Chief Operating Officer

Chief Executive Officer – Life Sciences

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The Opportunity

A rapidly growing international Life Sciences testing, research and technical services organisation is seeking an accomplished Chief Executive Officer to lead the continued development of its European Life Sciences business. The organisation brings together specialist businesses serving highly regulated pharmaceutical, biotechnology, medical device, diagnostics and healthcare markets.

Operating through a decentralised structure, the group combines the technical expertise, customer relationships and entrepreneurial culture of its individual businesses with the investment capability and strategic support of a larger international organisation.

The Life Sciences business provides specialist services throughout the product development and commercial lifecycle, encompassing areas such as pharmaceutical testing, analytical laboratory services, medical device testing, clinical and scientific services, validation, quality assurance and regulatory support. This appointment represents a significant opportunity to lead an established and growing portfolio while shaping its next phase of organic and acquisitive development.

The Role

The CEO will assume overall responsibility for the strategic, commercial and operational performance of the Life Sciences business. Working closely with the Managing Directors and senior leadership teams of the individual operating companies, the successful candidate will define the divisional strategy, accelerate profitable growth and identify opportunities for greater collaboration across the portfolio. The role carries significant P&L responsibility and requires an executive capable of operating across both highly technical regulated environments and commercially driven service businesses. Alongside organic development, the CEO will play an important role in the continued expansion of the organisation through M&A, integration and the development of complementary capabilities and geographic markets.

Key Responsibilities

• Provide overall strategic leadership to a portfolio of specialist Life Sciences businesses.
• Assume accountability for divisional revenue, EBITDA, budgeting, forecasting and overall P&L performance.
• Develop and execute a clear strategy for sustainable organic and acquisitive growth.
• Lead and support Managing Directors and senior leadership teams across the portfolio.
• Drive commercial performance through stronger key-account management, business development and cross-selling.
• Develop relationships with major customers across the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, medical device, diagnostics and healthcare sectors.
• Identify opportunities to broaden the organisation's technical capabilities and enter complementary markets.
• Create greater collaboration between businesses while maintaining their individual technical expertise, market positioning and entrepreneurial culture.
• Improve operational performance, utilisation, productivity and profitability across the organisation.
• Ensure appropriate investment in people, laboratory capabilities, technology, infrastructure and capacity to support future growth.
• Maintain the highest standards of scientific integrity, quality, regulatory compliance and customer service.
• Ensure businesses operate effectively within relevant regulated frameworks including GxP, GMP and internationally recognised quality and laboratory standards.
• Support the identification and evaluation of potential acquisition targets.
• Lead the successful onboarding and integration of newly acquired businesses.
• Develop the organisational and leadership structure required to support continued international expansion.
• Recruit, develop and retain high-performing Managing Directors and senior functional leaders.
• Represent the organisation with strategic customers, partners and wider industry stakeholders.

Candidate Profile

We are seeking an accomplished senior executive with substantial leadership experience within the Life Sciences testing, laboratory, CRO, medical device, pharmaceutical services or wider scientific services market. The successful candidate is likely to have operated at CEO, Managing Director, Divisional President, Segment Head, Business Unit Director, Regional Director or equivalent executive level.

Candidates should demonstrate:

• Significant senior leadership experience within Life Sciences testing or scientific services.
• Strong exposure to pharmaceutical, biotechnology, medical device or diagnostic customers.
• Proven ownership of a substantial P&L with accountability for revenue growth and profitability.
• Experience leading multiple businesses, sites, business units or countries.
• A strong understanding of regulated laboratory or technical service environments.
• Familiarity with GMP, GxP, GLP, ISO/IEC 17025 or comparable regulated quality frameworks.
• A demonstrable track record of delivering organic growth, margin improvement and commercial development.
• Experience leading senior management teams and developing Managing Directors or Business Unit leaders.
• The ability to operate successfully across technical, scientific, operational and commercial functions.
• Strong understanding of the commercial dynamics of outsourced testing, research and technical services.
• Experience of M&A, post-acquisition integration or an acquisitive / buy-and-build environment would be highly advantageous.
• International experience, ideally within a multi-country European organisation.

Relevant Market Experience

Particularly relevant backgrounds may include leadership within organisations providing:

• Pharmaceutical analytical and quality control testing
• GMP laboratory services
• Stability and release testing
• Microbiology and contamination testing
• Medical device testing
• Biocompatibility and safety testing
• Clinical or scientific research services
• Laboratory diagnostics
• Validation and qualification services
• Regulatory and quality assurance services
• Specialist outsourced scientific services

Candidates do not necessarily need experience across every discipline. More important is a strong understanding of regulated, technically complex and people-led Life Sciences service businesses.

Leadership Style

The organisation is seeking an executive who combines commercial ambition, scientific credibility and entrepreneurial leadership. This is not a traditional highly centralised corporate environment.

The successful candidate will need to provide clear strategic direction and establish accountability while allowing specialist businesses and their management teams to retain the agility, customer proximity and technical expertise that have contributed to their success. They must therefore be capable of moving comfortably between board-level strategy, financial performance, M&A, customer development and detailed conversations with scientific and operational leadership teams. A collaborative approach will be essential. xlxgzvr The objective is not simply to consolidate businesses, but to create an environment in which specialist organisations can grow faster together than they could independently.