Perhaps we could start by saying that Keith Ogilvie is a tracker, but that would probably be an understatement. We could go up a level and say he is a hunter because, definitely, he hunts treasures for his clients. But, if we are talking about recruitment, especially if it is executive search and talent, we could define the new Managing Consultant at AquacultureTalent as a professional. So simple, but sometimes so complicated to find.
With more than 30 years of experience, most of it working in contracting and training in the oil and gas, renewable energy, engineering, and construction sectors, Keith is a new talent for aquaculture and fisheries. But, as he says, "you never really stop learning, it's a big learning curve our lives". This "old man", as he claims to define himself, is anything but outdated. Non-conformist, enthusiastic, curious, and, of course, ambitious, this professional, a lover of challenges, sharing ideas, and teamwork, is here ready to take risks. Everything you need to attract top talent to this industry.
"I'm an old man, so I'm not sure about developing my career". When AquacultureTalent's new Managing Consultant says that during our conversation he is not being serious. He doesn't even clarify; he doesn't need to. Everything else in his speech exudes the energy of a beginner but, in his case, it is accompanied by the wisdom of an experienced man. A while later, he will tell us: "With regards to developing my own career, I think that's still a possibility. I think the fact that I'm moving into a different genre and a different sort of area even at my age. I've always said to people that you never really stop learning, it's a big learning curve our lives. If you become complacent and say, 'you can't show me anything that I don't know', that's maybe when it's time to stop". Definitively, it's not his.
Keith Ogilvie has arrived at a new company and feels comfortable. He likes the culture of the Norwegian-Scandinavian. "I'm Scottish, so there's quite a good blend there", he resumes. But that's not the only reason that has taken him to the company and, with it, to the aquaculture and fishing industry. "What attracted me to them also is the fact that they are moving in the right direction. It looks as though they have worked and are working with clients worldwide, that's something that I've done in the past of work for clients in the Middle East, Far East Australia, Canada, and the US. So, I think the fact that they're very strongly aligned with the US is again quite appealing to me". There is still more. After 30 years of career, Keith Ogilvie knows that when you work on a team you bounce off each other with ideas, and he enjoys doing it, especially with Cristian L. Popa Aved, the CEO and Co-founder of AquacultureTalent. "I like talking to Cristian about his goal, his ideas. He's young, he's got a great idea of vision, I want to be part of that vision, but I also want to give advice and new ideas".
His ability to listen and dialogue is a must for a recruiter who works with different companies. In Keith's opinion, a good consultant should be able to adapt to most scenarios as long as he or she knows the company's history and has a good job description and rapport. "I've worked in different sectors. The common denominator with all of that is communication and relationships building, so I don't see any major difference between let's say aquaculture and any other executive search companies that I've worked with". Relationships are no problem for him, his about 12,000 contacts worldwide with LinkedIn are proof of that. But he brings something more to the table, his experience of over three decades dealing with clients, difficult clients sometimes, "challenging clients", he calls them. "I think I have that ability to be professional as best I can at all times, and the quality of my work is something that I'm proud of".
After several years working in renewable energies, one of the fields in which Keith has plenty of experience is sustainability, a subject that interests him on a personal level as well – "we're at the point of no return, I think we have to do something for the global world that we're in", he says – and which has also been important in his decision to join the aquaculture and fisheries industry for two main reasons. "I'm quite choosy and selective about whom I want to work for, even at my age, and I think more and more the fact that AquacultureTalent comes from Scandinavia, they are by nature pretty much up on the renewables and sustainables", he tells us. But there's something else, "I think fishing people, fishing communities, are well aware of sustainability when it comes to fishing in various parts of the world. So, I definitely feel that there is an alignment and synergy between what I've done with over the last eight years, especially in the sustainable, to where I'm going now with AquacultureTalent and that excites me as well".
"Sustainability has been pushed by many companies, by many governments worldwide, it's something that I think we're all pretty aware of when it comes to climate change or cost of fuel for fishing boats to go out", he says, and adds that "the cost of landing fish, when it comes to the fuel that everyone's worried about worldwide, I think that's going to perhaps could sway or dictate the level of people that the client will take on board, or if they will indeed be looking for additional support for executive search". Everything is related and problems that seem far away, end up affecting the rest, but the Managing Consultant of AquacultureTalent knows that his role is precisely to alleviate some of these concerns and problems of the companies in the sector, empathize with them and offer candidates for the difficulties they may have. "A feeling I got in the future is more companies will be looking for troubleshooters to come in with the positive idea they've had this experience before, they've faced challenges before", he claims. There he is, along with the rest of the team, ready to "show them that we're on board with them literally".
As Keith points out, we are certainly in a challenging time for the industry, but as he also rightly highlights, the economy is supplying a demand, and with fishing and aquaculture, despite the price that comes out, "people will always want to have to eat fish, seafood, always, albeit perhaps less, but there's always going to be a need for that, regardless of where it is geographically". Major challenges lie ahead for the sector but for him, challenges are a good thing. "It's everything's going to be with problems, but it's how you tackle the problems in a positive way. And you have to be able to converse and communicate with your client and your candidates that you've looked at all of the negative scenarios positive, and this is the idea that you come up with, and then your opinion they should look at using yourselves AquacultureTalent as a company not just in the UK but worldwide".
