Hiring an Executive Team for a Biotech Company: Insights from Biotech Leaders 

After spending years helping biotech companies build their leadership teams, we’ve seen firsthand just how difficult executive recruitment can be in this sector. 

Recently, we sat down with a few biotech leaders to get their perspectives on what makes this process so challenging. Their insights, combined with our own experience, shed light on why building a biotech leadership team is often such a complex undertaking. 

The Five Main Challenges of Building a Biotech Executive Team

1. The Growth Stage Conundrum

Here’s a truth that many companies struggle with: you need different leaders at different stages of growth. It sounds obvious, but we’ve watched countless biotech firms try to force-fit executives who were perfect for their startup phase into roles that require entirely different skill sets as the company matures. 

Early-stage companies need executives who can roll with the punches—people who actually enjoy the controlled chaos of a growing biotech firm and can juggle multiple responsibilities without dropping the ball. But when you’re moving into clinical trials, you suddenly need leaders who know their way around regulatory requirements and can deal with the complexities of clinical operations. 

We’ve seen executives from big pharma stumble in smaller biotech environments, for example, simply because they’re not used to working with limited resources and having to make quick decisions without layers of corporate approval. The learning curve can be steep, and not everyone makes it over that hill.  

This growth-stage challenge is reflected in industry-wide recruitment struggles. More than nine out of ten biotech companies report difficulties in recruiting experienced executives, and more than seven out of ten also struggle with entry-level positions—a pipeline problem that affects companies at every stage of growth. The reasons cited—lack of experience, small talent pool, and limited industry knowledge—become even more acute as companies transition between growth stages. Finding leaders who understand both where your company is now and where it’s heading next is a particular challenge, especially when the pool of candidates who truly understand biotech’s growth trajectory is already so limited. 

2. Culture Fit and Why It Matters

Finding an executive with the right experience for your particular growth stage is only half the battle, however. You can have a candidate with a perfect resume, but if they don’t genuinely believe in what your company is trying to achieve, it’s not going to work. The best executives we’ve placed are those who light up when talking about advancing science and improving patient outcomes.  

The cultural challenges in biotech are unique because of the industry’s hybrid nature. A biotech executive needs to bridge multiple worlds: the methodical pace of scientific research, the urgency of investor expectations, and the emotional weight of working on treatments that could save lives. We’ve seen this play out in specific ways: A CFO candidate with an impressive track record from a tech company struggled in a biotech role because they kept pushing for faster product development timelines without understanding the inherent unpredictability of scientific research. Conversely, a Chief Scientific Officer from big pharma had trouble adjusting to the scrappy culture of a startup where they needed to personally handle tasks they used to delegate to entire departments. 

The cultural fit challenge becomes even more serious in smaller biotech companies, where executives often need to switch between strategic planning and hands-on problem solving in the same day. During interviews, we now specifically look for examples where candidates have successfully handled this balance. The best candidates can tell you about both high-level strategic victories and times they’ve rolled up their sleeves to help solve unexpected problems.  

3. Scientists vs. Business People: Who Do You Need?

This is a particularly thorny issue in biotech. Many companies are led by brilliant scientists who have limited experience when it comes to thinking about corporate structure or organizational development. On the flip side, you have business executives who might not fully grasp the scientific complexities of what they’re trying to commercialize. 

Finding someone who can bridge this gap—especially in smaller companies where you need executives to wear multiple hats—is like finding a needle in a haystack. The ideal C-suite has a mix of both scientific and business expertise, but what if you’re a startup and can only hire one or two new executives? That’s when you need to find those rare individuals who can speak both languages fluently.  

And here’s what makes this even trickier: most biotech companies aren’t even clear about what they’re looking for in their leaders. According to a McKinsey report, less than 50% of life sciences executives strongly agree that they are clear about the two or three leadership qualities and capabilities their top teams should excel in. This lack of clarity often leads to mismatched hires—a technically brilliant CSO who can’t communicate with investors, or a seasoned CFO who doesn’t understand why the R&D timeline keeps shifting. When you’re trying to bridge the science-business divide, you first need to know what you’re actually looking for on both sides of that bridge. 

