Innovative Leadership for a UK-Based Medical Equipment Provider

You don’t have to settle — proven leaders who thrive in complex environments do exist, and they can be found.

The Role

Managing Director

The Challenge

Our client, an established medical equipment provider in the United Kingdom, sought out this critical hire with the key objective of improving their operational excellence and customer care. The ideal candidate needed extensive experience as a successful operational leader in a complex Order-to-Cash (O2C) business model. A background in the healthcare industry was strongly preferred, due to healthcare-specific complexities facing the business. The role required an influential leader capable of striking a balance between driving employee engagement across all levels of an organization and enforcing discipline and rigor to ensure reliable profitability. 

Considering the strategic objectives ahead, it was critical for this hire to be on-site in a small coastal town in England. Due to the town’s considerable distance from major city centers, all non-local candidates presented needed to be willing to relocate. 

Our Approach

Our experienced executive search team deployed a tailored approach to identify seasoned Managing Directors with experience at best-in-class healthcare organizations that operated in an O2C business model. To ensure maximum market coverage, we also explored select industries with scale and complexities comparable to healthcare’s operational demands. 

The search began with a concentrated effort on candidates local to the area. As the search progressed, the geographical scope was broadened to include top-talent from population centers throughout England and across the United Kingdom, while maintaining a strict requirement for candidates committed to on-site work.

Our team identified 253 strong operators who had demonstrated success in complex O2C environments. Through a comprehensive, multi-phase evaluation, including in-depth background analysis and assessment of leadership style and cultural fit, three candidates were presented to our client for consideration.

The Results

After presenting a hyper-focused shortlist, our client was pleased to advance two highly-qualified candidates to the final interview stage. Within 54 calendar days (38 business days), the team successfully secured a Managing Director with over twenty years of experience as an operational leader in the healthcare industry. The chosen candidate brought a strong understanding of the market and its complexities, and a history of driving operational improvements, fostering high employee engagement and delivering reliable profitability. 

“You guys did not waste our time putting candidates in front of us that would not be a good fit, and you did not just go to your rolodex, either. We wanted to scour the market and make sure we had the right person. It was all the right process.”

– Senior Director, Human Resources, International Commercial Teams