Coulter Partners Lands CEO for Biogazelle
December 6, 2018 – Global executive search firm Coulter Partners has placed Armin Winands as the new CEO of Biogazelle, specialists in liquid biopsies and non-coding RNA. He succeeds co-founder Jan Hellemans, who will take on the position of chief technology officer after 10 years as CEO. Director Irene Montgomery led the assignment for Coulter Partners.
Mr. Winands is a highly experienced and well-regarded business leader, said the search firm. He has gained experience in the markets of genetic testing, biomarker discovery and clinical assay development since 2010 and has built expertise in building and leading international teams for over 20 years. Mr. Winands is a people- and customer-focused individual with a strong history of managing highly engaged and results oriented teams. He is charged with leading the company through its next phase of innovation and spurring rapid growth.
The appointment of Mr. Winands is part of Biogazelle’s strategy to position itself as a respected European player in the field of molecular test discovery, development and analysis, said Coulter Partners. With its internationally recognized expertise in gene expression and liquid biopsies, Biogazelle’s unique service offering is a valuable contribution to the field of precision medicine.
“The last few years, we have been working hard to establish a state-of-the art technology offer in a professional organization with all applicable quality assurance measures in place,” said Dr. Hellemans. “Going forward, I am eager to welcome Armin as CEO and I thank the highly professional team at Coulter Partners for their work on our behalf in achieving this appointment. Armin’s demonstrated talents to lead commercial teams will be essential for the continued growth of Biogazelle in an international context.”
Mr. Winands said he was looking forward to his new role. “I am incredibly proud and excited to lead Biogazelle and execute our global strategy following our vision of becoming a highly valued partner to our customers developing diagnostics and therapeutics,” he said. “Biogazelle has a fantastic business and with its expertise in biomarker discovery, clinical assay development and liquid biopsies we are set up very well to serve our customers.”
Life Sciences Specialists
Coulter Partners is a senior-level executive search boutique focused exclusively on identifying global life sciences leaders and board directors. The firm serves clients in the pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, medical devices, diagnostics, CRO and services sectors.
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Coulter currently operates overseas offices in the U.K., Germany, Switzerland and Denmark. In the U.S., the firm has offices in Cambridge, MA; Princeton, NJ; Pittsburgh; Los Angeles; and Short Hills, NJ.
Ms. Montgomery focuses on board-level global search across all functions including CEO, COO, commercial, research and development, finance, legal, business development, corporate development and non-executive appointments. She has over 20 years working in life sciences, including 13 years with Coulter Partners. Earlier in her career, her work included blue chip consultancy and pharmaceutical research. Ms. Montgomery has experience recruiting senior professionals for biotech, med tech and pharmaceuticals, including specialty pharma, for a variety of early-stage and established businesses across European and U.S. markets.
Transforming Sector
Persistent talent shortages and the need to develop and retain employees with critical business and technology skill-sets will continue to challenge global life sciences companies for the foreseeable future, according to Deloitte’s global sector outlook on life sciences. Navigating this new world of work requires a dramatic change in strategies for leadership, talent and human resources. What’s more, the global life sciences sector in the midst of a turbulent transformation, making the need for innovative leaders more important than ever.
“Our sector has changed beyond anyone’s expectations over the last two decades,” said Bianca Coulter, CEO of Coulter Partners. “We need to understand the appetites and needs of the major multinationals. This requires reach into all corners of the market. While our office network is growing, the key has been to have multilingual, multi-market experienced and connected researchers and consultants. Our team speaks many languages and has worked in all major bio-pharma markets and is organized as one P&L, to ensure collaborative information and experience sharing.”
Contributed by Scott A. Scanlon, Editor-in-Chief; Dale M. Zupsansky, Managing Editor; Stephen Sawicki, Managing Editor; and Andrew W. Mitchell, Managing Editor – Hunt Scanlon Media
