Executive Search FAQs
This FAQ page has been designed to answer the most important questions organisations ask when considering an executive search partner for senior leadership roles in the generics, biosimilars, and CDMO sectors. Whether you are embarking on your first retained search or looking to understand how a boutique specialist firm differs from a large global player, the answers below reflect our approach, our values, and the depth of expertise we bring to every mandate.
Why Choose a Specialist Executive Search Partner
Why should we use a specialist executive search partner that focuses on generics, biosimilars, and CDMO?
Hiring senior leadership in the generics, biosimilars, and CDMO sectors demands more than a generalist approach. These are complex, highly regulated, and scientifically specialised industries where the difference between a good hire and a great hire is the depth of understanding a recruiter brings to the role. A specialist partner who lives and breathes these sectors already knows the landscape — the key players, the organisations that develop talent, the career trajectories that produce exceptional leaders, and the technical nuances that matter in an interview process. We speak the language of your candidates fluently, from regulatory affairs and dossier submissions to biologics manufacturing and fill-finish capabilities. This means we qualify candidates faster, engage them more meaningfully, and ultimately present you with a shortlist that is genuinely fit for purpose. Generalist firms may claim to serve your sector, but without a dedicated focus, they often rely on keyword-matching rather than true market knowledge. Our niche expertise directly reduces your time-to-hire and significantly improves the quality of each placement.
What are the advantages of using a boutique specialist executive search firm over a large global recruitment corporation?
Boutique specialist firms offer a fundamentally different value proposition to large global corporations. Where large firms operate at volume, processing hundreds of mandates simultaneously across dozens of sectors, boutique recruiters operate with focus, precision, and genuine partnership. At our firm, every senior search is personally handled by experienced consultants who have spent years cultivating relationships within the generics, biosimilars, and CDMO space. You benefit from direct access to decision-makers rather than being handed off to junior researchers. Our relationships with passive candidates — the high performers who are not actively looking — are built on trust developed over years, not a cold outreach that comes from a database search. Furthermore, as a boutique firm, we are highly agile. We can adapt our search strategy quickly, respond to changing briefs, and offer a level of bespoke service and communication that large organisations structurally cannot. For organisations seeking senior talent in niche markets, the quality of insight, network depth, and personal accountability that a boutique firm provides consistently outperform those of volume-based global players.
How does your international reach benefit our executive search, even as a boutique firm?
The generics, biosimilars, and CDMO industries are inherently global. Manufacturing is spread across Europe, Asia, and the Americas, regulatory expertise crosses borders, and many of the most accomplished executives have built careers across multiple geographies. As an international boutique search firm, we have cultivated a genuinely cross-border network. Our international reach also allows us to bring comparative market intelligence, we understand compensation benchmarks, talent availability, and competitive dynamics in key markets, ensuring your offer is positioned correctly from the start. Being boutique does not mean being small in reach; it means being focused in expertise.
Our Search Process & Methodology
What are the typical timeframes for an executive search in the generics, biosimilars, or CDMO sector?
Executive search in specialised pharmaceutical and life sciences sectors typically follows a structured timeline. From brief to shortlist, most searches are completed within eight to twelve weeks, though this varies depending on the role’s seniority and scarcity, the search’s geography, and how well-defined the brief is at the outset. The process generally begins with a detailed briefing period of one to two weeks, during which we develop a thorough understanding of the organisation, the role, and the ideal candidate profile. Market mapping and initial outreach typically take two to three weeks, followed by a period of candidate assessment and qualification. The presentation of a curated shortlist usually follows in weeks six to eight, with client interviews, psychometric assessments, and final-stage processes taking the search through to offer and acceptance. We are transparent about timelines throughout and flag any factors that may impact pace. Complex global searches or highly confidential mandates may require additional time, and we will always discuss this upfront. Our priority is a placement that is successful in the long term, not simply one that is quick.
How do you handle a changing or evolving brief during the executive search process?
