The Client Opportunity

A biotechnology company with a unique technology platform was looking to reposition and rebrand itself as a delivery platform company in the oncology space. With this corporate reset of priorities, the company needed assistance in executing these changes in the form of an Interim Vice President of Business Development. This role would aid in professionalizing the company and locating opportunities for partnerships and collaborations. If successful, the company would consider making the position permanent.

 

The Ashton Tweed Solution

This role would require high performance role models and an enhanced skill set. In addition, the company preferred the candidate to have experience specializing in oncology and ideally oncology delivery platform technology. Searching for a business development professional in the oncology space drastically narrowed the search to a smaller niche of potential candidates.

The Ashton Tweed team set out researching candidates both inside and outside of their extensive network. The team subsequently used their recruiting expertise to present this truly unique opportunity to qualified individuals. Only select candidates up for the challenge of transforming a company would be considered. Ashton Tweed filtered through 100 eligible candidates and was able to narrow the prospects down to 4 highly qualified professionals that were interested in both the opportunity to rebuild a company and to actively participate in the development and crafting of a high performance culture for the client.

Of the four candidates that were submitted, one individual specifically caught the client’s interest: an accomplished life science executive with 20 years of experience and success, including the desired expertise in oncology. This candidate had a proven track record of leading negotiations and closing licensing and strategic partnerships to drive business growth. In addition, this executive had key experience with global corporate development, strategy development, and business planning. These were above and beyond the skills and experience that the client was hoping to utilize in an interim hire.

 

The Benefits

In just four weeks, the client hired their ideal candidate to help aid in the company’s major transition. The company did not have the time or the resources during their repositioning process to find this key player on their own and was pleased to gain the help they needed in such a short time frame. One month after the interim hire, the company successfully completed an $8 million public offering and was already considering hiring the interim executive permanently. Impressed by Ashton Tweed’s search strategy and negotiation skills, they look forward to future business with the firm.