Global Operations & Supply Chain Director

Client:
Position:
Sector:
The client is a prominent and highly regarded supplier of global specialty solutions to the life sciences sector. With operations in all continents, both in country and globally overseen, the complexities and challenges to ensure error free delivery of services are substantial.
Following covid, the need to improve the capability and accuracy of operations was clear. New demands emerged as a result of the pandemic that added to the requirement for increased efficiencies. As a result, the board decided that a new post was needed as Global Operations & Supply Chain Director. The objectives were numerous but essentially to align and better standardise the offering and capabilities in each region, to make the transfer of assignments seamless and to have improved understanding and control of the location of moveable assets such that the business could increase the commercial productivity of those assets.
The successful candidate would need to quickly understand the existing limitations, the causes and devise the solutions to ensuring the required improvements, both in the short and long term. With a focus on ‘flow’, there was a need for the successful candidate to have operated globally and with broad cultural understanding in consideration of all the regions involved.
As a result of global inconsistencies, they would need to quickly establish where improvements could be most easily made, integrated and communicated, to establish an initial best practice approach that could start to be implemented almost immediately.
After a comprehensive search looking for candidates on a global basis a shortlist was produced and a pre-determined, rigorous interview process was undertaken to ensure momentum was maintained. The appointment was made only 12 weeks after the search had begun and the chosen individual was in place well within 5 months of the start of the search mandate.
The results and progress have been very well received and acknowledged and the hire continues to add considerable value to a project that is continuously evolving. The client continues to engage with us regarding other requirements, as they seek to grow and develop their international offerings further.