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Interim Employment in Life Sciences

Interim employment offers four strategic advantages to the corporation:

Speed
Companies can now apply “just-in-time talent” to any problem or to fill a sudden gap.

Quality
Interim makes it possible to hire the best.

Focus and Perspective
Companies can find precisely the skills needed for a project or corporate transition.

Cost
Interim turns talent into a variable cost.

Interim Talent turns into Executive Search with FMC

Ashton Tweed's equation for business success is that a wide network of contacts plus strong relationships delivers business value. Their expanding relationship with FMC's Health Care Venture Business is a case in point.

Ashton Tweed Partner Jordan Warshafsky was first introduced to an executive at the FMC BioPolymer division, which had developed a number of potentially viable products with life sciences applications. Through additional networking within FMC, Jordan met David Simcox, the General Manager of the Health Care Venture Business.

"At the time," says Mr. Simcox, "FMC was trying to determine what they could do with some of their technology in the field of polymers. Jordan's experience was a good fit for our needs." Jordan’s extensive operational experience within life sciences was of significant interest to FMC, as was Ashton Tweed’s Executive Talent Bank of senior executives.

"I was particularly interested in what other companies were doing and how FMC could benefit from part-time executives," says David. "FMC's health care ventures unit is researching some unique opportunities in the biomedical field. We needed experienced, senior people who had industry knowledge, which was not available in house."

According to Jose Faia, Director of Human Resources, "The interim approach allows us to get top notch experience and senior thinking people with minimum start-up time, which gives us a jump start as we venture into new areas. We have worked with Ashton Tweed to identify the areas where we need talent and are working to fill those roles."

Eric Norris, the incoming General Manager after David's retirement, says, "What has been valuable to FMC is the breadth and depth of Ashton Tweed's Executive Talent Bank. We are using them as a resource for consultants and permanent placement. We have also found that they are well recognized in the regional investment community, which has been important as we are now examining spin-out opportunities for some of our technologies."

"For Ashton Tweed, it's all about delivering real talent to our clients," says Jordan Warshafsky. "Our Executive Talent bank is founded on the premise that strong relationships lead to valuable business arrangements for our clients. The success of our relationship turned into an executive search for one of FMC’s newest businesses, NovaPedix.”

NovaPedix is being formed as a new company to develop, gain market approval (FDA clearance, insurance reimbursement, physician acceptance), and license bioresorbable alginate-based implantable medical devices. These devices are based on the unique characteristics of ultrapure alginates, including anti-adhesion, strength and ability to be optimized for orthopedic antibiotic delivery. Ashton Tweed is in the process of sourcing and recruiting a President for this group — we are seeking an executive with commercial organization management experience in the medical device market and a background in fund raising from Proof of concept through commercialization.

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BioTech 2006 Imagine. Collaborate. Innovate.

October 16-17, 2006 Philadelphia, PA

Biotech 2006 is the sixth annual joint symposium of Pennsylvania Bio and the Biotechnology Council of New Jersey (BCNJ). More than 1,000 attendees will converge to discuss the important scientific and business issues driving the region’s most dynamic industry — the biosciences.

Biotech 2006 highlights include:

• Session tracks focused on finance, hot topics in science, global topics, and medical devices and diagnostics
• A business development forum
• An innovation corridor
• A career fair
•Workshops focused on areas of interest at the early, mid, and late stages of company grow

For more information or to view sponsorship and exhibitor opportunities, please visit biotech2006.org.

“Happiness is not in the mere possession of money; it lies in the joy of achievement, in the thrill of creative effort.”

Franklin D. Roosevelt,
Thirty-second U.S. president

Interim Executives

“Client is delighted ... very pleased because Roy helped them understand the big picture... not just “sales” problem. ”


Another Satisfied Client Thanks an Interim Executive

Roy Roper was hired by a specialty pharmaceutical company to assist them with their sales force design and development in their health care field. Roy brought a dynamic health care background of 26+ years of management and consulting experience with diverse pharmaceutical companies. His roles have been varied and include national sales management, operations and consulting.

Roy became associated with Ashton Tweed in January of this year and adopted the concept of Interim Executives eagerly. It provided great flexibility and the opportunity to accomplish many different types of assignments in various disciplines.

This was Roy’s first assignment with Ashton Tweed. He had been searching for a similar position on his own prior to working at AstraZeneca, so he was familiar with the interim concept. He values and appreciates that both an organization and a candidate can “test drive” a position, prior to possibly working there on a full time basis.

