The agri-food sector is undergoing profound transformations. Economic pressures, increasing regulatory requirements, environmental transition, rapidly evolving consumer expectations, and tensions around human resources are reshaping the industry’s balance in a lasting way.
In this context, performance no longer relies solely on industrial tools or the strength of supply chains: it primarily depends on the executive teams’ ability to adapt, make decisions, and lead their organizations with agility.
A constantly evolving environment
The agri-food sector has never faced such a convergence of simultaneous challenges. Rising raw material costs, volatile agricultural markets, increased demands for traceability and sustainability, shifts toward more responsible consumption, energy transition, pressure on margins, and skill shortages…
These developments are no longer cyclical; they are structural.
In this unstable environment, rigid governance models are showing their limits. The companies that fare best are those whose executive teams can rapidly adjust their strategies, make decisions amidst uncertainty, and turn constraints into innovation drivers.
Managerial agility: much more than a method
Agility, when applied to executive teams, goes beyond digital tools and methodologies. It refers to a managerial and strategic mindset based on three key pillars:
Adaptability: the ability to question one’s assumptions, adjust priorities, and evolve the organization without waiting for a crisis.
Speed in decision-making: making trade-offs in complex environments, sometimes with incomplete information, while collectively owning the decisions made.
Cross-functionality: breaking down silos between functions (production, quality, purchasing, CSR, HR, finance) to foster a holistic and coherent vision.
In the agri-food sector, where decisions often have long-term impacts on supply chains, local regions, and people, this agility has become a key resilience factor.
Recruiting the right people: a decisive lever of agility
If executive team agility has become a strategic priority, it is essential to assemble the right skills around the table. In the agri-food industry, recruitment is no longer a simple matter of resource adjustment—it is a direct lever for performance and transformation.
Today’s leaders must deal with complex challenges: industrialization, food quality and safety, environmental transitions, supply chain management, talent attractiveness, and social dialogue. These challenges require individuals who combine technical expertise, strategic vision, and human leadership.
Recruiting an executive or key manager is no longer just about validating a technical background. It’s about identifying men and women capable of adapting to constrained environments, making decisions amidst uncertainty, and engaging teams over the long term.
A tense job market in the agri-food sector
The agri-food sector faces structural recruitment challenges, particularly in key roles: site management, production, maintenance, quality, supply chain, CSR, as well as strategic support functions.
Several factors contribute to these tensions:
an industry image that may seem outdated or overly industrial,
strong operational constraints (rural site locations, working hours, regulatory demands),
increased competition from other industries perceived as more attractive by some candidates,
and a shortage of experienced managers who understand both industrial and human stakes.
In this context, attracting and retaining talent becomes as critical as the performance of production tools.
Hauts-de-France: a strategic but pressured region
Hauts-de-France plays a central role in French agri-food: the leading agricultural basin, a high density of processing industries, logistical proximity to Northern Europe, and rich plant and animal supply chains.
This dynamism is a major asset… but also a source of increased tension in the job market.
The concentration of industrial players, combined with investment and modernization projects, intensifies competition for qualified profiles. Companies are facing:
a local talent pool sometimes insufficient for certain leadership or expert roles,
difficulties in attracting external talent to the region,
and the need to upskill internal teams to prepare for succession.
Recruitment thus becomes a long-term strategic issue, requiring anticipation, method, and deep knowledge of the regional fabric.
Anticipating, securing, and aligning recruitment
In this context, agri-food companies can no longer afford approximate or opportunistic recruitment, especially for executive roles. A poorly aligned hire can hinder transformation, weaken teams, and slow decision-making.
Conversely, securing key recruitments enables:
acceleration of industrial and environmental transitions,
strengthening of managerial cohesion,
and the building of sustainable performance rooted in the local territory.
This requires a structured approach, based on a deep understanding of business challenges, company culture, and local realities.
The human factor: key to regional competitiveness
More than ever, the competitiveness of the agri-food sector in Hauts-de-France depends on its ability to attract, develop, and retain executive and managerial talent.
In an uncertain environment, it is people who will make the difference—far beyond industrial investments alone.
Recruiting the right people, at the right time, with the right vision is no longer a luxury: it is an essential condition for ensuring the resilience and future of the regional agri-food industry.