Did you hear?… Herbert resigns from Sierra Designs, job posted in classifieds
Hearing on Feb. 21 that Mark Herbert, current president of Sierra Designs, had given notice and would be leaving to take a position with Intrawest Resorts as a vice president of business development really wasn't a surprise. What did catch us by surprise -- and quite a few others it turns out -- was seeing a classified posted by Sierra Designs seeking candidates for the job of president. A classified? For a president's position?
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Hearing on Feb. 21 that Mark Herbert, current president of Sierra Designs, had given notice and would be leaving to take a position with Intrawest Resorts as a vice president of business development really wasn’t a surprise. The Intrawest gig is a dream job, based out of Whistler, British Columbia — the Chamonix of the northwest to be sure. Herbert no doubt gets to make a heck of a lot more money than at SD and be on the front lines of resort real estate development heading into the next Winter Olympics. Hard to argue with that.
What did catch us by surprise — and quite a few others it turns out — was seeing a classified posted by Sierra Designs seeking candidates for the job of president. A classified? For a president’s position? A few folks who contacted us on Friday, March 3, could hardly contain the guffaws. Others were simply bewildered. Are we to imagine that there are not an adequate slate of candidates from both outside and inside the company (and there are some talented folk working at SD currently) that a classified became necessary? Sure, Sierra Designs’ sales haven’t exactly been tearing it up of late. Estimates place the company’s sales at or around the $18 million mark, but has the company slipped that much that a classified listing is the only way to drum up interested candidates?
We’re not sure how many executive-caliber folks cruise the classifieds these days, but apparently SD is hopeful that someone, somewhere, will be paging through listings on the web, skipping over all those lowly vice president listings in search of that ideal job — say, like a president or CEO position. To heck with thinking small. We’re also not very sure how news of this classified will sit with those candidates with executive experience that SD has already talked to or may talk to. Imagine the response: “Ummm, love your resume, … great recommendations,… We’re just going to shop around a bit with a classified or two…not that we’re saying you’re not good enough, but you know how it is in today’s market.…”
You gotta give SD props for thinking WAY out of the de rigeur candidate search on this one, though. So, while we’re at it, if any SNEWS® readers are interested in running Sierra Designs, email your cover letter, resume and salary history no later than March 31, 2006, to hr@americanrec.com.
Tell ’em SNEWS® sent you.