Changing briefs are a reality in executive search, particularly in dynamic sectors like generics, biosimilars, and CDMO where business strategy can shift rapidly. Our approach is to maintain an open, ongoing dialogue throughout the search so that we are able to adapt to changes in the search as early as possible. We begin every engagement with an in-depth briefing process that seeks not only to understand the technical requirements of the role but also the strategic context, the team dynamics, the culture, and the ‘success profile’ for the hire. Whether the scope of the role expands, reporting lines change, or the geographical focus broadens, we recalibrate our search accordingly. We will always flag the potential timeline implications of a significant brief change transparently and collaboratively, and we will work with you to ensure the revised brief is as clear as possible before re-entering the market.
How do you talent map a market in the generics, biosimilars, and CDMO sectors?
Talent mapping is one of the most valuable services we provide, and it sits at the core of every executive search we conduct. Our talent mapping process in the generics, biosimilars, and CDMO sectors is built on years of accumulated market intelligence, supplemented by active primary research for each mandate. We begin by defining the competency and experience framework for the role, understanding precisely what combination of technical knowledge, regulatory background, commercial capability, and leadership experience predicts success at this level and in this specific context. From there, we assess where those skill sets are typically developed across the sector: which functional backgrounds, therapeutic area experiences, and career trajectories tend to produce the profile you are looking for, and what the realistic supply of that experience looks like across different geographies.
This intelligence is then cross-referenced with our existing network and proprietary database to give us a clear and honest picture of the available talent pool, the likely timelines, and the compensation benchmarks that will attract the right calibre of candidate. The result is a structured, evidence-based view of the market that we share with our clients, helping to set realistic expectations and inform every stage of the search strategy. Talent mapping can also be commissioned as a standalone strategic intelligence exercise, separate from an active search, making it a valuable tool for workforce planning, succession strategy, or pre-acquisition due diligence.
How do you approach confidential executive search mandates?
Confidentiality is fundamental to effective executive search, and we treat it as a non-negotiable discipline across all our mandates. When an organisation is replacing a senior leader who does not yet know they are being replaced, restructuring in a way that has not been publicly announced, or simply wishes to explore the market discreetly, we have rigorous protocols in place. Candidate outreach in these circumstances is conducted with a carefully crafted position description that describes the opportunity without revealing the client’s identity. We only disclose the name of the hiring organisation at the point where a candidate has expressed genuine interest and signed a confidentiality agreement. Internally, access to confidential mandates is restricted to the consultants directly working on the search. We also advise clients on managing confidentiality within their own organisations during the process. Our reputation in the generics, biosimilars, and CDMO communities is built on discretion, and we take this responsibility extremely seriously.
How do you engage with passive candidates who are not actively looking for a new role?
The most sought-after executives in the generics, biosimilars, and CDMO sectors are rarely on the open job market. They are highly successful, well-compensated individuals who are not actively searching but who may be open to the right conversation. Reaching these individuals effectively is one of the most significant differentiators of a specialist boutique search firm over a generalist agency. Our approach to passive candidate engagement is rooted in genuine relationship-building over time. Many of the senior candidates we approach are individuals we have known for years, we have tracked their career progression, engaged with them at industry events, and maintained regular contact even when there was no immediate opportunity. When we approach a passive candidate, they know we are credible, that we will represent them with discretion, and that the opportunity we are presenting has been specifically selected for them. Our outreach is never transactional. We take time to understand why a particular role might be compelling for a specific individual, and we craft our approach accordingly. This level of personalisation is what converts a ‘not interested’ into a meaningful conversation.
How does your industry network act as a key differentiator in executive search?
