Role: Chief Executive Officer

Domain: Oncology Social Networking + Precision Medicine

Time to Close: 11 Weeks

The Problem: Our client needed to urgently find permanent executive leadership for a portfolio company transitioning an interim CEO, while simultaneously proving product/market fit for a next generation engagement platform.

The Mandate: Our client retained us to find a seasoned Chief Executive Officer with deep healthcare technology experience and expertise. Additionally, we were tasked with identifying a leader who understood and had experience with the increased emphasis placed on consumer-centric healthcare, and how to effectively engage patients in the digital age.

Process & Execution: The search began with an intensive kickoff meeting at our Venture client’s offices, where we mapped out the aforementioned criteria, and added much more nuance to the ideal profile. We compressed Stage One of our search process to two weeks, down from the standard three for a CEO search. We identified 175 target candidates within a tight radius of the portfolio company’s location, and an additional 40+ sources within our network to tap for referrals and guidance. We also produced a position description and scorecard to evaluate each candidate.

At the beginning of week three, we presented four CEO candidates to our client, and in week four, added a 5th. Upon completion of client interviewing, four of the five remained, and the feedback from our client was that this was the best first slate of candidates for a CEO search that they had seen in recent memory.

Subsequent weeks led to one more addition to the slate, and full team interviews, followed by Board evaluation of two finalists. As the consensus was reached on the ultimate selection, the chosen executive began engaging with the core team while details of employment were cemented, leading to the new CEO hitting the ground running just 11 weeks after the search commenced.

Post Mortem: 6 months after joining, the CEO has since moved the company into new, larger office space to support their renewed growth, and has positioned the company for a capital raise in mid 2017.