Ashton Tweed placed Roy with a client that needed an expert to conduct an analysis of their current sales force organization, to identify strengths and inefficiencies, and ultimately to craft recommendations for the company to maximize their return on sales.

"I wound up looking at more than just sales," says Roy. "We looked at how the whole business process fits together, which had implications for their basic business strategy. The company realized that the whole organization must support the sales force. Issues came up about how training, reporting and technical support were done, and how marketing practices supported sales."

Obviously, the client is very happy, for Roy helped them understand the overall big picture - not just the “sales” problem. He expertly highlighted other areas where improvements could impact the sales process. He also helped them develop a better understanding of how the whole organization works, and what they can accomplish as a leadership team to improve their situation.

Roy’s distinctive background enabled him to assimilate a unique perspective for the client’s problem, and he was able to utilize his skills across many disciplines. His aim was to align people around business processes and to focus on outcomes.

"In this business it's all about the people, the process and the technology. For this client, we looked at the people and the process to design an organization that had focus on the business’s outcome," says Roy.

The first phase of Roy’s work is now complete. He just submitted an extensive report to the client’s executives and instigated a new set of sales practice procedures. Roy has now moved on to Phase 2 and is assisting the client review certain strategy planning protocols based on marketplace changes.

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Interim Assignments Enrich a Career Path

"The Interim Executive concept is a great business model," says Jim Rudman. "It's more prevalent in Europe, but is a growing opportunity in the US. It provides someone with the right business approach at the right time. Interim assignment morphs in level of intensity and time."

In a recent article in the Wall Street Journal's CareerJournal.com, Joanna Lublin highlights how, "Being an Interim Boss Can Broaden Skills, Enrich a Career."

The article discusses how U.K. Land Registry made Simon Cross its interim head of commercial services for an expected term of six months. A year later they are discussing a permanent position.

Becoming a professional interim manager like Mr. Cross is becoming an increasingly popular arrangement. These short-term assignments widen exposure to industries and locales. Repeat interim managers are effective leaders "because they really know how to get things done," says Peter Tann, a partner at Executive Interim Management, the firm that placed Mr. Cross.

Executive Recruitment

 

Search Firm Hiring Hits All Time High

ExecuNet's Search Firm Hiring Index (SFHI) reached a record high in June as executive search firms continue to increase the size of their staff to keep pace with increasing demand for executive talent.

To prepare for sustained growth in the employment market, 69% of all responding executive search firms have plans to hire additional professional staff in the next three months — an all-time high. During the last three months, 44% of executive recruiting firms have added professional staff.

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Execunet's Search Firm Hiring Index

Percent of search firms planning to hire additional professional staff during the next 3 months

Source: Execunet.com

Events of Interest

 

Upcoming Events

The 4th Annual Pharmaceutical Leadership Forum September 10-11, Philadelphia

Join us at Med Ad News' 4th Annual Pharmaceutical Leadership Forum on Sept 10-11 in Philadelphia, PA. This is the only senior executive forum to provide an integrated approach to tackling the industry's critical issues. www.pharmaleadershipforum.com or call 888-437-9997.

LES Annual Meeting September 10-14, New York

LES 2006 - Join over 1200 licensing and tech transfer professionals for the most anticipated event of the year. Hear from IP finance leaders, VCs, and legal experts on the latest issues and trends in technology commercialization. Find out more at
www.usa-canada.les.org.

6th Pharma & Biotech Competitive Intelligence Summit, September 18-19, Princeton, NJ

Network with key industry influencers in an executive peer-to-peer setting that promises to be the most interactive competitive intelligence summit to date. For more information, phone 1-800-599-4950 or visit www.srinstitute.com/ci.

4th Annual Cold Chain Distribution for Pharmaceuticals September 25-28, Philadelphia

The only GLOBAL forum for discussions on temperature-controlled packaging, shipping, distribution and storage for pharmaceuticals and biopharmaceuticals. Plus, an all-inclusive product showcase designed to help you evaluate contract vendors and packaging options for your cold chain operations. Visit www.coldchainpharma.com.

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Life Sciences in the Philadelphia Region

The biotech and pharmaceutical industries are responsible for employing more than 509,000 people", either directly or indirectly in PA, NJ, and DE.

These jobs result in $40 billion in business per year in the tri-state Region.
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