• Search

    “Flying high like an eagle to spot
    the best candidates”

  • SELECTION & ASSESSMENT

    “Thorough testing of candidates
    to make the right choice”

  • guarantee & onboarding

    "Ensuring the adaptation of the candidate to the new role
    in order to stay at the top"

About Us

Why Sedna Executive Search?

We founded Sedna in order to offer a boutique service to our customers in the Consumer and Retail sector. Anselm as a manager and Martin as an Executive Search expert provide clients with a personal, accessible approach, giving clear feedback, a trusting partnership based on a true long-term customer relationship rather than a transactional contact for a project.

We have the genuine desire to do things differently. Our belief is that any talent search should be defined by commitment, quality, integrity & trust, entrepreneurial spirit & courage, attributes that form the core values of Sedna.

At our boutique company, the customer will deal directly with the person who will work on the search, maintaining a more direct relationship. It is not the job description that makes the right hire. It is more complex than that. We are talking about understanding the client, the company culture, its strategy etc.

The quality of our search process is implemented in the briefing, search, evaluation & assessment and onboarding procedures. Based on this quality our clients have a 6 months guarantee on each contracted candidate. The objective for us is not volume and quantity but is all about retain and quality.

Sedna Executive Search is focused on a specific sector: Consumer & Retail. Therefore we are offering more in-depth knowledge to our clients and we are able to identify candidates faster than the more generalist firms.

We have at Sedna a smaller company structure, less bureaucracy and more possibilities to adapt the organization to specific client needs.

For companies we have access to national and international candidates. At the same time, we offer candidates job opportunities in different countries.

At Sedna Executive Search, we believe in giving back to the community. We are a proud sponsor of Save the Children. Save the Children believes that every child deserves a future. In Spain and around the world they give children a healthy start in life, the opportunity to learn and protection from violence.

The Personal Approach

At our boutique company, the customer will deal directly with the person who will work on the search, maintaining a more direct relationship. It is not the job description that makes the right hire. It is more complex than that. We are talking about understanding the client, the company culture, its strategy etc.

Total Quality Process

The quality of our search process is implemented in the briefing, search, evaluation & assessment and onboarding procedures. Based on this quality our clients have a 6 months guarantee on each contracted candidate. The objective for us is not volume and quantity but is all about retain and quality.

Sector Expertise and in-depth knowledge

Sedna Executive Search is focused on a specific sector: Consumer & Retail. Therefore we are offering more in-depth knowledge to our clients and we are able to identify candidates faster than the more generalist firms.

Flexibility

We have at Sedna a smaller company structure, less bureaucracy and more possibilities to adapt the organization to specific client needs.

Global Reach

For companies we have access to national and international candidates. At the same time, we offer candidates job opportunities in different countries.

Social Responsibility

At Sedna Executive Search, we believe in giving back to the community. We are a proud sponsor of Save the Children. Save the Children believes that every child deserves a future. In Spain and around the world they give children a healthy start in life, the opportunity to learn and protection from violence.

Core Values

We strive to be innovative, creative and “different”.
We take considered risks and we are upfront about mistakes.
We are in-tune with our passion for the business.
We are realistic but optimistic, we always look for an alternative way to reach the objective.

We continue where others give up. It does take a lot of smart and hard work to get to results. We are resilient and succeed where others do not.
We focus on the excitement of the achievement process.

We are honest, straightforward and accountable: we do, what we say.
We respect privacy of information and discretion at all time.
We always take a long-term perspective with clients and candidates based on mutual respect.
We are committed to the professional code of conduct of the AESC.

We adhere to the highest professional standards.
We are more even more demanding than our client partner.
We are always questioning how it can be done better.

Entrepreneurial Spirit

We strive to be innovative, creative and “different”.
We take considered risks and we are upfront about mistakes.
We are in-tune with our passion for the business.
We are realistic but optimistic, we always look for an alternative way to reach the objective.

Commitment

We continue where others give up. It does take a lot of smart and hard work to get to results. We are resilient and succeed where others do not.
We focus on the excitement of the achievement process.

Integrity & Trust

We are honest, straightforward and accountable: we do, what we say.
We respect privacy of information and discretion at all time.
We always take a long-term perspective with clients and candidates based on mutual respect.
We are committed to the professional code of conduct of the AESC.

