The challenge
Our client, a global multi-disciplinary professional services firm, retained eg.1 to identify, attract, assess and appoint a Senior Partner to lead its European Life Sciences practice, as a key driver of its ongoing growth in the region.
The firm has a strong footprint in the North American life sciences sector and a burgeoning European presence that required leadership and strategic investment in order to develop further. Having previously grown through organic and acquisitive means, the firm now required a senior leader to further penetrate the European life sciences market, provide strong leadership to the local team and to drive thought leadership into the European market, across pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical devices companies.
As such, our client was seeking an individual who would lead and inspire both an internal and external strategic step change, to exhibit the ambition and hunger to build a business, as well as a deep knowledge base and track record of advising life sciences clients.
This Senior Partner would be a core part of the firm’s global Life Sciences Executive Leadership team and would lead the European team, based in London.
The solution
The eg.1 Life Sciences team took a full brief from the client, spending time to understand every aspect of the role. This included the desired profile, the practice and culture, and we fully interrogated the value proposition, conscious that we would be approaching a passive market. Once we understood our client’s vision, we set out to conduct an exhaustive landscape scoping exercise to identify and attract a “leader” who could galvanise and elevate the existing team and drive the business forward commercially through both existing and new service offerings. This individual would have experience within the life sciences industry, from a leading management consulting firm, and have experience building and leading a practice.
eg.1 conducted a comprehensive analysis of the life sciences consulting market in Europe, focused on the life sciences clusters in the UK, Switzerland, Germany, Belgium and France.
Through this, eg.1 successfully identified a shortlist of high calibre candidates, two based in the UK and one in Switzerland, each with differing functional experience, client networks and leadership attributes.
All three shortlisted candidates were rigorously interviewed, with two of these individuals receiving offers (one for a new global role outside of the existing scope, which the client identified as being further aligned to their experience).
The outcome
eg.1 successfully appointed the new Head of European Life Sciences, following a robust interview and due diligence process. This person had an impressive and extensive track record in growing and leading consulting practices serving the life sciences sector and has significant access to senior stakeholders across a breadth of European headquartered life sciences companies, as well as global affiliates.
Furthermore, to on-board this individual, the firm embarked on establishing an entirely new legal entity in Switzerland. This has enabled the firm to not only further cement its presence in the European life sciences sector, but has also enabled the firm’s other practices and service lines to capitalise upon this footprint.
The successful candidate brings with him invaluable client relationships, years of expertise and most importantly, acts as a true leader for the practice.