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Appointing a Materials Science Leader to Drive Growth in a Surgical Biomaterials Business
Miramar appointed a VP of R&D with a rare materials science profile to help a global MedTech leader double a multibillion dollar surgical business.
THE CHALLENGE
Our client, one of the world’s largest MedTech companies, had recently realigned one of its surgical businesses to sharpen focus, move closer to customers and speed up decision making. The portfolio is built on advanced biomaterials used in surgery, and the ambition was clear: double the size of the business, including expansion into adjacent product categories, through both internal innovation and acquisitions.
To lead that growth, the client created a new VP of R&D position. This leader would sit on both the business unit’s operating committee and the wider R&D leadership team, lead a global team across the US, Europe and the Middle East, and own a pipeline spanning PMA programmes, manufacturing scale up and external innovation.
The scientific profile the role required is rare among MedTech R&D leaders.
THE SOLUTION
Because MedTech alone would not yield enough qualified candidates, we aligned with the client at the outset on four distinct target markets:
- Direct and adjacent surgical biomaterials competitors
- Broader medical device manufacturers built on materials science, including advanced wound care, soft tissue implants and IOLs
- Materials science companies supporting highly regulated industries
- Highly regulated consumer products companies
The logic was simple. The science behind these surgical products has far more in common with specialty polymers and advanced materials than with most traditional medical device categories. Leaders at top chemical and materials companies routinely manage regulated products, large portfolios, global teams and acquisitions. The question we needed to answer in each interview was whether that experience would translate to a Class III medical device environment.
THE RESULT
Miramar appointed a leader with exactly the mix of experience the role called for. The successful candidate had:
- A PhD in Polymer Science
- Nearly two decades of R&D leadership at leading chemical and materials companies
- Led an R&D organisation of around 150 people supporting a $1.4B product platform at a major global device manufacturer
- Taken an underperforming product development organisation from no more than one launch a year to 13 within two years
- Raised on time delivery to customers from 17% to 88%
- Led technical due diligence and integration planning for acquisitions at two different companies
They were the rare candidate who could talk polymer chemistry with bench scientists, explain the business case to the operating committee and run an acquisition integration.
From kickoff to accepted offer, the search took just over three months.
The impact
The new VP has stepped into a role built to define the next phase of the business. Their mandate is to:
- Turn a broad pipeline into one that delivers on time, applying the same discipline that multiplied launches in their previous organisation
- Lead the technical side of acquisitions to move the business into adjacent product categories
- Build new technical capabilities and develop the next generation of leaders across a global team
- Bring deep materials science expertise to an R&D organisation whose products depend on it
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