Significant business experience in emerging markets may have been the tipping point for the appointment of Patrick De Maeseneire as Adecco’s new chief executive.

In a 2 April announcement, De Maeseneire was revealed as Dieter Scheiff’s successor at the recruitment giant. De Maeseneire, a Belgian
who worked for Adecco in major roles between 1998 and 2002, is the chief executive of chocolate manufacturer Barry Callebaut.

Adecco board of directors chairman Rolf Dörig told Recruiter that De Maeseneire would bring with him strong experience in European markets, as well as in North America. He also “brings a lot of expertise in emerging markets — he has done a lot of work there”, Dörig said. “Emerging
markets will be a growing market, over the long term, for Adecco.”

De Maeseneire’s extensive global experience was given as a key reason for his replacement of Scheiff at Adecco’s helm. Scheiff, Dörig said, “brought Adecco over the coals… he laid a very solid foundation. Nothing was done in the wrong way, but long term, I personally was of the opinion that we were looking for much more global and international leadership”.

However, Dörig emphasised that Adecco’s overall business strategy will “remain unchanged” in the wake of the changeover of CEOs.

Under De Maeseneire’s leadership, Dörig said Adecco will still “refocus on organic growth as well as try to look after acquisitions” — the latter of which, Dörig said, must be “financially feasible and disciplined” for the company to pursue them. He refused to “speculate” about any approach to UK-headquartered, international recruiter SThree.

De Maeseneire will become CEO on 1 June. Scheiff will leave Adecco at the end of April.