Client Background
Our client is a clinical-stage company dedicated to developing cell and gene therapies. They actively drive R&D and commercialisation of innovative drugs.
The Brief
The President of this clinical stage Chinese company was looking to expand in the United States and wanted to hire a Chief Scientific Officer. Keen on a candidate with an impressive track record who would collaborate with the China-based leadership team, Page Executive was retained for the search.
Skip to our search methodology to find out how we engaged with our client, sourced candidates, assessed them and delivered this assignment.
The Results
In less than a year of joining the company, the CSO has:
- Paved a clear roadmap for their R&D strategy
- Reorganized the R&D team to reduce attrition rate and drive efficiencies
- Driven pre-clinical assets to clinical stage; 3 patients in clinical trial with great results
- Played a critical role in growing the valuation of the company by 8x
Testimonials
His extensive experience and spirit of innovation will greatly enhance our innovative capabilities and his forward-thinking international perspective will bring a significant positive impact on our research and development efforts and product pipeline global strategy.
Chairman & CEOI firmly believe that Cure's pioneering work in the field of cell and gene therapy will help us discover innovative treatments for cancers and genetic diseases with unmet needs.
Chief Scientific Officer
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Search Methodology
Engagement
With a global Life Science executive search practice, Page Executive understands the critical role high-level executives like the CSO play in the success of pharma and biotech firms. Through interactions with an investor, we were introduced to the Chairman & CEO in China to ascertain his needs around building his executive leadership team.
Our Senior Partner being deeply entrenched in the life sciences ecosystem in both the U.S. and China, offered advice to the Chairman around setting up the company’s legal entity in the U.S. and eventually, when he was ready to grow globally, he gave us the mandate to recruit a CSO based in the U.S.
Experienced with life sciences C-suite hiring and a Microbiology Pharmaceuticals Master’s degree holder herself, our Senior Partner understood the scientific and business needs of the company and advised the Chairman to also hire a Chief Technology Officer (CTO) to partner closely with the CSO to support the advancement of cell therapy drug candidates from pre-clinical to commercial licensures in the U.S. A former consultant himself, the Chairman valued our consultative approach and trusted in our expertise to onboard the dedicated and accountable candidates for the CSO and CTO roles.
Sourcing
Given there was a preference for a Chinese CSO candidate with experience in cell therapy, our talent pool was limited however, we targeted our search within our black book of CSO candidates whose career aspirations we had explored through multiple interactions across several years. We also scanned talent on LinkedIn and reviewed publishers of clinical research studies on websites and online databases. We prepared a shortlist of three candidates and organized interviews including site visits with the Chairman.
Assessment
One candidate stood out for his passion for and work in cell therapy, and despite his initial hesitation to make a career move, he was excited by the potential of our client’s research, their technology, and above all, appreciated the Chairman’s leadership style and commitment to empower his team. A thorough reference check of the candidate produced glowing reviews and an offer was made by the Chairman based on our recommended market-competitive compensation and benefits package.
Delivery
The successful candidate was an accomplished scientist with 20+ years of experience. With this mandate delivered, we also then completed the search for the CTO.
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