Michael Patino, Founder and CEO of Patino Associates, shares a cautionary tale from a partnership with a large global manufacturing organization. At the time, Michael had successfully placed a senior executive within the company—only to be stunned when, just a month later, the executive was suddenly terminated.
Wanting to understand what went wrong, Michael reached out and discovered that the executive had lied about holding a collegiate degree. The issue came to light after the individual repeatedly delayed submitting required documentation. When Michael reviewed the situation internally, he found that although the degree verification process had flagged the discrepancy, it had been overlooked by his assistant during the final review.
The experience was both frustrating and eye-opening. It pushed Michael to reevaluate internal workflows and reinforce checks and balances—lessons that now guide how his team handles candidate reviews and verifications.