THE CLIENT OPPORTUNITY

A well-established medical device company was starting up a new electronics division as part of the company’s growth plan. The first hire in this new division would be a Senior Product Manager. Busy preparing the company for the expansion, the client had little time to spare to complete an extensive and successful search for this new member. Instead, they placed their trust in the hands of Ashton Tweed to fill the role without delaying the company’s strict timelines.

 

THE ASHTON TWEED SOLUTION

The company required that the new hire have at least 9 years’ product marketing/management experience and previous involvement with medical devices, preferably within the cold chain. Past success leading the design and execution of a launch plan was also crucial to the client. Finally, regarding culture fit, the ability to work productively in a small company and hands-on environment would be ideal. 

The Ashton Tweed team targeted 364 potential candidates that matched these requirements. Non-competes became an issue when trying to recruit within such a niche market. Therefore, out of the original target group, 79 candidates were screened out. The hiring manager, who travelled frequently both nationally and internationally to China, had slim availability to discuss the search. The recruiters worked around this busy schedule and utilized any delays on the client’s end to narrow down the candidate pool to 7 highly qualified candidates.

The client’s fiscal year ended June 30, causing them to postpone parts of the interview process, but not the company’s decision. They were pleased to extend an offer to their top candidate choice, who accepted. This professional was local to the office and fulfilled the client’s requirements with 11 years of experience in product management and over 8 years of medical device involvement. The interviewers really enjoyed the candidate, who personally held the same values as the company, making this person a perfect cultural match.

Ashton Tweed had the foresight to present this candidate because the individual had a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering plus an MBA. This relevant background would be useful in understanding the client’s complex technology. In addition, this hire had marketing experience, which would be advantageous for the position, as the new division would be interacting with present and potential customers.

 

THE BENEFITS

The client’s Human Resources Director expressed satisfaction throughout the process, which was completed within a few months, allowing the company to launch their new electronics division as scheduled. Additionally, Ashton Tweed helped negotiate the candidate’s salary in order to match the new hire’s expectations within the company’s budget and pay scale parameters. The Senior Product Manager is currently launching a new product line and, as of last week, the first shipment has officially been sent out to customers.