Burgeoning Spinout of a Well-Known Medical Device Manufacturer

the roles

VP of Operations (Head of Operations)

VP of Finance (Head of Finance)

the challenge

Spinning Out, Scaling Up: Building an Executive Team Amid Structural Uncertainty

Our client—a GM preparing to lead the spinout of a division from a major medical device company—faced intense pressure. In the midst of separation planning, he was tasked with reshaping the business into a lean, startup-oriented organization while still operating under a large corporate umbrella.

But he couldn’t do it alone.

To navigate this high-stakes transition, he urgently needed two critical hires: a strategic finance partner who could serve as Head of Finance now and seamlessly transition to CFO post-spinout, and a Head of Operations with end-to-end command of regulatory, quality, and supply chain in the MedTech space.

The challenge? Finding best-in-class leaders with the agility to thrive through transition, the credibility to lead, and the experience to scale in both corporate and startup environments.

Our Approach

Our team sought out financial leaders within highly regulated industries with experience operating within rapid organic growth environments.

We identified divisional finance leaders within larger organizations alongside CFOs of $150M+ organizations, particularly those with prior success operating in PE and VC environments.

Leaders who had structured a business for sale and/or been involved in a successful exit were highly prioritized. 

Regarding VP of Operations, our team prioritized by growth rate and EBITDA, identifying medical device organizations that had experienced significant growth or operational improvement over the past 10 years, preferably with multiple new product launches during that period.

Coupling this with in-depth culture and behavior interviews, our team quickly identified a strong shortlist of talent.

the result

The result of both searches was a highly-targeted talent pool of candidates; for Head of Finance, all with former carveout, M&A, integration or exit experience.

Our client was impressed with his options, ultimately selecting a candidate with a background as a divisional CFO within the medical device world alongside CFO experience in the startup environment as his VP of Finance.

This candidate understood the strategic goals of our client while demonstrating a strong culture fit and willingness to travel on-site weekly.

Out of multiple finalist candidates, our client selected a strong VP of Operations to join the team, with experience not only in medical device more generally but specifically in our client’s niche area.

Our client was impressed with this targeted headhunting project, and entrusted our team with additional critical hires.

“You get it. You get the business and what kind of rare candidate can do this job, holistically. Your eye for talent and discretion regarding who you recommend for the role has been fantastic.”

— GM of the Business Unit