Independents

Non-Executive Search Services

PiR Independents was established in 2004 to provide a search service for the recruitment of Non-Executive Directors (NEDs) and Chairmen for emerging and established life-science companies. The name Independents was deliberately chosen in response to the increased legislation and non-mandatory corporate governance codes affecting the way business was conducted in the boardroom.

Since that time, the pressure on businesses to avoid a conflict of interest amongst non-executives has grown considerably and more legislation has been introduced. The need for true independence in the boardroom has never been greater and is essential to underpin shareholder confidence. Harmonising standards globally and across Europe for corporate governance and regulation is a major challenge facing businesses and governments. Within Europe, organisations such as ecoDa (European Confederation of Directors’ Associations) and BUSINESSEUROPE (the Confederation of European Business) are playing a key role in the dissemination of best corporate governance practices.

Through PiR’s extensive international network of non-executives, combined with our in-house research capability, we are able to identify and select the appropriate NEDs against the client’s exacting requirements. Our industry specialisation enables us to reach NEDs with the required industry knowledge and subject skills. Our selection criteria also ensure the NED is knowledgeable about the client’s business and will blend with the rest of the Board. Furthermore, we ensure the NED’s credentials match the required best practice standards for corporate governance which is all part of our competency-interviewing and reference-checking process.

Boardroom Consultancy Services

PiR’s slogan ‘world-class teams – life-science focus’ starts in the boardroom. Aligning the Board’s experience, knowledge and skills to the needs of the business presents an increasing challenge for companies. The economic climate in which companies have to operate and build sustainable growth is becoming increasingly fluid. Clients have to move quickly to deal with such issues as: competitive challenges; cost reduction; globalisation; investment and effectiveness in research and development; speed to proof of principle; speed to market; generic competition; increased regulation; reimbursement policies; and mergers and acquisitions, etc.

Having the best skills available in the boardroom at the right time is critical to meeting these challenges and achieving the business objectives and stakeholder returns.

Working closely with the Chairman and the Board, PiR is able to assess the individual skills of Board members and identify any gaps against the business needs. We can then help to scope the specification for new Board members, utilising our extensive life-science industry knowledge and contacts, to provide comprehensive NED recruitment and fill those gaps using the above mentioned services. Alternatively, where there is a specific shorter-term need, special project or where a particular skill set is required, we can provide boardroom consultants to meet those demands.

Unlike many business consultancies, PiR works through associates for boardroom consultancy. This enables us to access the best independent talent in the world – experts in their given fields within life sciences and other industry sectors who would otherwise not be employed by any one consultancy. This means PiR is the conduit and facilitator to channel the very best expertise exactly where it is needed ensuring we work with only the best. Our associates seek an independent portfolio career and, having lived in the corporate world previously, they offer the wisdom that comes with many years of being at the frontline and subsequently as consultants.

Executive Coaching, Mentoring and Development

As an extension of PiR’s Boardroom Services, executive coaching, mentoring and development were introduced in 2008 through our network of industry-focused executive coaches. Our coaches have considerable experience of relevant industries and offer diversity of company culture and business size. They have worked in start-up/emerging companies, mid-cap and large corporations and have an in-depth understanding of the dynamics, complexity and drivers for each business model. The coaching knowledge pool enables us to select the coach with appropriate experience for any given situation ensuring the relationship between the coach and client optimises and enhances executive performance.

If you have a considerable amount of experience in senior positions in the life-science industry (typically, 20 years or more), you might like to consider becoming a Non-Executive Director (NED) of an emerging or established company. Should you wish to become an NED, we will interview you to ascertain your background, experience and skills. When clients ask for a shortlist of potential NEDs, we will then establish if your skill set suits the particular sector within which the client works.

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