The  Sky’s  the  Limit  

 

Franchisee  Case  Study      He  may  be  relatively  new  to  the  recruitment  industry,   but   that   hasn’t   stopped   Azamat  Erzhanov  from  making  an  immediate  impact.  Since  joining  CNA  as  a  Franchisee  in  2013,  he  has   overseen   the   opening   of   branches   in  Slovakia,   Romania,   Ukraine,   Slovenia   and  Hungary,   each   of   which   is   successfully  recruiting   in   great   volume   and   scope.   The  married  father-­‐of-­‐two  has  even  bolder  plans  for   the   future   as  he  aims   to  open  a   further  25  to  30  offices  within  the  next  3  to  5  years.  

What  ambitions  do  you  have  for  the  business?    The  ambitions  are  big  and  my  plan  is   to  build  the  regional   network   of   CNA   in   CEE   and   CIS.   I   am  planning   to   open,   build   and   develop   up   to   25-­‐30  offices   within   the   next   3-­‐5   years.   I   have   started  the   business   in   2013   and   by   today   have   opened  the  offices  in  Slovakia,  Romania,  Ukraine,  Slovenia  and  Hungary.  The  plan  is  to  have  up  to  ten  offices  by  end  of  2014;  up  to  20  by  end  of  2015;  up  to  25-­‐30  by  end  of  2016.  This  could  be  changed/adjusted/delayed,  but  we  should  be  in  the  position  to  cover  all  CEE,  CIS  and  Turkey  by  end  of  2017-­‐18.  What  were  your  work  experiences  prior  to  joining  CNA?    I   started   my   working   career   back   in   1985,   just  after   returning   from   Soviet   Army   service.   I   was  studying  in  University,  during  the  evenings,  whilst  working.    

Here,  Azamat  gives  a  thoughtful  insight  into  how  he   operates   as   a   businessman   and   how   CNA  International   ticks   all   the   right   boxes   for   his  ambitions.    How   many   years   have   you   worked   in  recruitment?  My  experience   in   the   recruitment   industry   is   just  about  a  year.  At   the  same  time,   I  was   involved   in  the   different   types   of   recruitment   for   the  companies   I   have   worked   with   in   the   past   –   EY,  Deloitte,  G4S,  Grant  Thornton.    Why  did  you  decide  to  start  up  a  franchise  with  CNA?  I  wanted  to  invest  my  time,  energy  and  resources  into  the  recruitment  business.  At  the  same  time,  I  wanted   to   be   part   of   known   and  well-­‐developed  brand  with  its  industry  knowledge,  well-­‐developed  standards  and  methodologies.  I  wanted  to  join  the  group  who  would  be  interested  to  expand  into  the  CEE  and  CIS.  CNA  offers  all  that  I  am  looking  for.  

                                                                                     

After   finishing   university   with   an  economist   diploma,   I   moved   into   the  accounting  department  before  progressing  to   Deputy   Chief   Accountant   within   three  years  of  work.   In  1989,  I   joined  first  state-­‐owned  audit  company  and  in  1990  moved  to  Ernst  &  Young.    I   worked   for   Ernst   &   Young   from   1990   –  2002  having  joined  them  as  audit  senior  in  Moscow   before   moving   to   Kiev   office   in  1991-­‐1993.  I  then  went  back  to  Kazakhstan  in   early   1993,   was   seconded   to   Seattle  office  of  Ernst  &  Young  in  1994-­‐1995,  and  became  Partner  of  Ernst  &  Young,  Central  Asia   in   1998,   and   Co-­‐Managing   Partner   in  2002.    In  2002,  after  unsuccessful  combination  of  EY   and   Andersen,   I   left   EY   and   joined  Deloitte,   as   Managing   Partner.   With   me  almost   70%  of   “legacy   EY”   people  moved  to   Deloitte.   Started   with   one   office   in  Kazakhstan,   comprising   40   people,   we  grew   to   the   Regional   practice   of   eight  offices  with  400  people  in  three  years.  In  2006,  I  moved  to  the  large  private  group  in  Kazakhstan  as  VP.  I  had  various  positions  within  this  group,  including  the  CFO  of  $10  billion   assets   bank.   The   bank   successfully  completed  IPO  on  LSE  in  2007.    I  was,  in  2009-­‐2010,  the  Country  Managing  Director   of   G4S   Kazakhstan   and   grew   the  business   from   $20m   to   almost   $40m  within   one   year.   Then   I   moved   to   G4S  Romania,   in   2010-­‐2011   and  worked   there  as  interim  Country  Managing  Director.    In  2011-­‐12,  I  have  started  and  established  the  Grant  Thornton  practice  in  Kazakhstan.  Currently,   it   is   fifth   largest   audit   company  in   the  country  with  around  60  people  and  $3-­‐4m  turnover.    

