Founded in 2002, Boston-based Azimuth quickly became the leading provider of wireless broadband test equipment and channel emulators. In 2006, Jim Iuliano was brought on board to accomplish what may be one of the greatest challenges a new CEO can face: to change the direction of the company. Azimuth was already successful, but the market was providing to be too small to maintain growth.

"Azimuth was already successful in the wireless realm, but was looking to expand into other areas. I was brought in to help strategically diversify the company, and one of the first opportunities I saw was in next generation wireless and cellular," says Iuliano. A self-described "high-technology generalist," Iuliano knew that he would need to add people to the executive team who had considerable experience in these new domains.

Iuliano turned to J. Robert Scott Managing Director, Aaron Lapat to head the search for the first new hire, the Vice President of Marketing. "My relationship with Aaron goes back a decade to multiple companies, and he’s helped me on a number of successful executive searches," says Iuliano.

"Part of why Aaron is my go-to-guy is that I rate him very, very high on understanding the nuances of the cultural fit. A lot of recruiters are good at taking a spec sheet and finding candidates with the right industry experience, but the mortality rate is high because of ‘chemistry misfits’...but Aaron screens for that, and only presents me with qualified candidates who will also be the right cultural fit for the company." He needed to get the cultural fit right while finding the appropriate domain expertise to help change the direction of the company.

Jim Iuliano understood that recruiting talent from the cellular world, with its tangible appeal of creating new mobile devices, into the "less sexy" world of test and measurement, wouldn’t be easy. In addition, the talent pool was not in Azimuth’s backyard, but further west, so relocation would be an additional challenge. Next generation wireless and cellular were new areas for Iuliano, he wanted to see as many candidates as possible to help him get a feel for the space and make connections.

Aaron Lapat was unfazed. He and his team went to work and located 17 excellent candidates, with several stand-outs. One shone particularly bright. "Our first finalist candidate had much of what Azimuth was looking for," says Lapat. "Deep domain expertise, he was well-connected in the next-generation wireless world, had experience in large and small companies, and the chemistry with the team was strong." Unfortunately, he was ultimately prevented from relocating to Boston for family concerns.

"In light of things not working out with the first candidate, we could have encouraged Azimuth to reconsider some of the earlier candidates," says Aaron Lapat. "But it’s not the way we do things. We don’t try to force fit solutions. We were determined to go out and find someone they would feel equally excited about hiring."

That someone turned out to be George Reed, then Senior Director of Wireless Access at Fujitsu. Reed was responsible for the entry of key new products into the North American market. As it turned out, he was frustrated with large company life and was ready to move to a smaller company where he could have a greater impact.

"Aaron spent a lot of time delving into what made George tick, and how he’d make the cultural transition from a big company to a smaller one...Now it’s been months and George fits in beautifully. He’s relishing -- and really thriving in -- the role of decision-maker at an executive level.