Our network is not a database, it is a living ecosystem of relationships built over many years of operating exclusively within the generics, biosimilars, and CDMO sectors. This distinction is critical. Many recruitment firms will claim to have large candidate databases, but a database is only as valuable as the quality and currency of the relationships behind it. Our network includes commercial directors, regulatory affairs leaders, heads of business development, quality and manufacturing executives, and C-suite professionals across Europe, North America, and key APAC markets. These are individuals who know us, trust us, and take our calls. When we approach a senior executive about a search mandate, we are not making a cold call, we are continuing an ongoing professional relationship. This trust translates directly into access. We can reach individuals who would not respond to a generalist recruiter or an unsolicited LinkedIn message, and we can have candid conversations about their career aspirations and their view of the opportunity. For our clients, this means a richer, more rapidly convened shortlist and a significantly higher probability of securing their preferred candidate.
Candidate Assessment & Cultural Fit
What does a detailed candidate profile from your firm include, and why does it add value?
Our candidate profiles go well beyond a formatted CV. Each profile we present includes our own qualitative assessment of the individual, our professional opinion on their strengths, their leadership style, the contexts in which they thrive, and any considerations we believe are important for the hiring organisation to be aware of. We include a career narrative that contextualises their experience in relation to the role’s specific requirements, highlighting the aspects of their background that are most directly relevant.
We also include a section on motivation, what is driving their interest in this opportunity and what they are looking for in their next role. This intelligence transforms the value of a shortlist. Rather than presenting a collection of CVs and leaving you to draw your own conclusions, we present a curated assessment that accelerates your interview preparation, helps you ask more targeted questions, and gives you a rounded picture of each candidate before you meet them. In highly competitive processes, this depth of pre-qualification can be the difference between securing a first-choice candidate and losing them.
How do you use psychometric testing to assess candidate suitability and compatibility?
Psychometric assessment is a valuable tool in executive search, particularly when used as part of a holistic evaluation rather than as a standalone filter. We offer psychometric testing as an integral part of our assessment process for senior mandates, using validated tools that measure cognitive ability, personality dimensions, leadership style, and behavioural tendencies. The purpose is not to identify a ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ candidate but to provide an additional layer of objective data that complements our qualitative assessment and your interview process.
For each engagement, we align the psychometric framework to the specific demands of the role and the culture of the organisation, ensuring that what we measure is directly relevant to what predicts success in that specific position. We debrief candidates on their results and discuss the findings with our clients in the context of the overall assessment. This approach is particularly valuable in the generics, biosimilars, and CDMO sectors, where roles often require a very specific blend of technical depth, commercial acuity, and cross-functional leadership capability.
How do you ensure cultural fit between a candidate and a hiring organisation?
Cultural fit is one of the most frequently cited reasons for a senior hire failing to achieve their potential, and it is among the most difficult to assess without deep knowledge of both the candidate and the organisation. Our approach to cultural fit assessment begins with an immersive briefing process in which we seek to understand not just the formal culture of the organisation, its values, ways of working, and leadership philosophy, but also the informal culture: the unwritten rules, the team dynamics, the management style of the direct line manager, and the pace of decision-making.
We then use structured behavioural interviewing techniques with candidates, specifically exploring their experience across different cultures and their own preferences and working style. We triangulate this with psychometric data and our own knowledge of the candidate accumulated over the course of the relationship. Where we identify potential cultural misalignments, we raise these candidly with both parties. Our goal is not simply to make a placement, but to make one that lasts, and that requires honesty about fit from both sides.
How do you benchmark candidates against internal candidates for the same role?
When an organisation has identified one or more strong internal candidates for a senior role, engaging in an executive search serves as both a due diligence exercise and a genuine exploration of the external market. We approach this situation with sensitivity and rigour. Our role is to provide a credible external comparator, to give you a clear and objective picture of the best talent available in the generics, biosimilars, or CDMO market for this type of role, so that any promotion or appointment decision is made with full market context.
We assess external candidates using the same criteria as for internal candidates, and we present our findings transparently. We can also facilitate a structured comparison framework to help hiring teams evaluate internal and external candidates consistently. This approach removes bias, protects the organisation from making decisions without market data, and often provides valuable intelligence on the strength of the internal talent pipeline for future succession planning.
Managing the Process & Candidate Experience
How do you sell an opportunity effectively to attract the best candidates in your sector?
