Former Coach CEO Lew Frankfort reshaped senior hiring by demanding an “investment-grade” leadership team built to guide brands through pressure and change.
During his tenure at Coach, Frankfort sought experienced executives with varied backgrounds, strong judgment, and skills that complemented the CEO’s own knowledge. The company also wanted leaders who could work together and fit its culture.
Past hiring mistakes prompted Coach to adopt a deeper, more interactive interview process. Known as immersive interviewing, the three-phase method assessed candidates on both their values and their ability to perform.
Building a Team Ready for Adversity
Frankfort’s “investment-grade” standard borrowed language commonly associated with financial strength and reliability. At Coach, it described leaders trusted to make sound decisions under difficult conditions.
The leadership team needed to be “investment-grade.”
Experience alone was not enough. Frankfort wanted professionals who had grown brands through adversity, not only during periods of easy expansion. Such experience could show how candidates handled uncertainty, setbacks, and competing demands.
The strategy also recognized that a CEO should not be the sole source of expertise. Coach looked for executives with deep knowledge in specific fields. Their skills needed to fill gaps, support colleagues, and improve collective decision-making.
This approach treated leadership as a shared effort. The goal was a collaborative group whose members could challenge ideas while remaining aligned with the company’s culture and direction.
Learning From Earlier Hiring Errors
Coach refined its selection process after previous hiring mistakes. Those experiences suggested that standard interviews and résumé reviews could leave major questions unanswered.
A candidate might have the right titles and technical skills yet struggle with teamwork, decision-making, or cultural expectations. Senior appointments magnify those risks because executives influence strategy, staff behavior, and the wider organization.
The company therefore placed more weight on understanding the whole candidate. Its interviews examined two broad areas:
- Values, including how a candidate worked with others and matched Coach’s culture.
- Capabilities, including the practical skills and judgment required to succeed and grow.
The shift did not reduce the importance of professional expertise. Instead, it treated expertise as one part of a larger assessment. Leadership potential depended on what candidates could do, how they behaved, and whether they could develop inside the company.
A Three-Phase Test of Leadership Fit
Immersive interviewing used three phases to create a fuller view of each executive candidate. The process was designed to be more thorough and interactive than a conventional interview.
Although the individual phases were not detailed, the method’s purpose was clear. Repeated interaction gave interviewers more chances to compare a candidate’s claims with their responses, values, and working style.
This structure could also reduce reliance on first impressions. A polished résumé or strong opening conversation may influence hiring decisions, but neither always predicts performance in a demanding leadership role.
At the same time, cultural fit can be difficult to judge fairly. Companies must define the term carefully so it does not become a preference for familiar personalities or similar backgrounds. Coach’s emphasis on diverse experience suggests fit was meant to support collaboration without requiring sameness.
Lessons for Executive Recruitment
Coach’s experience offers a practical warning for companies filling senior roles. Technical qualifications may help a candidate enter the process, but they do not reveal the person’s full capacity to lead.
A stronger assessment examines past decisions, behavior during hardship, ability to work across specialties, and alignment with organizational values. It also asks whether the candidate can keep learning after being hired.
Frankfort’s model framed executive recruitment as a long-term investment rather than a quick vacancy-filling exercise. The main lesson is that leadership strength comes from both individual talent and the way a team works together.
For employers, the next challenge is to make immersive interviews consistent and fair while preserving their depth. Clear standards for values and capabilities can help. Coach’s approach shows why the best senior hire is not always the strongest résumé, but the person most prepared to contribute, adapt, and grow with the organization.