4. The Internal vs. External Talent Dilemma

Here’s something biotech companies often overlook: balancing internal promotions with external hires. While bringing in outside expertise can be clever in a strategic sense, especially during transition periods, relying too heavily on external talent can demoralize your existing team. We’ve seen promising leaders leave organizations because they saw no path to the C-suite, regardless of their performance. 

Early-stage companies often lean heavily on external expertise to stay lean and cost-effective, which makes sense. It gives them access to specialized skills without having to build out a full internal team. But as organizations grow, they need to shift towards developing their internal leadership capabilities. This means constantly reassessing your hiring strategy—it’s not a one-and-done deal. 

The impact of getting this balance wrong is clear in the industry’s retention numbers. According to BioSpace, the turnover rate in the biotech industry was as high as 20% in 2021. However, the same report indicates that year-on-year, the turnover rate is closer to 10%. Companies that invest in their employees’ growth and development tend to retain talent more effectively, and balancing internal promotions with external hires can help to lower your company’s own turnover. 

5. The Problem with Funding Constraints

Money matters. Biotech companies, especially in their early stages, often face funding constraints that directly impact their ability to attract top talent. This doesn’t mean you can’t build a world-class leadership team, but it does mean you need to get creative with compensation packages and think beyond just salary. 

According to BioPharma Dive, the median total compensation for biotech CEOs was 4.8 million USD in 2020. That’s a big figure for most biotech firms, especially those in earlier growth phases. But rather than trying to match these numbers directly, we’ve found success helping early-stage companies structure packages that balance immediate rewards with long-term incentives. Some approaches that have worked particularly well include: 

• Performance-based equity vesting schedules that align with company milestones, rather than just time-based vesting. For instance, accelerated vesting tied to successful clinical trial phases or regulatory approvals. 
• Hybrid compensation models where executives can choose their mix of cash and equity within certain parameters. We’ve seen this work well for companies that have some funding but need to preserve cash—executives who believe strongly in the company’s potential often opt for more equity. 
• Strategic use of advisory roles that can transition into full-time positions. This allows companies to benefit from experienced executives’ expertise during critical phases while managing costs, with the potential for these advisors to step into larger roles as the company grows. 
• Role-expansion opportunities where executives can grow their responsibilities (and compensation) in parallel with company growth. For example, a CFO might start with finance and operations responsibilities, with the potential to add business development or commercial strategy to their portfolio as the company expands. 

These creative approaches often prove more effective than trying to compete head-to-head with big pharma salaries. They attract executives who are genuinely invested in building something meaningful and are willing to tie their success to the company’s success. 

How to Build a World-Class Leadership Team for Your Biotech Company

Building a world-class biotech leadership team is challenging, but it’s far from impossible. The key is understanding these challenges upfront and developing strategies to address them. In our experience, the most successful companies are those that think ahead about their leadership needs and remain flexible in their approach to finding and retaining top talent. 

Remember that building your executive team is not a one-time effort—it’s an ongoing process that grows and changes with your company. The leaders who lead you through the early research phase might not be the same ones who’ll guide you through commercialization, and that’s okay. The most important thing is to be transparent about your company’s growth stage, honest about your constraints, and creative in how you structure both roles and compensation. 

About the Author

Şükran Tümay is a Managing Partner at Stanton Chase London. She specializes in the Consumer Products and Services and Life Sciences and Healthcare sectors and has extensive experience in cross-border executive search throughout Europe, the Middle East, and Central Asia. Şükran is a Co-Active Coach and an alum of the CTI Leadership Community. She is passionate about supporting women and actively works with charities which aim to empower women in improving the trajectory of their lives by helping them identify their values and create awareness of their skills. Şükran is also accredited in psychometric and behavioral assessments.