The corporate banker who knew Lae, and wanted to stay

The Challenge

Our client, a leading financial services institution operating in PNG, needed to fill a senior, expatriate-held role in Lae, a location and market known for being a difficult hiring environment. The role required strong, broad-based banking experience and a proven track record managing corporate and commercial relationships, along with someone willing to relocate to and live in Lae long-term. Just as critically, the client needed someone hands-on — able to roll up their sleeves, share knowledge, mentor the local team, and build lasting capability on the ground.

What We Did

We worked closely with the client to deeply understand the role beyond the job description — the scale and complexity of the portfolio, the regional relationship style required, and critically, the cultural fit needed to succeed in a branch culture quite different from the client’s head office.

Taking a “One Team” approach, we aligned closely with the client’s internal stakeholder throughout the process to ensure any candidate presented matched both the technical brief and the on-the-ground realities of living and working in Lae, with a genuine track record of relationship management, capability-building and mentoring.

Given the requirement for an expatriate candidate with direct regional or emerging-market banking experience, our search was international from the outset.

The Result

Within one month, we identified and presented two highly suitable candidates. Both had direct prior experience in Lae, existing relationships with the client base, and a strong track record from a competitor institution — one progressed through interviews and was offered the role.

Client Feedback

The successful candidate matches perfectly, ticks all the boxes. He knows Lae, has lived in Lae, wants to live in Lae, knows the clients, and said all the right things about mentoring and developing staff. He gets it.