Summary
A fast-growing, mission-driven Pharmacy Benefit Management (PBM) partnered with Klein Hersh to scale its leadership team during a critical phase of expansion. Operating in a complex and traditionally closed-off market, the company needed values-aligned executives who could lead through rapid growth. Through our extensive experience building healthcare and life sciences leadership teams, Klein Hersh understands there is no one-size-fits-all approach. We tailored our strategy to the client’s unique goals and, over two years, placed five senior leaders with an average search duration of just 103 days, laying the groundwork for continued innovation and long-term success.
The Challenge
In the hyper-competitive PBM arena, where opacity and tradition often overshadow innovation, one company is daring to disrupt the market by bringing visibility to prescription drug prices and deploying a new electronic claims processing infrastructure. Founded in 2018, this client has experienced significant growth. With that has come a growing need for visionary leaders to navigate their path forward.
Klein Hersh was brought in to assist in building out a leadership team capable of steering this client through a period of explosive expansion. The challenge was twofold: find executives whose values aligned with the client’s unique culture and mission to bring transparency, efficiency, and agility to the market and who would eagerly join the promising environment of a PBM startup disrupting the status quo.
The stakes were high, as a successful recruitment effort would not only bolster this client’s leadership bench but also solidify its position as a formidable contender in the evolving healthcare marketplace and set them up for success in their next phases of growth and evolution.
The Approach
Through our extensive experience in successfully building out healthcare and life sciences leadership teams, Klein Hersh knows there is no templated approach to ensure success. We approached this challenge with a commitment tailored to our client’s specific goals:
- Deep Industry Mastery: We began by deeply immersing ourselves in the PBM industry, drawing on our extensive networks across the healthcare, venture capital, and private equity communities, and leveraging personal connections for introductions to key PBM players. Vital in this research was developing an understanding of why leaders in this industry may desire to stay with a growth company and the key factors that would entice leaders without PBM experience to join.
- Customized & Flexible Candidate Engagement: Leveraging a high-touch approach, Klein Hersh tailored our recruitment strategy to each of the five eventual roles’ unique requirements. Throughout the process, we remained agile, adapting swiftly to the client’s evolving needs as they pivoted the roles and hiring order based on evolving organizational needs during a time of incredible growth. This flexibility ensured that each placement aligned with the skills and values necessary to drive maximum impact.
- Collaborative Partnership: Our approach was grounded in a high-touch, collaborative partnership with the client that involved proactive and transparent communication, responsive and adaptable strategy, and two-way trust. The client appreciated our team’s dedication to open and honest communication – pushing back when necessary and challenging their thinking in a respectful way to ensure the best outcome.
The Results
The results of Klein Hersh’s efforts were transformative, matching industry-leading executives with the client’s mission to bring transparency, efficiency, and agility to the PBM industry. In under two years, Klein Hersh filled five key roles including General Council & Chief Compliance Officer, Chief Human Resource Officer, VP of Technology, SVP of Finance, and Chief Financial Officer. Each search was completed in an average of 103 days, below Klein Hersh’s industry-leading average of 113 days.
The new team has been integral in fueling continued growth and innovation, from fortifying technology infrastructure and legal and compliance processes to maintaining exceptionally high member and client NPS scores.
The client is thrilled with Klein Hersh’s ability to navigate complex recruitment challenges and deliver exceptional results. The CEO said, “Our partnership with the Klein Hersh team has exceeded expectations and helped establish a foundation of trust and collaboration that continues to drive both parties forward.”
There is an opportunity to replicate these successes with other visionary healthcare innovators poised to scale their leadership teams to pave the way for industry transformation. Contact our team of experts to discuss opportunities to partner on your leadership team buildout.
