Recruiting the ideal collaborators through the Kellogg-HKUST alumni network

Recruiting the ideal collaborators through the Kellogg-HKUST alumni network

Jerry Chang (Class of 2008), founder of tech-driven recruitment startup BaronsAI, and Managing Director of executive search firm Barons and Company, has over two decades of experience in the recruitment industry. So when it comes to identifying who is a perfect fit for a particular role, he has a deep well of experience to draw on.

Jerry and the two other members of the senior management team at BaronsAI are all EMBA alumni. Betty Lin (Class of 2004) is now an Associate Director of Dual-Degree Program and Associate Professor of Business Education at HKUST, after a successful management career in the tech sector. While Akihiko Katayama (Class of 2005) is Co-Founder of Sprint Milestone Partners, having previously held a number of prestigious positions at PWC and HSBC.

The inspiration for BaronsAI came at an alumni networking event two and a half years ago. “I know the pain points and how old fashioned and laborious the executive search process can be,” Jerry explains. “I told Betty my dream was that one day, I would say ‘Hey Siri, what are the jobs out there?’ And Siri would reply, ‘Puma and Nike are looking for a finance director and you are a great fit.’ And I’d say, ‘Please apply the jobs for me.’”

With all the required information in this scenario readily available, Betty brought her understanding of AI to turn the dream into reality. BaronsAI’s senior team was complete when Jerry met Akihiko when they were both judges of the Kellogg-HKUST participants’ start up ideas.

Jerry believes the traditional executive search model doesn’t always deliver for either employer or prospective employee. Only the biggest companies have applicant-tracking systems, businesses often fail to read all the CVs they received. So some applicants never get a fair shot at the jobs on offer, and businesses may miss out on the best candidates.

With the company currently at the early startup stage, Jerry is excited about BaronsAI’s potential. “What we’ve done is automate the whole process, from the digitisation of the CVs to the searching through 50,000-plus candidates. This now takes only a few seconds, which is something human beings can’t match.”

Numerous alumni have offered to help Jerry with the startup. This is something he has been grateful for but not entirely surprised by. When he enrolled in the program twelve years ago, Jerry was already a qualified CPA and a general manager, but he still had a lot to learn, he says. “The biggest takeaway was the network, and the people I met both during the process and afterwards.”

Along with any particular experience or skill set, completion of the Kellogg-HKUST program bestows its own special endorsement on a business professional, Jerry believes. “We find that we have common traits. In general the people accepted onto the program are smart and eloquent but also humble.”

He has always been very much in tune with the ethos of the program. Having been elected as one of the reps from his class, Jerry went on to hold the position of Co-President of the Kellogg Alumni Club of Hong Kong. “It’s not about what we can do, it’s about what we can do collectively and the ways in which we can support each other.”