Retained leadership hiring
Executive and Board Search for healthcare and life sciences
Retained search for C-suite, board and senior functional roles across pharma, biotech, medtech and healthcare services.
HealthcareMarketResearch delivers executive and board search for pharmaceutical, biotech, medical device, diagnostics and digital health companies, as well as consultancies and investors.
Projects run from our India headquarters with a global network of 5,000+ market researchers, so you get senior attention, round-the-clock delivery and local fieldwork in every major market.
What you receive
- Market mapping
- Candidate assessment
- Referencing
- Offer and onboarding support
Common use cases
- Board directors
- C-suite hires
- Country leadership
- Scientific leadership
At a glance
Executive and Board Search: the short version
Turnaround, typical scope, audiences, coverage and deliverables for executive and board search — the answer-first version, before you write a brief.
- Turnaround
- Specification agreed in 24–48 hours; shortlist in 5–10 business days
- Typical scope
- Longlist of 20–40, shortlist of 4–6
- Who we reach
- Leadership and board · Clinical and medical · Commercial and access · Technical and quality
- Coverage and languages
- 100+ Indian cities, plus remote sessions worldwide; English, Hindi and major regional languages
- What you receive
- Market mapping · Candidate assessment · Referencing · Offer and onboarding support
- How it runs
- Retained engagement with a named HMR project lead throughout
Scopes are typical, not fixed packages — every project is sized to your brief. Studies follow EphMRA, BHBIA and Insights Association guidance, with GDPR, HIPAA and DPDP-aligned handling of participant data.
How a project runs
Five steps from mandate to handover
Every executive and board search project follows the same path, with a named HMR lead accountable at each step.
- 01
Mandate and brief
We agree what the engagement has to achieve, the seniority and experience it needs, and the constraints that rule candidates in or out.
24–48 hours
- 02
Specification and market map
A written specification plus a map of where the right people sit today, so the search or match is run against evidence rather than a wish list.
Written specification
- 03
Identify and screen
Candidates are drawn from our 5,000+ network and mapped market, then screened on track record, conflicts, confidentiality and availability.
5–10 business days
- 04
Engage and contract
Introductions, assessment conversations and contracting, with fair-market-value terms and documented conflict and confidentiality checks.
Compliance documented
- 05
Review and handover
Agreed objectives are reviewed on a cadence, with oversight from us and a clean handover of knowledge when the engagement closes.
Reviewed on cadence
Who we reach
Stakeholders we recruit for executive and board search
Screened from our 5,000+ network and verified panels across 100+ Indian cities.
Leadership and board
- Independent and non-executive directors
- Board chairs and committee members
- Chief commercial officers
- Chief medical officers
- Managing directors and country heads
Clinical and medical
- Paediatricians and neonatologists
- Nephrologists and transplant physicians
- General and laparoscopic surgeons
- Oncologists and haemato-oncologists
- Rheumatologists and immunologists
Commercial and access
- Brand and portfolio directors
- Medical affairs heads
- Sales and marketing directors
- Market access and pricing heads
- Key account and hospital business leads
Technical and quality
- Validation and compliance specialists
- Plant and site heads
- Quality assurance and control heads
- Regulatory affairs directors
- R&D and formulation leads
Functional specialists
- Finance and planning leaders
- HR and talent heads
- Legal and compliance counsel
- Digital, data and analytics leads
- Programme and transformation leads
Advisors and experts
- Academic chairs and professors
- Health economists
- Testifying and consulting experts
- Independent consultants
- Ethics and compliance advisors
Method comparison
Executive and Board Search compared with the alternatives
The same question can be answered several ways. This is how executive and board search differs from the methods clients usually weigh it against — Executive and Board Search is the highlighted column.
| Executive and Board Search | Interim and Fractional Executives | Long-term Consulting Support | Advisory Boards | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Speed | Retained process over weeks | Shortlist in 5–10 business days | Consultant matched in 5–10 business days | Designed once, then quarterly |
| Typical sample | Longlist of 20–40, shortlist of 4–6 | One interim or fractional leader | 1–3 embedded consultants | 6–12 standing members |
| Depth of insight | Assessed and referenced in depth | Operational, inside the business | Full context, months of work | Cumulative and relationship-based |
| Best for | A permanent leadership or board hire | Leadership cover while you hire | Capability inside the team for months | Standing counsel across several quarters |
| Typical output | Market map, assessments, references | Mandate, KPIs, transition plan | Working deliverables, knowledge transfer | Session decks, minutes, action tracker |
| Runs in person in India |
Compliance
How we keep executive and board search compliant
Healthcare research carries obligations that general market research does not. These apply to every project, in every market.
Industry codes
EphMRA, BHBIA, Insights Association and ESOMAR guidance on how healthcare research is conducted.
Adverse events
Trained adverse event reporting on every healthcare interview, routed to your pharmacovigilance contact.
Data protection
GDPR, HIPAA and India's DPDP Act. Consent is captured before any recording or transcription.
Fair market value
Honoraria benchmarked to fair market value, with UCPMP-aligned contracting and a documented scope of work.
Is this the right fit?
When to use executive and board search — and when not to
We would rather point you at the right approach than sell you this one. Here is where executive and board search earns its place, and where something else does the job better.
Choose this when
- The decision in front of you involves board directors
- You need senior capability in the business, not a one-off report
- Confidentiality and conflict screening are non-negotiable
- The right person is unlikely to be in your immediate network, so reach matters
Consider something else when
- You need leadership cover while you hire — Interim and Fractional Executives fits that better
- Long-term Consulting Support is the better route when you need capability inside the team for months
- The question is really about standing counsel across several quarters, which Advisory Boards covers
Alternatives
Where another method fits better
Each of these answers a different kind of question. Tell us the decision and we will recommend the right one, even when it is not this service.
Executive and Board Search across India
By industry
FAQs
What is executive and board search in healthcare market research?+
Executive and Board Search is one of the ways HealthcareMarketResearch connects pharma, biotech, medtech and healthcare clients with verified physicians, payers and industry experts to answer strategic questions. Retained search for C-suite, board and senior functional roles across pharma, biotech, medtech and healthcare services.
How quickly can executive and board search start?+
Most projects start within 24–48 hours of a confirmed brief, drawing on our 5,000+ network. Specification agreed in 24–48 hours; shortlist in 5–10 business days.
Where do you offer executive and board search?+
Across 100+ Indian cities — from Mumbai, Delhi NCR and Bengaluru to tier 2 and tier 3 hubs — delivered remotely from our Pune headquarters.
What is a typical executive and board search scope?+
Longlist of 20–40, shortlist of 4–6. You receive: Market mapping, Candidate assessment, Referencing, Offer and onboarding support. Everything is sized to the brief rather than sold as a fixed package.
Who can you reach for executive and board search?+
Leadership and board, Clinical and medical, Commercial and access, Technical and quality, Functional specialists, Advisors and experts. Each group is screened on specialty, setting and experience before anyone joins a study.
What is the difference between executive and board search and interim and fractional executives?+
Executive and Board Search is best for a permanent leadership or board hire, with longlist of 20–40, shortlist of 4–6 and assessed and referenced in depth. Interim and Fractional Executives is best for leadership cover while you hire. If both apply, the two are often run in sequence.
Other services
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