Borderless Releases Survey Results on Leadership, People and Organizations in the European Medical Devices and Diagnostics Sectors

Brussels, October 9, 2013. Borderless, an international provider of executive search and leadership services for the Life Sciences sector, has released the results of a new survey conducted in association with MedTech Europe. Leadership, People and Organizations: The Way Ahead for the European Medical Devices and Diagnostics Sectors examines the current perspectives and future directions of leadership, people and organizations.

The Borderless Researchsmstudy, led by the firm’s Founding Partner, Andrew Kris and consultant Lynn Ware, together with the Chief Executive of MedTech Europe, Serge Bernasconi, reached out to more than 200 Europe-based C-suite Executives and Executive Committee members in the Medical Devices and In vitro Diagnostics sectors, to assess how the sectors’ leaders perceive and intend to respond to the challenges faced today.

Key findings include:

• Meeting revenue targets, improving efficiency, and reducing costs remain high priorities. Growth in emerging markets and the development and retention of top talent also rank among leading priorities.
• Respondents indicated a critical need for new expertise in Reimbursement, Regulatory, and R&D functions, and accordingly expect to see a rise in headcount in these areas. The ease of finding talent for these functions, however, is anticipated to be very difficult.
• Gender diversity is most desired in General Management, Business Unit Management, Sales and Business Development, and in R&D; however, too few successful role models, unsupportive environments, and top leaders who are not held accountable for increasing diversity are seen as the most significant obstacles to achieving it.
• Mobility – both internationally and across functions – is seen as important for senior executives to secure future success. Respondents feel, however, that candidates fail to perceive this value. The most significant barriers to international mobility include a low appetite for risk, remuneration that is prohibitively expensive for the company, and the limiting factors associated with dual careers in households.
• Respondents seemed unconvinced that venturing outside of their sectors to find inspiration for new business and organizational models would offer substantial lessons.

“The positive reception to this survey confirms that leadership, people, and organizations are high on the executive agenda,” said Andrew Kris of Borderless.

MedTech Europe’s Serge Bernasconi added: “The findings suggest that the industry needs to look at how it can improve gender diversity at general management level. This was a topic at our last annual European CEO Roundtable and the findings confirm that it is a topic that requires more attention.  There also seems to be a need for new expertise in the fields of R&D and reimbursement, which confirms that the industry is changing in line with the 5-year industry strategy “Contract for a Healthy Future” that emphasizes the need for new R&D models and more health-economic data. ’”

For more information or for the survey results report, contact Taunya Renson-Martin at taunya.renson@borderless.net or tel: +32 475 604 096.

For more information or for the survey results report, contact Taunya Renson-Martin at taunya.renson@borderless.net or tel: +32 475 604 096.

About Borderless:

Borderless has a unique approach to international executive search. The firm finds and attracts talented senior-level executives for multinational companies in the Process and Converting, Life Sciences, Environmental Technologies and Food Processing sectors. For more than a decade, Borderless has been identifying leaders to assume roles on Boards and in senior management, finance, human resources, administration, marketing and sales, operations, logistics and R&D, as well as a range of specialist positions. http://borderless.net

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