LedbetterStevens, Inc. (LSI) provides management-consulting services to the Life Sciences (biotechnology, pharmaceutical and related healthcare), specializing in retained engagements for the recruitment of board level, senior executive, scientific, technical and investment management. Leveraging industry expertise through state-of-the-art systems that include a comprehensive on-line proprietary database, LSI has developed a premiere roster of international clients.
LedbetterStevens allocates substantial resources to initiatives that continually enhance the firm’s ability to render client driven services. Staff members participate actively in industry specific training and benefit from the counsel of a Scientific, IT and Business Advisory Committee. Proud of its progressive Business Intelligence department, the LSI team generates a first rate research product exploiting on-site portals and accessing leading information services, frequently assisting clients on projects transcending the typical search process. Clients benefit from record-time turnaround enabled by cutting-edge electronic programs, while LSI leverages an extensive professional network designed to elicit expert advice from academic and commercial opinion leaders throughout the Life Sciences on their behalf. Placing emphasis on long-term relationships, LedbetterStevens focuses on building strong partnerships with both clients and Nominees. On an ongoing basis, LSI commits to achieving demanding corporate objectives by providing solutions to the complex challenges of an evolving marketplace.
Our Scientific, IT & Business Advisory Committee is comprised of scientific, medical and IT specialists available to assist team members as needed to fulfill the specific requirements of client engagements. We also access the confidential counsel of leading businessmen and women from executive search, finance and the Fortune 500 to ensure that comprehensive commercial expertise is brought to bear on all assignments. By seeking input from specialists in related fields, we are able to add value to client endeavors in a manner far exceeding traditional search methods.
Committing all of our resources to the expansion of our expertise within the Life Sciences, specifically the biopharmaceutical sector, we provide our clients with an alternative to the traditional executive search partnership. Often, clients are aware of the most desirable Nominees and can readily provide details on competitors and target companies. Clients do not, however, have the time to properly conduct recruiting assignments of the depth and breadth required to source a broad universe of Nominees and identify the best suited individual for a given position. The most successful executives are often the most difficult to recruit. We partner with our clients to develop the well-defined, carefully executed strategy required to attract the most highly-qualified managers. The objectivity we present to Nominees, our ability to represent clients and our non-transactional approach to the process, contributes significantly toward creating receptivity in the most reluctant individuals. Even those open to new opportunities will not risk the lapse in confidentiality required to respond to an advertisement or a contingency firm. Industry leaders, in particular, are much more likely to reply to an inquiry from a leading search firm for reasons regarding privacy, sector expertise, mutual contacts and exclusivity.
Consistently service-oriented, we are always aware of client sensitivities and preferences, making every effort to create an interface which is in keeping with client priorities, management styles and schedules. We gain an in-depth perception of the corporate culture and management personalities in order to enhance our intuitive understanding of the personal profile of Nominees who have the best opportunity to succeed within a given organization. Identifying Nominees with the management, scientific and technical prerequisites is only part of our task. We believe it is imperative that the successful Nominee fit and complement a client's environment without sacrificing his or her own individuality. Placing emphasis on our 'visceral' evaluation of a Nominee's 'EQ' has been critical in our ability to determine an individual's opportunity for success in a particular client organization. We are discriminating in selecting clients and do so on a very limited basis. We are committed to developing long-term relationships, knowing that our clients benefit from cohesiveness and continuity. By building teams for our clients, we are able to maximize our knowledge of a client's corporate culture, products and services.
Our intensive recruiting experience enables us to gain a realistic understanding of a Nominee's current professional environment and to project his or her transition into a new situation. We provide Nominees with a realistic, balanced and objective comparison of his or her current employer with that of our client, emphasizing the relative stature of both within the marketplace. Our ability to realistically describe the potential, as well as the challenges, of a specific opportunity is crucial to an executive's decision-making process, and thereby to the outcome of a mutual resolution between client and Nominee.
We create a constructive and functional working relationship with Nominees, establishing trust and confidence over time. In all cases, we adhere to the strictest professional ethics governing executive search, applying these standards equally to clients and Nominees.
We work effectively overseas, executing assignments in the U.S., Canada, Great Britain, Europe, Asia and South America. We participate in activities relating to the Life Sciences in the U.K., Europe and Asia, and we are aware of sector developments worldwide. By participating in industry sponsored events, we gain an explicit understanding of what the best companies require from leaders, an essential component of our ability to provide progressive services on an ongoing basis.
By strategic design, very few major companies are ‘off limits’ to LSI. Clients are assured access to the most comprehensive universe of Nominees within a given function or management area. Credentials are confirmed and references secured for all finalist Nominees at appropriate points throughout the search process.
Applying a balanced approach, our fees are competitive and in keeping with prevailing market rates. We assess only fair and reasonable expenses and we obtain client permission for travel and entertainment. We are concerned about client expenditures and always conform to the established parameters that define each client project. All client functions are hosted by LSI and never included in billed expenses. In select cases, we welcome the opportunity to accept some equity in lieu of cash, furthering a long-term investment in our clients' continued progress.
Our principal goal is to build lasting relationships with clients, Nominees, thought leaders and industry friends. In order to establish a framework for optimizing our client partnerships, we strive to develop an evolving appreciation of client operations and philosophies beyond the fundamental mechanics of each recruiting assignment. We encourage client input and participation at all times, thereby creating the context for highly successful engagements.