Case Study

PROBLEM

Fiera Infrastructure (a subsidiary of Fiera Capital) retained DES to lead the search for a Vice President, Investor Relations. The search was prompted by the firm’s growth in AUM and their need for enhanced, dedicated capabilities in the marketing, communication and fundraising function to better serve LPs.

It was important for the candidates to be able to hit the ground running, and connect with internal stakeholders & a range of external groups, including investment funds, investment consultants and LPs, among others.

APPROACH

We led a search that targeted client service officers within a range of investment funds, institutional sales groups, in-house IR teams at large infrastructure firms and IR & Fundraising arms of private equity firms and other alternative asset managers. On a secondary basis, we attracted candidates from third-party capital fundraising firms / placement agents focused on infrastructure investment firms.

We were drawn to candidates who had previously been investment professionals and moved into IR & Fundraising roles, given their ability to serve as the nexus between portfolio managers and external allocators. Candidates with extensive LP relationships, strong commercial acumen and overall “presence” were prioritized.