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VP European Sales, Mid-Cap MedTech Company
THE CHALLENGE
Our client was a mid-cap Medical Device company that was struggling commercially in Europe. In recent quarters, they had seen strong growth in the US, APAC, and emerging markets, but Europe was lagging behind. One quarter, Europe contracted while other regions were growing double-digits. This performance was largely down to poor commercial execution. They had an eager, motivated sales force in Europe, but the team needed a stronger leader capable of implementing structure, process, and culture changes to turn things around.Our client played in a niche market and needed to become more successful in developing that market. It wasn’t about battling it out in the streets to gain share from competitors. It was about educating physicians and patients about the effectiveness of their therapy to drive increased adoption.
THE SOLUTION
The two most important factors to getting this hire right were finding candidates with:
1. A track-record of turning around an under-performing sales team
2. An understanding of how to develop a market and drive adoption of a new or under-utilized therapy
We started with the second element first. We asked ourselves, “over the past 10 years, what medical procedures and devices have really taken off?” Continuous glucose monitors. Cardiac ablation to treat Afib. Surgical robotics. These, among others, were the markets we decided to focus on, and we mapped out each of the major players across these spaces to create our target list. Once we got into the interview with a candidate, there were three main things we needed to learn:
1. Did they help create the wave that developed that market, or did they just ride it?
2. Have they also had to turn around an under-performing sales team?
3. And…Our client also had a very distinct culture. They are highly collaborative. They do not win as individuals. They win as a team. Therefore, we needed a leader who was passionate about coaching and developing their people. They needed to be willing to spend a lot of time and get really hands-on in this process. They needed to have low-to-no ego. We needed to assess for this, as well.
THE RESULT
This was a tough search, not without its bumps in the road, but in the end, we arrived at an exceptional result. We found a candidate from the cardiac ablation space, who had not only helped one of the leading players develop that market in Europe, but who led the turnaround of one of the region’s biggest countries. While everywhere else in Europe was growing rapidly, Germany was lagging. This leader came in as Business Unit Director for the country and completely reinvigorated the team, enabling Germany to catch-up and ultimately surpass many of the other countries in the region. This experience was nearly identical to our client’s situation, experiencing high growth in all regions, but Europe.
The impact
The impact of this hire has already been felt in the organization. Growth in the region has rebounded and the team is getting the hands-on support they need. The new VP is implementing more structure and process while establishing mechanisms for real accountability. They are also investing a significant amount of their time in the field, working with front-line leaders and even individual territory managers to ensure they are equipped to execute the new strategy. This has not gone unnoticed and the new VP has quickly gained the trust of the team and wider organization. They are poised for greater and greater levels of impact over time.
