DRi Tapped by The Jed Foundation to Find Chief Medical Officer

December 22, 2020 – Over the past few months, numerous healthcare organizations have turned to executive search firms to find new chief medical officers. In the era of COVID-19 we can expect this to be another burgeoning area for executive search firms. Arlington, VA-based executive search firm Development Resources inc. (DRi) has been retained by The Jed Foundation (JED) to lead its search for a new chief medical officer.

The JED Foundation seeks an intellectually curious psychiatrist with experience working with teens and young adults. Reporting to executive director John MacPhee, the CMO will be expected to assure the clinical, medical and suicide prevention information promulgated by JED is of the highest quality and in keeping with the most current evidence based on effective clinical practice. The individual will also direct and plan the thought leadership activities of JED in order to help strengthen the teen and young adult mental health and suicide prevention field.

DRi said that the ideal chief medical officer will be a charismatic and outgoing problem solver with the ability to build relationships with internal and external figures while also keeping the administrative side of the business running smoothly. “The CMO will have experience contextualizing youth mental health and suicide prevention and will be able to speak and write about these issues in a clear way that will inspire both staff members and the general public,” the search firm said. “The successful candidate will be a big thinker that understands systems and will be excited about educating the team on this subject matter. Building successful relationships will be key in this role, so the CMO must be skilled in compromising, cooperation and collaboration.”

The Jed Foundation is a non-profit that protects emotional health and helps prevent suicide in teens and young adults. Partnering with high schools and colleges to strengthen their mental health, substance misuse, and suicide prevention programs and systems, JED equips teens and young adults with the skills and knowledge to help themselves and each other. The non-profit actively encourages community awareness, understanding and action for young adult mental health awareness.

DRi is an is an executive search and strategic consulting firm committed to helping non-profits. For over 15 years, the firm has served more than 350 of the most innovative and respected non-profit institutions operating at the local, national and international levels. DRi has placed hundreds of executive leaders and worked side by side with them to adopt strategic plans, design fundraising programs and build staffs. With offices in Washington, D.C., Boston, New York, Denver, Omaha, Austin and Seattle, the firm is led by co-founder, president and CEO Jennifer Dunlap and COO Nancy Racette, each of whom spent more than 25 years as leaders with non-profit organizations.

Chief Medical Officers

According to recruiters, the role of the chief medical officer has evolved in recent years, and organizations are looking for leaders with broader skill-sets. “Today’s CMO needs to have professional experience gathered from different players in the drug development industry,” said Marc Salzberg, CEO of Airway Therapeutics. “He or she needs to understand the objectives of the key players in the field—academia / clinical practice, the pharma industry, regulatory authorities and third-party vendors, such as contract research organizations—in order to successfully cooperate with those partners.”

Over the past few months, numerous healthcare organizations have turned to executive search firms to find new CMOs. And in the era of COVID-19 we can expect this to be another burgeoning area for executive search firms. Here is a sampling from the Hunt Scanlon Media archives:

Life sciences-focused search firm Coulter Partners recently assisted Sequana Medical in the recruitment of Oliver Gödje as its new chief medical officer. He replaces Gijs Klarenbeek, who remains with Sequana Medical as senior medical advisor. “I am very pleased to welcome Dr. Gödje to Sequana Medical and thank the team at Coulter Partners for their professional support in achieving this key appointment,” said Ian Crosbie, CEO of Sequana Medical. “Oliver’s extensive clinical experience, particularly in the heart and liver space, and his international business expertise will be invaluable as we approach a number of key milestones in our alfapump U.S. NASH and alfapump DSR heart failure development programs.

Life sciences-focused search firm Slone Partners placed Mike Spigarelli as chief medical officer of Lumen Bioscience in Seattle, WA. “As an extremely skilled industry leader with three decades of medical, pharmaceutical and academic experience, Mike Spigarelli has a thorough understanding of clinical affairs, drug development and regulatory strategy,” said Tara Kochis-Stach, president of Slone Partners. “He will be a tremendously valuable addition to the Lumen Bio executive team at a time when the company is advancing a number of exciting new investigational biologic drugs.”

COORS Leadership recently placed Trina D. Abla as chief medical officer of Mercy Catholic Medical Center in Pennsylvania. Dr. Abla most recently was chief quality officer and associate CMO at Penn State Health St. Joseph. Founded in 1999 by Cheryl Coors, COORS Leadership Capital is a retained, certified woman-owned small business specializing in consulting and executive search services.

Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus, OH, tapped Cejka Search to lead its search for a new CMO. Paul Esselman, president and managing director at Cejka, is leading the assignment. Reporting to the CEO, the CMO has overall responsibility for the quality of patient care delivered throughout Children’s Hospital and its subsidiaries, said Cejka Executive Search.