What  qualifications  relevant  to  your  current  position  do  you  hold?    I  am  Certified  Public  Accountant  (CPA)  with  American  Institute  of  Certified  Public  Accountants  (AICPA).  But  more  relevant  are  my  experiences,  not  just  qualifications.    Please  explain  a  little  about  the  recruitment  opportunities  available  in  the  countries  in  which  you  operate.    We  will  cover  28  countries  and  have  offices  in  Slovakia,   Ukraine,   Romania,   Slovenia   and  Hungary.  The   region   (CEE   and   CIS)   represents   huge  opportunities   for   us.   There   are   all   the  major  industries   presented   in   the   region:   Energy;  Financial   Services;   Professional   and   Business  Services;   IT   and   Technologies;   Automotive;  Manufacturing;  FMCG  and  Retail.   What   type   of   roles   are   you   currently  recruiting  for?    We   are  working  on   different   roles   across   the  region,  such  as,  but  not  limited  to  •  FinanceDirector  •  Head  of  Audit  Department  in  the  audit  firm  •  Logistics  and  Transportation  Manager  •  Director  of  Auto  Dealership  •  Sales,  Purchase  Managers  and  Specialists  for  retail  network  •  Various  IT  positions  –  Java  Developers,  etc  •  HR  specialists  and  managers  •  Accounting  specialists  •  Other    As  you  can  see   from  the  above  examples,  we  are  not  working  on  Executive  /  Top  levels.  This  is   due   to   the   fact   that   countries   we   are  operating  in  now  are  not  the  major  economies  of   the   region   and   therefore,   we   are   focusing  more  on  volume  type  of  work.  The   strategy  will  be  different   for   those   larger  markets  in  the  region  –  for  example  Russia.  

                                                                                 

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What  does  it  mean  to  you  to  be  a  part  of  CNA  and  the  Pertemps  Network  group  of  companies?    CNA   has   great   methodology   (CABS)   and  offers  high  quality  training  and  support  to  us.   It   is   also   very   important   for   us   to   be  part  of  such  large  and  diversified  group  as  Pertemps   Network   Group.   There   many  things  that  need  to  be  done  from  our  side  to  enable  us   to  be  better-­‐connected  with  other  CNA  and  Pertemps  offices.    We  will  invest  more  time  and  resources  to  establish   strong   communication   and  networking   with   the   rest   of   the   group.  Hopefully,   those   initiatives   will   result   on  more  business  opportunities  for  all  parties  and  sides.    What   do   you   bring   personally   to   the  recruitment  industry  and  to  CNA?    I   have   strong   knowledge   of   Professional  Services   Industry,   Security   Solution  Industry   and   Banking.   I   have   cross-­‐regional  experiences  in  CEE  and  CIS.  I  have  many   years   of   successful   experiences   to  build,  lead  and  grow  regional  practices.    I   am   bringing  with  me   the   best   practices  of   how   to   build,   develop,   manage   and  lead   consulting   practices   –   this   is   often  missing  in  the  recruitment  companies.        

What  do  you  see  as   the  biggest  challenges  to   your   business   and   how   to   you   plan   to  overcome  them?    There   are   many   challenges   we   are   going  through  and  will  continue  to  go  through,  but  I  could   not   highlight   the   one   that   we   cannot  overcome  or  which  makes  me  at   all   nervous.  There   will   be   many   difficulties   and   issues   in  front   of   us,   but   nothing   that   could   stop   us  from  achieving  our  plans  and  targets.    What’s   life   like   for   you   away   from   the  office?   I  am  married  with  kids.  Our  oldest  (daughter)  studied   in   USA,   and   is   now   working   as  Marketing  Manager  in  Moscow.  Our  youngest  (son)   is   with   us   in   Bratislava.   He   is   at  Secondary  II  this  year.    I   like   sports   and   was   the   member   of   the  Kazakhstan   Youths   National   Football   Team,  but  it  was  long  time  ago.  I  would  like  to  invest  more   of   my   personal   time   into   golf   and  planning  to  re-­‐start  training  this  year.    I   think   that   I   am   good   in   maintaining   a  work/life  balance  –  something  I  have  gradually  learned  and  built   during  my  past  experiences  within   the   ‘Big  4’.   So   at   this   stage,   for  me   to  keep   the   right   balance   between   work   and  personal  life  is  not  something  which  critical...