Executive Search for A player

BIO

Based in Luxembourg, Grégory Herbé is a seasoned recruitment professional who brings his entrepreneurial and management expertise to the forefront in leading the technology and executive search practice at A-player.

With a proven track record in international and multicultural environments, Grégory is adept at assisting clients across various industries to navigate their leadership challenges and successfully accomplish their business goals.

Grégory's career has been defined by his passion for people and client relationships. As the owner of A-player, he feels privileged to contribute to the growth and success of both individuals and businesses. He has a significant experience recruiting for startups, scale-ups, and software companies, and his unique approach to recruitment is informed by an operational background that spans CEO, finance, sales roles, and beyond.

Prior to establishing A-player, Grégory served as Head of Talent Acquisition for Glopal, where he was instrumental in building the company's talent acquisition strategy, successfully hiring for numerous senior roles. His dedication and meticulous approach to recruitment also made him the first recruiter for BeReal, a rising social media platform. Working closely with the VP Talent, COO, and CEO, Grégory was involved in hiring for strategic and high-level roles, significantly contributing to the company's growth from 200,000 to over 20 million daily active users within a year.

Before that, he held a Senior Technical Recruiter role at Shadow, where he hired 15 people ranging from QA to Infrastructure Director, Leads, and Developers, reinforcing the company's mission to transform devices into a high-end gaming PC. He also made significant strides in roles at Doctrine and NetApp, focusing on sales and tech-related profiles across different countries.

Earlier in his career, he co-founded MyJobCompany, a unique take on the social recruitment idea, which expanded beyond France and Latin America and enabled individuals to become "social headhunters." This endeavor gave him the chance to devise promotional approaches, oversee team productivity, spearhead product line diversification, and substantially increase company revenue.

His entrepreneurship journey started during his studies when he founded Ecetera, an online campus recruiter. Grégory successfully oversaw business-wide changes to modernize procedures and organization, facilitating substantial business growth.

Grégory earned a Master of Arts in HR from Ecole supérieure de Commerce de Rennes and expanded his knowledge of Internet Marketing at Hanzehogeschool Groningen. Beyond his professional life, he is passionate about spending time with his family, playing ice hockey, and exploring different cultures through his love for travel. His unwavering commitment to excellence and unique approach to talent acquisition make him an asset to any organization seeking to bolster their leadership and talent development strategies.

Why Grégory Herbé and A player

Entrepreneurship and Executive Searcher

1. Understanding Business Needs: Both entrepreneurs and headhunters must deeply understand the needs of a business. Entrepreneurs often have to identify market gaps and come up with products or services that fulfill those needs. Similarly, headhunters need to comprehend the unique requirements and culture of the companies they work with to find candidates who would be a good fit.

1. People Skills: Both roles require exceptional people skills. Entrepreneurs often have to pitch their ideas to investors, hire talented employees, and maintain good relations with customers and partners. Headhunters similarly need excellent communication skills to convince potential candidates about job opportunities and maintain a good relationship with their client companies.

1. Sales and Negotiation Skills: Entrepreneurs and headhunters both need to be adept at selling. For entrepreneurs, this might mean selling their product or service to customers or their business idea to investors. Headhunters, on the other hand, have to "sell" the job opportunity to potential candidates and often negotiate terms between candidates and companies.

1. Risk Tolerance and Resilience: Entrepreneurs often face the risk of failure and must be resilient to deal with the ups and downs of starting a business. Similarly, headhunters may not always be successful in persuading their first-choice candidate to take a job or meeting all the client’s demands. They need to be comfortable with rejection and capable of bouncing back quickly.

1. Opportunity Spotting: Entrepreneurs are known for spotting and capitalizing on new opportunities. In a similar vein, headhunters have to spot talent and understand where a candidate might fit, even if the perfect role doesn't exist yet. This ability to connect the dots and identify potential before others do is crucial in both roles.

Gregory boasts an impressive career spanning over two decades in startup hiring, specializing in mid to director level positions. After successfully exiting from his last entrepreneurial venture, MyJobCompany, he pivoted to focus on executive search, a transition that has added another facet to his multifaceted career.

Over the years, Gregory has showcased his ability to thrive amidst periods of significant change and crisis. From the inception of the web as a business tool to the advent and advancement of artificial intelligence today, Gregory's adaptability has been a constant. His unique approach, which combines the utilization of cutting-edge tools with his invaluable experience as a recruiter, entrepreneur, and empathetic human being, has proven instrumental in identifying the best candidates.

This vast experience enables Gregory to navigate the challenges of the startup landscape effectively, and his dedication to providing tailored solutions is a testament to his

commitment to excellence. Whether it's sourcing talent in a fiercely competitive market or advising startups on how to attract the right leaders, Gregory's contributions have been pivotal to the success of many startups.

In essence, Gregory's journey in the startup hiring space, coupled with his entrepreneurial experience, gives him a unique perspective and skill set. His passion for helping startups find the right leaders and his dedication to nurturing relationships sets him apart in the competitive world of executive search.

Attracting A players

An A-player is a candidate who is in the top 10% of talent available for a particular role, considering factors such as salary, experience, and geographic location. These are highly capable, adaptable, and result-oriented individuals who significantly contribute to a company's success.

Here's a strategy to attract, hire, and retain A-players using "Topgrading" principles:

1. Create a Scorecard: Define what success looks like for the role. The scorecard should include the mission of the role, outcomes that must be accomplished, and competencies that fit with both the role and your company culture.

1. Source A-Players: A-players often are not actively looking for new opportunities, so sourcing them requires proactive networking, referrals, and direct outreach. Make your company and its opportunities highly visible and attractive to prospective A-players.

1. Interview Process: Implement a thorough interview process that uncovers the true capabilities of a candidate. "Topgrading" suggests a chronological in-depth structured interview (CIDS) that examines every job a candidate has held. This detailed analysis can help discern A-players based on their consistent record of high performance.

1. Reference Checks: This is a key part of the "Topgrading" methodology. The candidate arranges reference calls with former managers. These are not just cursory checks but in-depth conversations to verify the accuracy of the candidate’s career history and performance.

1. Effective Onboarding: Even A-players can struggle if not properly onboarded. Ensure they understand their role, expectations, and have the resources they need. A buddy system can also help A-players quickly assimilate into the culture.

1. Coaching and Development: Foster an environment of continuous learning and development. Provide regular feedback and coaching. Support A-players in their career growth and provide them with challenging, interesting work.

1. Retaining A-Players: A-players want to work with other A-players. They crave a high-performance environment. Keeping the bar high across the organization is a key strategy for retaining top talent.

By using these methods, you can create a strategy that not only attracts A-players to your organization but also keeps them engaged, motivated, and productive.

Get in touch : gh@a-player.co