VP of Technical Operations

Specialty Biologics CDMO – USA

Highlight

Enabled facility scale-up and tech transfers for new biologics programs

The Brief

A specialty biologics CDMO required a Vice President of Technical Operations to lead its next phase of growth. The company was expanding capacity to meet increasing client demand and needed an executive who could oversee facility expansion projects while ensuring operational excellence across manufacturing, engineering, and supply chain. The brief was clear: appoint a senior leader who could guarantee that client biologics programs were transferred and scaled smoothly, while simultaneously building the infrastructure required for long-term growth.

The Challenge

The role combined multiple layers of complexity. The business was scaling capacity at speed, which required someone with technical depth in biologics manufacturing and experience managing large capital projects. Beyond technical expertise, the hire needed to demonstrate cross-functional leadership, aligning diverse teams to client timelines and regulatory expectations. The market for such leaders is highly competitive, as senior operations executives with end-to-end experience in facility buildouts, commercial tech transfers, and regulatory compliance are in constant demand. The search also carried urgency, with client program milestones creating immovable deadlines.

Our Approach

We targeted senior operations executives from both biologics CDMOs and large pharma companies who had proven track records in facility expansions and late-stage tech transfers. Candidate evaluation focused on three areas: operational excellence in managing complex biologics programs, regulatory credibility to ensure smooth approvals during scale-up, and leadership skills to unite manufacturing, engineering, and supply chain functions. We emphasised candidates with direct experience in overseeing capital projects of $50M+ and those who had successfully led teams through the challenges of commercial readiness. Outreach was discreet and focused on individuals who could thrive in a fast-moving CDMO environment where client expectations and timelines dictate operational priorities.

Outcome

Within the defined search window, we secured a Vice President who had previously overseen a $100M facility expansion and successfully executed multiple late-stage tech transfers for biologics clients. Since joining, the new leader has driven improvements in client delivery timelines, introduced more robust cross-site operational processes, and expanded capacity to accommodate new programs. The placement gave the CDMO a trusted senior operator who could balance immediate client needs with the longer-term requirements of infrastructure growth. For the leadership team, the hire provided confidence that technical operations were equipped to sustain the company’s rapid trajectory and deliver consistently for clients under regulatory scrutiny.

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