Quality

We adhere to the highest professional standards.
We are more even more demanding than our client partner.
We are always questioning how it can be done better.

OUR SEARCH PROCESS

SERVICES

The retail and consumer industries move at an incredibly rapid pace and success of organizations nowadays depends strongly on their human resources. Companies are not only competing with each other for clients, but also for talented managers. It is key, but certainly not an easy task to attract them. We at Sedna identify active job seekers, even more important, in addition we are specialized in identifying candidates who are not looking actively for a job (the so called passive candidates) and we turn them into active ones.

“Therefore, companies who understand that attracting great managers is a result of systematic and active research with the right company branding, will chose Sedna."

“Before you are a leader, success is all about growing yourself. When you become a leader, success is all about growing others” …..Jack Welch

Sedna identifies and attracts the best senior management: our recruitment is confidential, accurately targeted tool for the selection of chief executive officers, managing directors, management team members and board members.

Sedna further offers an optional 6-months “Rapid Impact Coaching” program, a special onboarding service for senior management to maximise the newly appointed leader’s effectiveness and success.

“Focus on being productive instead of being busy” …..Tim Ferris

Executive Search is also an excellent method for recruiting middle management when it is difficult to find people with the right competences or when it is not wished to publicize the recruitment. The person sought can be of any functional mid-level, such as sales, marketing, operations or finance.

“If you want to attract talent and wait until you need to hire, you are already too late. Start to build your talent pipeline today to be ready tomorrow.“

Sedna Talent Management offers a strategic service to change Re-active recruitment to Pro-active recruitment: Talent Pipelines. A Talent Pipeline is an internal or external pool of candidates who are qualified to assume open positions that have been newly created or vacated through retirement or promotion. Having a talent pipeline ensures that roles will not go unfilled for long periods or that people are not promoted before they are ready. Pipelining is about foresight: about engaging now with the people who will run your business in the future.

Sedna SENIOR MANAGEMENT

“Before you are a leader, success is all about growing yourself. When you become a leader, success is all about growing others” …..Jack Welch

Sedna identifies and attracts the best senior management: our recruitment is confidential, accurately targeted tool for the selection of chief executive officers, managing directors, management team members and board members.

Sedna further offers an optional 6-months “Rapid Impact Coaching” program, a special onboarding service for senior management to maximise the newly appointed leader’s effectiveness and success.

Sedna Middle Management

“Focus on being productive instead of being busy” …..Tim Ferris

Executive Search is also an excellent method for recruiting middle management when it is difficult to find people with the right competences or when it is not wished to publicize the recruitment. The person sought can be of any functional mid-level, such as sales, marketing, operations or finance.

Sedna Talent Management

“If you want to attract talent and wait until you need to hire, you are already too late. Start to build your talent pipeline today to be ready tomorrow.“

Sedna Talent Management offers a strategic service to change Re-active recruitment to Pro-active recruitment: Talent Pipelines. A Talent Pipeline is an internal or external pool of candidates who are qualified to assume open positions that have been newly created or vacated through retirement or promotion. Having a talent pipeline ensures that roles will not go unfilled for long periods or that people are not promoted before they are ready. Pipelining is about foresight: about engaging now with the people who will run your business in the future.

Team

Martin Poppe
Founder and Managing Partner:

Martin has more than 25 years of international experience in Human Resources, Sales Management and Executive Search:

Martin obtained more than 10 years Human Resources experience in the Netherlands, mainly in “on the job training and counselling” at the healthcare, retail and logistic sector. Later in Spain he was Operations and Sales Manager at international logistic companies before starting at Nexus Executive Search, part of IMD International Search Group. After a global role at Nexus, Martin became Associate Director at IHR Consultancy, reinforcing their international business. During his last episode of more than 5 years at Nexus, he was Division Director for the Consumer and Retail practice.

Martin holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Human Resources
at the Saxion University of Applied Sciences in the Netherlands
and speaks Dutch, English, German and Spanish.

Anselm Van den Auwelant
Managing Partner:

Anselm has almost 30 years of extensive experience in international Retail, and managing different brands globally:

Anselm was President of Fashion and Teens, at the Alshaya Retail Division in Kuwait. Alshaya Retail franchises 70 of the world’s best-known brands with 2,500 stores, operating in 19 countries across the Middle East and North Africa, Russia, Turkey and Europe. From 2003 to 2013 Anselm was CEO and Chairman of Grupo Cortefiel in Spain. Grupo Cortefiel is present in 72 countries and holds more than 2000 stores worldwide with a turnover of approx. one billion. Anselm also was Member of the Board at JBC Belgium, a leading fashion retailer with shops throughout Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany and Member of the Board at Tino Gonzales, one of the biggest shoe retailers in Spain.

