Andres Henao has worked as an executive recruitment consultant for almost fifteen years, initially in London, where he was raised, followed by Colombia, where he was born. Andres has just been named as the new Managing Director for Monroe Consulting Group Mexico, which is an exciting prospect for not only the company’s operations in Latin America, but the wider Group. Andres sat down for an interview with journalist Rebecca McLeay to outline his vision for the executive search agency.
Question. Hi Andres, congratulations on your appointment as Managing Director of Monroe Consulting Group Mexico. What are your first impressions of the executive recruitment agency and its team of headhunters?
Answer. Monroe Mexico has long been established and the company’s recruitment consultants are highly regarded in the recruitment industry. It is a real pleasure to step into the company’s office in Mexico City and meet them in person. I was immediately impressed by the professionalism of the consultants, their focus on their jobs, how friendly they are and the overall atmosphere. Monroe’s business model, technology-based approach to recruitment, the training of its staff, its 12-step recruitment methodology and the opportunity that the business has in Mexico attracted me to the company and it is great to see this in action.
Q. We will get back to Monroe, but can you please share your history. I understand you were born in Colombia, raised in England and got into recruitment in London.
A. I was born in Colombia but I have lived in London for most of my life. I grew up watching the Gunners and managed to join a well-established international executive search agency as a headhunter after finishing my studies back in 2005. I literally fell in love with an industry that allows you to change lives and contribute to the growth of the economy on a continuous basis. There is no better way of you doing this than in recruitment.
Q. And how did you make the jump from Colombia to Mexico, where you have worked in an executive role for an established international recruitment company for the last 12 years?
A: Everything started in 2016 when I considered moving to Colombia as it was always one of my goals to work in the part of the world where I was born and more important, to move to an emerging economy where there is a huge opportunity to add value from my experience and grow the business rapidly.
Q: As you know Monroe operates in Latin America also, with Monroe Chile doing good things for the group. As an expert in both markets, what are the major differences?
A. The difference between the two countries is based in how mature the Mexican market. In Mexico, many companies see the real added value of using recruitment services as this reduces recruitment times and alleviates the burden placed on internal talent and human resources teams. The is particularly true where sector expertise is required plus the size of the industry here in Mexico gives us a massive opportunity to grow our business.
Q. What do you see as some of the main growth areas in the Mexican market with the greatest potential for recruitment.
A. Being a manufacturing country gives us a big opportunity and this reflects in our current pipeline is dominated by the industrial sector. Technology is also huge for us with information technology and technology hubs in Guadalajara, Monterrey and Mexico City.
Q. What do you hope to achieve in the short-term?
A. With the combination of my experience, the team’s experience and the tools that we have available from Monroe we will be much better able to consolidate our existing clients, expand these relationships, and map out our key growth areas. This obviously applies to the industrial and technology industries but also fast-moving consumer goods, health and our professional services, which covers things like banking, finance and insurance. Monroe is strong in these areas in all of the countries in which it operates and we want to continue to be successful also.