In 2024, the team was approached by the CEO of the company, with the task to support the group’s strategic business development towards increased sustainability by identifying possible candidates within the Symposium’s global young leaders pool that would fit for the a role in their advisory board.

About the Process

In January 2024, the team met with the CEO and Board Member, as well as the Chief People and Culture Officer who provided the initial requirements for a potential candidate to advise the group on matters of people, planet and patient. The aim was to find the right profiles for at least two of the three dimensions to foster the values of sustainability at the core of the company culture, also being a certified B Corp. Given the company’s drive for innovation and the very strong expertise within the pharma industry, especially in product development, they sought young profiles who already demonstrated a strong commitment in their domain of expertise and who can be considered key players in their sustainability area of focus. The team listened carefully to the company’s needs and concentrated on researching 10 profiles that could meet these requirements. Considering the company’s strong roots in the DACH regions, the search primarily focused there, but did not exclude strong international profiles. The team aimed to find 2-3 candidates for each sustainable dimension highlighted by the company.

After conducting initial interviews with the candidates, the team compiled a selection of 10 profiles, which were then presented to the company’s CEO and Chief of People and Culture Officer, as well as its investors. From this selection, the boards expressed interest in three profiles: one candidate had a strong expertise, coming from the own academic research and the friction obtained through the own start-up in the domain of organisational culture, another had more of an activist background, working in an organisation based in the German capital, and a third candidate had a strong expertise and experience in advising corporate clients regarding the key metrics related to carbon emissions. The team facilitated connections between these candidates and both company representatives. All candidates had the opportunity to connect with the company and get to know better the field of business, as well as the aim behind the advisory board mandate to clarify expectations and showcase their strengths. In the end, two candidates were found to be very convincing and were deemed the best match in terms of what the company was looking for their vision of sustainability.

The two candidates will be starting their advisory board mandate at the beginning of 2025 and will be advising the company on the planet and people spheres of sustainability. The team congratulates the young leaders on this nomination and wishes all the best for the mandate and professional growth.