The most accomplished executives have choices. Attracting them requires more than a well-written job description, it requires a compelling, personalised narrative about why this specific opportunity is worth their consideration. Our approach to opportunity positioning begins with a deep understanding of what makes each client and each role genuinely distinctive: the strategic ambition behind the hire, the business’s growth trajectory, the team the candidate will lead or join, and the personal development potential on offer.
We then craft a targeted proposition for each candidate we approach, tailored to their career aspirations and motivations. We never rely solely on a job specification. We also prepare our clients for candidate conversations, coaching them on how to present the opportunity in the most compelling way during interviews. In the generics, biosimilars, and CDMO sectors, where candidate pools for senior roles are relatively small and highly networked, your reputation as an employer and the way you present opportunities matter enormously. We help you put your best foot forward at every stage of the process.
How do you keep candidates engaged throughout what can be a lengthy executive search process?
One of the most common reasons a promising candidate withdraws from a process is not that they have lost interest in the opportunity, it is that they feel uninformed, undervalued, or left in a communication vacuum. Our candidate management approach prioritises consistent, proactive communication at every stage. We set clear expectations with candidates at the outset about the likely timeline and process stages, and we update them proactively at each milestone, even when there is no material news to share.
If timelines shift, which they often do in complex organisations, we explain the reason candidly and maintain their engagement with the opportunity. We also remain attentive to changes in a candidate’s situation during a search; a counter-offer, a competing approach from another organisation, or a change in personal circumstances can all affect availability. By maintaining a strong relationship throughout, we are in a position to identify and manage these risks early. Our clients benefit from this because the candidates who reach the final stages are genuinely committed, not just passively available.
How do you handle organisational restructures that affect an active executive search mandate?
Organisational restructures are a common reality in the pharmaceutical and life sciences sector, and they can affect an active search in several ways, from a change in reporting lines or role scope to a temporary hiring freeze or a fundamental rethink of the strategic hire. When a restructure occurs during an active mandate, our first step is to seek a briefing with the relevant decision-makers to understand the new context. We then assess together with the client whether the existing search should be paused, redirected, or redesigned. We are agile in adapting our approach, and we protect the interests of both our client and the candidates in the process by managing communications carefully and professionally. Candidates are not left without explanation during a pause, and we work to preserve the relationship between the client and strong candidates so that when conditions stabilise, the pipeline remains intact. Our priority is always to act as a trusted partner rather than simply a transactional supplier.
Negotiation, Compensation & Benefits
How do you support the negotiation of executive compensation packages?
Package negotiation at the executive level is a critical and often delicate part of the placement process, and it is an area where a specialist search partner adds significant value. Our role in the negotiation is to act as an informed intermediary who understands the interests of both parties and helps bridge gaps without creating conflict or damaging the relationship that has been carefully built during the search.
We begin each engagement by establishing clear compensation parameters with our clients, grounded in current market intelligence specific to the generics, biosimilars, and CDMO sectors. We also have detailed conversations with candidates early in the process about their expectations, ensuring there is no fundamental misalignment before time is invested on both sides.
When an offer is made, we manage the communication process, presenting the package in the most positive way and providing context where needed. If a gap exists between the offer and expectations, we work collaboratively with both parties to find creative solutions, which may include phased salary adjustments, enhanced long-term incentive structures, or other non-cash elements. Our goal is an outcome that both parties feel is fair and that sets the new relationship off on the right footing.
How do you advise on benefit packages for senior executive hires?
Executive benefit packages in the generics, biosimilars, and CDMO sectors vary significantly by organisation size, geography, and ownership structure, and a competitive package in one market may look very different in another. We bring current, granular market intelligence on benefits to every engagement, covering elements such as long-term incentive plans, private healthcare, pension contributions, company car or car allowances, annual leave entitlements, and flexible working arrangements.
