CASE STUDY
Polestar (New York) - Strengthening Finance Leadership in a Pivotal Growth Phase
Polestar, the performance electric vehicle brand born out of Volvo and Geely, is redefining the future of sustainable automotive innovation. With operations spanning Europe, Asia and North America, their New York office plays a vital role in financial governance and reporting for one of the world’s most exciting EV brands.
Challenge: Securing Senior Finance Talent During a Critical Transition
At a time of internal transformation and heightened reporting demands, Polestar’s New York finance team faced an urgent need for senior technical expertise. They had struggled to attract and secure candidates who could meet the bar, particularly within the fast-paced and high-expectation environment of a global scale-up.
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Polestar turned to ECW Search after a direct introduction via our extensive automotive network across the UK, Europe and US. They needed a specialist headhunter with deep sector knowledge, credibility in the finance space and the ability to access passive talent not visible to the wider market.
Key Search Data & Process Insights
Senior hire delivered
Senior Technical Accountant - responsible for high-level accounting, compliance and financial reporting standards within the North American business
Time to shortlist
17 working days
Time to hire
47 days from initial brief to offer acceptance
Interview process
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Stage 1: Video interview with US finance leadership
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Stage 2: Global panel interview with stakeholders in Sweden
Candidate profile requirements
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Big Four-trained accountant with exposure to both audit and in-house technical accounting environments
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Experience working in a high-growth, international organisation
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High degree of technical precision, analytical thinking and resilience in a complex reporting environment
Additional value delivered
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Headhunted directly from a Big Four firm, bypassing market noise and internal competition
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Provided candidate briefing and expectation alignment with US and Swedish finance teams
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Supported onboarding and integration with guidance around candidate relocation and role scope clarification
Result
Polestar successfully secured a top-tier finance professional to anchor their technical accounting capability in North America. The candidate is now playing a key role in supporting complex compliance, global reporting obligations and internal controls - at a time when Polestar is scaling rapidly and preparing for further growth.
This assignment underlines ECW Search’s ability to operate globally while delivering with speed, discretion and precision. By combining deep automotive insight with a specialist finance headhunting approach, we continue to help innovative brands like Polestar build the senior talent infrastructure they need to succeed on the global stage.