Pharmaceutical Executive Europe - March 2008 - (Page 14) 14 Executive Search March 2008 Pharmaceutical Executive Europe “CMOs, VPs medical and people with oncology, vaccine and other subspecialty experience are the most in-demand at the moment.” Nick Stephens, RSA As pharma changes, the CRO industry also faces a new era, but the concentrated search for senior clinical research personnel still continues apace. Adam Marsh, Hays Pharma’s managing director, Europe, says: “The rapid growth of clinical trials and their spread to lots of different countries is far outstripping the supply, particularly of senior level people who have international experience of running clinical trials. We have to remember that there’s a real finite pool of talent there.” Indeed, the UK Institute of Clinical Research reports that an estimated 57% of demand for clinical research positions is going unfulfilled. Significantly, a “really good interim manager” can probably double what he used to earn. And IM is no longer seen a just a ‘stop-gap.’ It has gone in the last decade from being something an executive did in between jobs to a valid career choice. Nick points out that the average age of the interim manager used to be mid-fifties; now “it has dropped to late-forties and continues to drop.” All this points to a change in the balance of power. “You see people who no longer need a company to feel secure. Companies need them.” The days of working for one company, whether large or small, for 15–20 years are disappearing. Executives are beginning to realise the value of the intellectual capital they are carrying around with them. “Once you’ve got a molecule, the strategic input of how you turn that into something of value that you can market and how you speed that to market is tacit knowledge. It sits in people’s heads. They can move it from company to company to provide themselves with security,” says Nick. What next for Big Pharma? The growing areas for companies involved in retained search in the life sciences only mirror what’s happening in the industry at large. “The middle and emerging pharma/biotech industry is still our key customer base, but generics are taking off at an enormous rate,” Nick goes on. “Venture capitalists have stopped being interested in high risk, small biotechs; they realise that if they go and buy a generics business and consolidate and improve the management team, they can get a faster return on their investment. Generics has been a great place for us to be in the last 18–24 months.” Similarly, the strengthening of mid-sized pharmacos has presented opportunities for search agencies and candidates alike. Martin Reynolds comments: “Mid-tier organisations are far more nimble, far more appreciative. The turnover is lower and there is more continuity. We have very strong relationships with a number of mid-tier organisations.” The problem for bigger pharma, as Martin Reynolds sees it, is that the amount of money that companies put into attracting and retaining talent is too low. But it’s not just a numbers game, or a matter of throwing money at the problem (an oft-favoured Big Pharma solution). “We’re entering into new paradigms. How do you get your attraction strategies, your relocation strategies, your support strategies right?” he asks. “From a company’s perspective, there needs to be a stronger psychological context laid out at the outset of a career plan.” Quality of life, the quest for self-actualisation, a reduction of internal politics, family considerations: these are the things pharma HR departments alike must consider before investing money in their recruitment drives. Similarly, the candidate must consider these options carefully before being enticed by an inevitably fatter salary. ■ Situations vacant While all this continues to be a real concern for companies and their investors, for flexible candidates who are prepared to try their hand at new challenges, or candidates with subspecialty experience, the future looks rosy. The same goes, of course, for the tuned-in recruiters and search agencies. “Senior medical appointments, chief medical officers, VPs medical, and people with oncology, vaccine, other subspecialty experience are the most in-demand at the moment,” says Nick Stephens. “There’s also strong demand in regulatory. Post Vioxx, the regulators have been expanding their empires, which has been good to us. It’s also pushed companies to think much harder about how to reduce their exposure to risk once their product is on the market. We’ve seen a huge growth in pharmacovigilance and other risk management areas.” An area of rapid growth for senior level candidates is interim management (IM). (RSA is the largest UK recruiter of interim managers in the life sciences.) Large organisations may retire their executives at 50 or 55, but, as Nick points out, “they still have something to contribute, and moving to IM at this point can be very refreshing. One guy who made the move from a top ten company said ‘I’m fed up of arguing about car parking spaces and the colour of the carpets. I just want to go and develop some drugs!’ It liberates people to stop playing the corporate politics game and gives them the freedom to be an expert.” Turn to page 15 for a discussion of senior level pharma opportunities across Europe and Asia — Salary levels, growth areas, corporate expansion, migration patterns http://www.hayspharma.com/ http://www.instituteofclinicalresearch.org/id10homepage.asp
Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Pharmaceutical Executive Europe - March 2008 Pharmaceutical Executive Europe - March 2008 Contents From the Editor News and Analysis Brussels Report Calendar The Next Wave of Pharma Talent The New World Order Share of Voice to Share of Care Notes on a Meeting The Malta Story Motivation Across Borders The Mix No GUTs, No Global Green is Good Last Word Pharmaceutical Executive Europe - March 2008 Pharmaceutical Executive Europe - March 2008 - Pharmaceutical Executive Europe - March 2008 (Page 1) Pharmaceutical Executive Europe - March 2008 - Pharmaceutical Executive Europe - March 2008 (Page 2) Pharmaceutical Executive Europe - March 2008 - Contents (Page 3) Pharmaceutical Executive Europe - March 2008 - From the Editor (Page 4) Pharmaceutical Executive Europe - March 2008 - From the Editor (Page 5) Pharmaceutical Executive Europe - March 2008 - News and Analysis (Page 6) Pharmaceutical Executive Europe - March 2008 - News and Analysis (Page 7) Pharmaceutical Executive Europe - March 2008 - Brussels Report (Page 8) Pharmaceutical Executive Europe - March 2008 - Brussels Report (Page 9) Pharmaceutical Executive Europe - March 2008 - Calendar (Page 10) Pharmaceutical Executive Europe - March 2008 - Calendar (Page 11) Pharmaceutical Executive Europe - March 2008 - The Next Wave of Pharma Talent (Page 12) Pharmaceutical Executive Europe - March 2008 - The Next Wave of Pharma Talent (Page 13) Pharmaceutical Executive Europe - March 2008 - The Next Wave of Pharma Talent (Page 14) Pharmaceutical Executive Europe - March 2008 - The New World Order (Page 15) Pharmaceutical Executive Europe - March 2008 - The New World Order (Page 16) Pharmaceutical Executive Europe - March 2008 - The New World Order (Page 17) Pharmaceutical Executive Europe - March 2008 - Share of Voice to Share of Care (Page 18) Pharmaceutical Executive Europe - March 2008 - Share of Voice to Share of Care (Page 19) Pharmaceutical Executive Europe - March 2008 - Share of Voice to Share of Care (Page 20) Pharmaceutical Executive Europe - March 2008 - Notes on a Meeting (Page 21) Pharmaceutical Executive Europe - March 2008 - Notes on a Meeting (Page 22) Pharmaceutical Executive Europe - March 2008 - Notes on a Meeting (Page 23) Pharmaceutical Executive Europe - March 2008 - The Malta Story (Page 24) Pharmaceutical Executive Europe - March 2008 - The Malta Story (Page 25) Pharmaceutical Executive Europe - March 2008 - The Mix (Page 26) Pharmaceutical Executive Europe - March 2008 - No GUTs, No Global (Page 27) Pharmaceutical Executive Europe - March 2008 - No GUTs, No Global (Page 28) Pharmaceutical Executive Europe - March 2008 - No GUTs, No Global (Page 29) Pharmaceutical Executive Europe - March 2008 - Last Word (Page 30)
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