Anselm has a Bachelor`s Degree in Financial & Commercial Science issued by the Erasmus Business School in Brussels and speaks French, Flemish, English, Spanish and German.

TESTIMONIALS

  • “I have had the opportunity to work with Martin, and I must say he has always been a professional who has exceeded my expectations. I believe him to be rigorous, effective and methodical, and he is always committed with all projects entrusted to him showing excellent results.

    Furthermore, he handles perfectly at the international level, maintaining an extensive network of contacts without losing project management and accomplishing an essential accompaniment role. As a headhunter and as a person, I think he’s an ace.”

    HR Director Multinational Retail & Restaurant Business

  • “I have been working with Martin regularly in the past fifteen years and he has been delivering excellent candidates for high level jobs for several companies I have been responsible for.”

    CEO Retail Multinational Do It Yourself (DIY) Spain

  • “I had the opportunity to meet Martin Poppe for the first time during the summer of 2014 as a candidate for a Managing Director position. I was gratefully impacted by his professionality and his ability to understand and communicate the needs for the post. Martin was perfectly matching the needs that his customer at the HQ was targeting and he was also aligning them very well with the conditions and needs of the subsidiary in Spain. Additionally, I appreciated the way he acted as interface with his customers (candidate and company), facilitating a fair negotiation of both sides, leading to a successful closure of the process. “

    Country Manager for Spain and Portugal, Global Company in Instrumentation and Electrical Equipment

  • “It has been great experience for me being advised by Martin during several selection processes (of which two of them lead to an effective career change). His approach, let you as an executive understand the dynamics of a selection process, which has been crucial to me. You learn how to avoid some common mistakes as a candidate and at the same time he gives more insight into the challenges companies are facing in contracting a candidate. Summarizing: his advice has been sincere, straight and clear.”

    CEO International Food Packaging Industry

Companies

  • “I have had the opportunity to work with Martin, and I must say he has always been a professional who has exceeded my expectations. I believe him to be rigorous, effective and methodical, and he is always committed with all projects entrusted to him showing excellent results.

    Furthermore, he handles perfectly at the international level, maintaining an extensive network of contacts without losing project management and accomplishing an essential accompaniment role. As a headhunter and as a person, I think he’s an ace.”

    HR Director Multinational Retail & Restaurant Business

  • “I have been working with Martin regularly in the past fifteen years and he has been delivering excellent candidates for high level jobs for several companies I have been responsible for.”

    CEO Retail Multinational Do It Yourself (DIY) Spain

CANDIDATES

  • “I had the opportunity to meet Martin Poppe for the first time during the summer of 2014 as a candidate for a Managing Director position. I was gratefully impacted by his professionality and his ability to understand and communicate the needs for the post. Martin was perfectly matching the needs that his customer at the HQ was targeting and he was also aligning them very well with the conditions and needs of the subsidiary in Spain. Additionally, I appreciated the way he acted as interface with his customers (candidate and company), facilitating a fair negotiation of both sides, leading to a successful closure of the process. “

    Country Manager for Spain and Portugal, Global Company in Instrumentation and Electrical Equipment

  • “It has been great experience for me being advised by Martin during several selection processes (of which two of them lead to an effective career change). His approach, let you as an executive understand the dynamics of a selection process, which has been crucial to me. You learn how to avoid some common mistakes as a candidate and at the same time he gives more insight into the challenges companies are facing in contracting a candidate. Summarizing: his advice has been sincere, straight and clear.”

    CEO International Food Packaging Industry

Contact

If you would like to contract senior or middle managers, if you look for another career opportunity or if you just would like to receive more information about our services, we’d love to hear from you.

    Contact


    • Spain
      C / Serrano 110, 1º.
      28006 Madrid
      Tel. (+34) 911 924 860
      madrid@sednaexecutivesearch.com

      Belgium
      Avenue Louise 367
      1050 Brussel
      Tel. (+32) 2 642 00 77
      brussels@sednaexecutivesearch.com