Kaye/Bassman Expands Pharmaceutical and Biotechnology Practice
January 8, 2025 – Plano, TX-based executive search firm Kaye/Bassman International has expanded with the addition of Edward Canning as managing partner within its pharmaceutical and biotechnology recruiting practice. “Bringing Ed Canning onto our already formidable team represents a tremendous opportunity,” said Michael Pietrack, who leads the pharma and biotech division. “His integrity and values align perfectly with our culture, ensuring we can deliver even greater service to our clients.”
With over a decade of experience in executive recruitment, Mr. Canning has improved his expertise in the life sciences sector. He has a track record as an advisor in the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and medical device sectors. Before joining Kaye/Bassman, Mr. Canning was managing director with Shepherd Regulatory Search, an executive search firm focused on the biotech, pharmaceutical, and medical device industries. Before that, he gained experience as a recruiter with Dennis Partners.
In his new position with Kaye/Bassman’s, Mr. Canning will spearhead the regulatory affairs recruiting practice as an esteemed member of the pharma and biotech team. “I have worked with numerous leading recruitment firms throughout my career, but Kaye/Bassman International truly stands out as the ideal partner for this next chapter,” he said. “Their unwavering commitment to integrity, collaboration, and exceptional service aligns seamlessly with my values and vision for excellence in regulatory affairs and executive search. I am eager to leverage my experience to enhance our offerings and support our clients in securing the specialized talent they need to excel in today’s competitive life sciences market. I look forward to collaborating with a team equally dedicated to delivering outstanding results for our clients.”
Kaye/Bassman’s experienced pharmaceutical and biotechnology executive search teams combine managing directors, partners, and tenured consultants with exceptional industry, occupational, and regional knowledge. Since 1981, the firm has partnered with small to large pharmaceutical corporations, start-ups to established biotechnology firms, and clinical research organizations.
Related: Keys to Succession Planning in Healthcare
Kaye/Bassman is a global search and recruitment solutions firm. It offers expertise in a number of industries, including construction and real estate, banking, insurance, private wealth management, healthcare, energy, security, pharmaceuticals and biotechnology, and medical device. During the last two decades, Kaye/Bassman has conducted nearly 5,000 mid- to senior-level searches.
Future of the Healthcare/Life Sciences Sectors
Search consultants continue to say that there is an unprecedented opportunity for visionary healthcare/life sciences leaders to redefine the future of the industry. “I’ve noticed that the job market started to shift in Q3 of 2022,” said Mr. Pietrack. “It bottomed out in Q1 of 2023 and sputtered throughout the remainder of the year. Now the market is improving, but slowly. Historically, the prosperity for external recruiting agencies goes up and down based on supply and demand. For the better part of a decade, the job market has experienced a situation where the demand for candidates was higher than the supply of experienced people. Today, we are still in the high supply/low demand market. This environment makes it very challenging for external recruiters and for introductory candidates trying to break into the pharma industry.”
The two biggest drivers causing the downturn in pharma and biotech are both economic, according to Mr. Pietrack. “There was a lack of VC funding for pharma and biotech over the last 18-24 months, so companies weren’t as liquid as they typically were. They started tightening the belts, reducing vendors and unnecessary travel. But then, they had to downsize to reduce the cost burden. The second factor that impacted the downturn was the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) announced in July of 2022. Since companies will not be able to expect the same margins they historically have had, that also contributed to some of the downsizings in 2022 and 2023. This is in preparation for 2026, when the IRA takes effect.”
Whenever there is an abundance of experienced candidates in the market and a limited number of jobs, companies become very selective about who they hire,” Mr. Pietrack explains. “What qualifications and experiences that were considered nice-to-haves two years ago are now must-haves today,” he says. “What I see with pharma companies today is that a person must be an exact functional fit, with all the credentialing, and in the proper therapeutic area. Also, there is a big call to office, which means there are fewer remote accommodations being given to both current and in-coming employees. So, when companies are hiring leadership roles, they are looking for someone that checks every single box… and is a known person with other employees at the company.”
Related: How COVID-19 Has Reset the Talent Game in Healthcare and Life Sciences
Contributed by Scott A. Scanlon, Editor-in-Chief and Dale M. Zupsansky, Executive Editor – Hunt Scanlon Media
