A pharma start-up backed a leading VC firm was undergoing a transformation from a family run company to a professionally managed organisation with the next generation of the founding family bringing in fresh ideas to supplement the vision of the founder, an industry veteran. Against this backdrop we were tasked with finding a CFO. We quickly realised that in addition to the standard requirements (credentials, pharma domain expertise, fundraising experience etc.) the successful candidate would also need to have the ability to manage various internal and external stakeholders through the company’s transition at a sensitive juncture.

Before launching the search we discussed and identified the key attributes of the role with the founder and the VC firm. While focussing our search on the key criteria of finance controllership in the industry with exposure to a plant environment and start-up (including fundraising) experience, we targeted candidates who demonstrated that they thrived in a start-up environment and had the maturity to both support the company’s transition. We discussed the relative strengths and weaknesses of shortlisted candidates (including their soft skills) with stakeholders, which eventually led to hiring of one of our shortlisted candidates.