHORTLIST

One element of the process Continuum particularly valued was Kensington360’s use of video interviews.

Before candidates were formally introduced, Kensington360 conducted structured interviews covering the core requirements agreed with the client.

Those interviews were then shared alongside the candidate profiles.

This gave Continuum much greater visibility before deciding who should progress into the formal interview process.

“It made me feel part of the process a whole lot earlier on and gave us more insights into the candidates before they even walked in the door to meet us.”

The result was a more informed shortlist and a more efficient interview process for Continuum’s leadership team.

THE RESULT

The exclusive search was successfully completed with the appointment of Continuum’s new Chief Revenue Officer.

The successful candidate joined the organisation and became part of the senior leadership team, taking responsibility for the company’s commercial and revenue-generating organisation.

For Continuum, the success of the assignment strengthened an already established relationship with Kensington360.

“I felt very comfortable that we were in great hands with Phil operating on our behalf and representing Continuum in the talent marketplace to find us the right candidate.”

BUILDING A LONG-TERM PARTNERSHIP

The CRO search was not the beginning of the relationship between Continuum and Kensington360.

It was the result of years of consistent communication, industry involvement and previous successful hires.

Rather than approaching Continuum only when a vacancy appeared, Kensington360 maintained the relationship over time — staying connected, understanding the evolution of the organisation and demonstrating its capabilities across increasingly senior appointments.

That long-term approach ultimately gave Continuum the confidence to trust Kensington360 with one of the most strategically important hires in the business.

“It was a combination of all of those things that quite frankly gave me confidence that he was the right person for the job.”

“AN EXTENSION OF US”

Perhaps the strongest endorsement of the partnership came from Continuum’s description of how Kensington360 represents its clients in the market.

“We talked earlier about this whole idea of being an extension of us. And that’s exactly how Phil operates.”

For executive recruitment, particularly within a specialised industry such as additive manufacturing, that understanding matters.

Candidates are not simply being introduced to a vacancy. They are being introduced to the organisation, its culture, its leadership and its opportunity.

Continuum believes Kensington360 was able to communicate that story effectively.

“You want the candidates to feel like they are being introduced to the company not just through a third party, but through somebody who’s actually representing the company and understands the company, the culture, the expectations and the opportunity that’s being presented.”

Following the successful CRO appointment, Continuum confirmed that Kensington360 would remain a recruitment partner it would consider for future searches.

THE OUTCOME AT A GLANCE

CLIENT: Continuum Powders
SECTOR: Additive Manufacturing / Advanced Materials
ASSIGNMENT: Chief Revenue Officer
SEARCH TYPE: Exclusive Executive Search
LEVEL: Senior Leadership / C-Suite
SPECIALIST REQUIREMENTS: Additive Manufacturing, Metal Powders, Commercial Leadership
RESULT: Successful appointment

LOOKING FOR LEADERSHIP TALENT IN ADVANCED MANUFACTURING?

Kensington360 has spent more than a decade building specialist networks across additive manufacturing, advanced manufacturing and Industry 4.0.

From specialist engineering appointments through to commercial leadership and C-suite executive search, we work as an extension of our clients’ teams to find people who understand both the technology and the market.