In addition to sustainability and the difficult economic scenario ahead, there is another common challenge for any recruiter and especially significant in the seafood industry: how to attract and retain talent. An experienced professional like Keith Ogilvie is clear that, first, he must know the client and the company culture, he must know its main competitors too, and then, tap into looking at the job titles and get various names. For him, most of his candidates are passive, they are not actively looking for a new position, that's why he tells us that the attraction part is normally "a softly approached rather than a hard sell". He never says "you must apply for this job", for him it's always about talking and building a relationship. "I think you're gaining the trust of the potential candidate as well as the trust of the client", he explains. And, with regards to how to retain it, "again it goes back to the quality of delivery that I pride myself in", he says, "so, be nice to think that a candidate can quite easily become a client, so we have that ongoing relationship even when you place them". And summarizes, "the retaining side is only as good as the person in the product that you place and that you still have a good relationship with".
He knows that relationships with clients are all in this industry. "For me, music to my ears is to repeat business with a client that you've nurtured, and you've listened to what their needs are, and you haven't supplied them with somebody that you think they want, you've supplied them with somebody that you know they want, and you know they're going to meet all the culture needs and the reason for wanting to work for them". It's a slow process not doubt, but Keith is not in a hurry. "I'm not in this business to perhaps be just a number or name for other agents, I want to be exclusive with that client". Differentiating himself from the rest, showcasing expertise, is key in Ogilvie's vision of the recruitment business. That's why he is happy with his arrival at AquacultureTalent. "It's because we're one step above the agency. We're definitely when it comes to things like fishing there's a niche market, so we have to be really careful how we align ourselves and who we work with", he states.
Another key aspect of working at AquacultureTalent is its global presence. This, which as he told us at the beginning was one of the reasons Keith opted for his new position, also makes the job more challenging, as you not only have to find the right candidate professionally but also culturally. This is not easy to achieve, although Keith makes it look simple, "you have to be on the ball before you submit any candidates to work in other parts of the world", he says, "you pick that up over years, I suppose". The experienced professional is talking again.
As he says, "after 30 years, it's a cliche when I say I've seen everything", but he really does. He has worked in-house for clients, done contingency, done executive search, he has been a manager, he has been a director, he has mentored people… within recruitment, he has seen and done almost everything. So, when we ask him what he can bring to the table of AquacultureTalent and the seafood industry, he simply says: "Well, it's probably alleviating some of the clients' concerns, and answering the questions as best I can, giving my advice as best I can. I'm here to grow the business in the UK, Scotland, wherever it's going to be. So, I will take pride in the work that I deliver, and I would like to think that if my resources are, or my experience is needed elsewhere in AquacultureTalent, I'm happy to do that".
To achieve this, Keith Ogilvie relies on his extensive knowledge of people. When we ask him about people he quickly answers, "it's all about that". We are talking with a recruiter, people are his work. The human factor, how to approach the candidates… "Everything in recruitment is relationship building and I've done that all my life", he claims. "It's just all about people that I work with. What can I offer them? What can they give to me as well? And I'm not talking about monetary, I'm talking about experiences", he continues. "In this industry, if you don't like people, you'll find out pretty quickly that it's perhaps the wrong industry for someone to be in", he concludes. If we often say that the seafood industry it's not about fish but about people, for a recruiter in the aquaculture and fisheries sector, this statement makes perfect sense. As he summarizes, "it's not just a case of throwing the CV to the client, it is a case of the candidate before they go". There are clients, there are candidates but, before and after, there are people.
Strongly focused on the customer, AquacultureTalent's new Managing Consultant always has people in mind, not only on the other side of the business but also looking inward, to the team, "because with the highs there's always lows, but things are going back to the human factor". Sometimes he will motivate his colleagues, sometimes it will be the other way around. "We can pick up on each other's moods, we can pick on up on each other's motivation or lack of, and we can help each other", he says, "to me, that's just all about the human factor in relationships". He knows no one day is the same, there's always something happening, "but that's the beauty of this work that we do". And so, as a team, as the challenges come along, he – they -, will tackle them. "I think if we work as a team and if I work individually, we could probably cross those problems. We can get through that".
We started by saying that Keith Ogilvie is a new talent for aquaculture and fisheries with more than 30 years of experience. That number, or perhaps the about 12,000 contacts worldwide with LinkedIn he has, are the only important ones on his resume, and they are because they give an idea of his human relationships, the real strength of this professional who has become the new Managing Consultant at AquacultureTalent. With his experience and his devotion to teamwork, the journey that now begins promises to be an exciting challenge for him. Welcome to the aquaculture and fisheries industry, Keith, enjoy it!