We also advise on less tangible but increasingly important elements such as professional development budgets, conference attendance, and the freedom to publish or speak publicly. For candidates relocating internationally, we can advise on the specific benefits that are most important for attracting and retaining mobile talent, including housing allowances, schooling support, and home leave provisions. Our advice is always grounded in market data and tailored to the candidate’s specific profile and the competitive landscape in which your organisation operates.
How do you assist with relocation packages for international executive hires?
International mobility is a significant feature of the generics, biosimilars, and CDMO talent market, and handling relocation well is a meaningful factor in whether a candidate accepts an offer and successfully integrates into a new role. We advise our clients on structuring relocation packages that are both competitive and appropriate to the specific circumstances of the hire.
This includes guidance on lump-sum versus managed relocation models, support for family members, including spouse employment assistance and school search services, temporary accommodation provisions, and tax equalisation or advisory services where a cross-border move creates fiscal complexity. For candidates, we ensure they receive clear, early information about the relocation support available, which materially influences their confidence in making an international move. Poorly managed relocation is one of the most common contributors to early attrition in international hires; managing it well is an investment in the longevity of the placement.
How do you manage situations where the preferred candidate receives a counteroffer?
Counter-offers are a predictable feature of the executive recruitment landscape, particularly when candidates are high performers who are genuinely valued by their current employer. The best defence against a counteroffer is a thorough pre-emptive conversation. From the early stages of the process, we explore with candidates their motivations for considering a move, understanding whether they are driven primarily by career opportunity, remuneration, culture, or other factors. If the primary driver is something that a counteroffer could address, we surface this early and work with our clients to understand whether the opportunity can be structured to be compelling on all dimensions.
When a counteroffer does arrive, we provide candidates with honest guidance about what the research says, that the majority of executives who accept a counteroffer leave their employer within twelve months regardless, because the underlying reasons for seeking a change rarely disappear. We support candidates in making the decision that is genuinely right for them, but we do so with full transparency about the dynamics at play.
Diversity, Inclusion & Onboarding
How do you ensure diversity and inclusion in your executive search process?
Diversity, equity, and inclusion are not a box-ticking exercise for us, they are a fundamental component of a rigorous search process and a commercial imperative for the organisations we serve. The evidence is unambiguous that diverse leadership teams make better decisions and deliver stronger performance. Our commitment to inclusive search begins at the briefing stage, where we actively challenge any language or criteria in a role specification that could inadvertently narrow the candidate pool along lines of gender, ethnicity, background, or experience type.
We ensure that every talent map we produce includes a deliberate effort to identify candidates from underrepresented groups, drawing on networks and channels beyond traditional pathways. We apply structured, consistent evaluation criteria across all candidates to minimise the impact of unconscious bias in our assessment process, and we brief our clients on best practices for conducting inclusive interviews. We also track the diversity of our shortlists as a matter of course and share this data with clients. In the generics, biosimilars, and CDMO sectors, where talent pools are small and often homogenous, intentional inclusive search practices are essential to building the breadth of leadership capability these organisations need.
How do you support the onboarding of a newly placed executive?
Onboarding is the point at which the investment made in executive search either begins to pay off or erodes. Research consistently shows that the first six months in a new senior role are disproportionately important for long-term success, yet they are the period most often left to chance. Our commitment to our clients and candidates does not end at the point of offer acceptance.
We maintain regular check-in cadences with both the placed executive and the relevant stakeholders within the hiring organisation throughout the first six months. These conversations allow us to identify any early friction points, whether related to role clarity, team dynamics, strategic alignment, or cultural integration, and to provide coaching and guidance before small issues become significant problems. We act as a trusted, confidential sounding board for the new hire, who may feel unable to raise certain concerns internally in the early stages of the role. For clients, this ongoing support protects their investment and meaningfully increases the probability of a placement that endures and thrives.
Have a question not answered here?
We welcome every conversation, whether you have an active search mandate in mind or simply wish to better understand the market. Our team is available to discuss your talent strategy, benchmark your current compensation positioning, or provide a confidential market overview of the executive talent landscape in generics, biosimilars, and CDMO.
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