Group Sales & Business Development Director for Medical Devices Sector

Summary

Our client is a leading global design and manufacturing company with an excellent reputation for quality in their product offer, and for developing innovative solutions in their highly specialised medical device sector. Employing circa 200 people, with a turnover of around £55m per annum, and as part of a major multi-national plc, the business is a market leader with over a century of experience in their medical instruments sector. Designing, manufacturing and assembling their devices in the UK to meet demand from clients in multiple international markets, their instruments combine precision, high quality, innovative design and durability.

With the business in a strong position to execute the Board’s longer-term strategy, a first-rate Sales and Business Development Director was required to join a new and dynamic executive team. This high calibre individual was needed to lead a team of Regional Managers, support those tasked with managing distributor relationships and to develop sales volumes in assigned countries and global regions. The successful candidate also needed to drive sales in a fast-growth partner channel, developing partnership-led relationships with other manufacturers of relevant products and solutions.

The HR Director had recently joined the organisation but was someone Barron Williams had worked with on a number of roles in their previous organisations, and with whom we had an excellent working relationship. In fact the whole Board of Directors was relatively new. The new HR Director approached Barron Williams to find a Group Sales & Business Development Director that could execute the organisations ambitious growth plan.

Requirement

Barron Williams had a long established working relationship with the HR Director built on trust and quality of care to both clients and candidates alike. We also fully understood the complexity and sensitivity of taking on such a brief with a new Board in place. The fundamental changes taking place within the organisation meant that it was essential that we found high quality candidates with the drive and determination to rise to the challenges of this role.

We started the brief based on direction from the HR Director. They were looking for an established Sales Director, or an ambitious senior Sales professional ready to step-up to board-level. Relevant background in technical product sales in distributor-led international markets was essential. Medical device/instrument market experience was viewed as particularly beneficial, however, more important was their ability to protect and build product sales in mature, often transactional markets, as well as developing new relationships where a long-term, partnership-led approach was needed.

To add to the complexity, a new CEO had been recently appointed to lead the organisation. We were aware that the brief may change as the CEO evolved his view on what was needed from potential candidates. This required an agile process to allow us to adjust accordingly as the new CEO required. The recruitment process for such a position is incredibly complex, and required a significant amount of time to research and identify the right people.

Immediately we advertised the role on LinkedIn and various senior executive job boards, and the response was very good. However, the candidate profile was incredibly specific, and many of the best candidates were sourced from our own database and search as much as the applications we received from advertising.

Action

At Barron Williams we pride ourselves on our ability to adjust our processes to meet the needs of our clients. Whilst we had a good long list of candidates in place, the HR Director and I agreed that we needed to identify more talent from their sector. We suggested that we utilise the power of established networks across the industry, talk to those in more senior positions to help identify people in their own extended networks that would be a positive fit. This can be very successful, and whilst we now had a list of potential candidates significantly longer than we initially envisaged, we knew we had identified some great people.

The next step was for Barron Williams to start screening the longlist of potential candidates, usually over a number of telephone and Skype calls. This enables us to get to know the individuals and their aspirations, as well as determining their ‘fit’ to the brief. We then refined the list before presenting those to be put forward for a first formal interview, jointly with the client.

Together with the HR Director, we organised to meet the initial longlist of candidates with a view to narrowing that down to 3 or 4 for second or final interview with the new CEO. The first interview structure was created by Barron Williams to ensure that each person was assessed consistently so that we could  make informed recommendations. Managing the entire process, we liaised with client and candidates, setting up and managing all interviews, working closely with the HR Director, the successfully shortlisted candidates were asked to take psychometric testing via our preferred partner, Thomas International – https://www.thomas.co/ We prefer to outsource the analysis to the experts, their agents are highly skilled, and trained to interpret the results. The tests were done and sent to our partner to present a comprehensive report on each candidate.

The successful candidates were then asked to deliver a 10 minute presentation to the Board of Directors followed by further discussions and an interview with the CEO. All performed well.

Result

The selected candidate demonstrated the best overall match to the clients requirements. A very experienced and able Sales Director, their broad experience was thought to be highly valuable by the other members of the Board. Whilst the preferred candidate lacked direct sector experience, the Board and the CEO were convinced of their suitability in delivering the strategic sales growth required.

Any other information

Barron Williams were responsible for the management of the entire recruitment process. Our aim is to make that process straight forward for client and candidates. The results of the Thomas International tests provide interview questions that help us dig deep into personality, behaviour and organisational fit.

The brief presentations at second interview are an excellent opportunity for the candidate to demonstrate how they would plan and approach their role. It helps our clients see how each person will set about laying the foundations to hit their strategic targets.

Other parts of our recommended process can include a post-presentation Q+A session with the Board or panel, and a 1 on 1 final interview with the CEO. We speak with each candidate prior to every step of the process, we ensure they hit the key points in the brief, and provide feedback on their presentations to make sure they are best prepared to perform to their potential (and answer the brief in the allotted time). The presentations themselves are a great barometer of approach, personality, fit etc.

Once a verbal offer is accepted, our work is not done. We will manage the formal referencing process, and take verbal and personal references as appropriate. We assist the successful candidate as he resigns and negotiates notice period, advising and guiding on a difficult process that most people undertake on a very irregular basis.

At the end of this process, this company got a very talented Group Sales Director. In our opinion, the successful candidate was appointed for the right reasons. As a business, our professional ‘full service’ approach meant we could manage the process, we could speak openly and honestly to the HR Director and new CEO. We learnt more about the company and their requirements as the process evolved, and we used this knowledge to tailor our approach to best effect as we moved towards final selection.

Client Testimonial

“Having worked on several occasions with Paul and the team at Barron Williams I had no hesitation in using them again for our Director of EMEA Sales and Business Development. The in-depth search that was completed ensured that we had a very strong field of candidates and were able to make an offer to the candidate most aligned to our future growth strategy. First time successful recruitment is a reflection of the time Barron Williams invests into its clients and correctly aligning the needs of the organisation. I would not hesitate to use them again.”