The initial preparation was conducted by a series of meetings with a retained recruiter and a written response to a series of questions that should have clarified my background and determined my suitability for the role/responsiblity defined. Unfortunately, this did not appear to happen in the ultimate in person interview which required a day of travel and was in my view condensed to a 2 hour block of time fielding questions from a 3 person panel. The fact that another candidate was being interviewed simultaniously while logistically understandbly certainly lowered the prestige of the role and may have contributed negatively towards the whole process.
My initial impression of the interviewers is that they had NOT read the prior written material, and therefore may have either been surprised or disappointed with my background which truly is a waste of time for all parties. The panel interview is unfortunate and probably unnecessary for senior level roles - especially when individual interiews would offer each interviewer more time to satisfy their own objectives.
I was not pleased with the speed by which they dismissed my candidacy and their feedback was more personal [e.g. style or non-verbal cues] which was infuriating given that the format they chose ensured that the "dialogue" would either be stilted or too quick for a thorough response...