Finance Director for a high-growth biotech scale-up

A rapidly growing biotech company in London was preparing for its next phase of growth following successful early-stage development and increasing investor interest.

The business needed to appoint a Finance Director who could operate strategically while remaining sufficiently hands-on for a fast-moving scale-up environment.

The successful candidate needed experience within start-up or scale-up businesses, exposure to Series funding, the ability to develop financial infrastructure and strong commercial and investor-facing skills.

Cultural fit was equally important. This was not a traditional corporate Finance Director appointment. The individual needed to operate effectively alongside founders and investors within an entrepreneurial environment.

We worked closely with the client to understand its growth plans, funding objectives, leadership style and operational requirements.

Rather than assessing candidates solely against the immediate job description, we considered what the business would require from its Finance Director as it continued to scale.

Our search therefore focused on candidates with:

• Start-up and scale-up leadership experience
• Experience of funding rounds and investor engagement
• Hands-on financial controls, forecasting and reporting capability
• Commercial and strategic leadership skills
• The adaptability required within a growing biotech organisation

Candidates were thoroughly screened for both technical capability and cultural alignment.