• by Richard Whitman , Columnist, October 6, 2015

Last month several top executives from Havas Worldwide took over six gondolas on the Navy Pier Ferris Wheel in Chicago to conduct interviews. Each candidate was given two rotations to make their pitch to executives. 

Of the approach, Havas CEO Paul Marobella said: “It’s a street fight for talent." Marobella was looking to fill about 50 positions at the agency.

Marobella aligned the stunt with the decommissioning of the current Navy Pier Ferris Wheel in favor of a newer, more high tech version by saying: “Modernizing and contemporizing American brands is what we get out of bed for in the morning.” 

One interviewee, Julie Shah said the Ferris wheel interview improved her performance saying: “I think sometimes when you’re in an interview you don’t always remember all the things you’re supposed to say -- you forget parts of yourself, tidbits that really push that interview forward. And this time I actually remembered because I was so excited throughout.”