Our Commitment to Global Health

There are tremendous changes underway within the global health arena. New foundations are bringing a bottom-line, entrepreneurial approach to the problems of global access to medical care, clean water and other necessities; the timely distribution of therapies; and improved health education. These newer players are becoming major forces in shaping policy and in providing financial and organizational resources. Recent years have also seen a significant increase in government funding to address global health issues, as well as a heightened commitment by the pharmaceutical industry to fight infectious disease. 

Against this backdrop of increased public, governmental and industry attention to global health issues a new generation of NGOs, public-private partnerships and product development partnerships has emerged alongside longstanding organizations. New or old, the success of these entities depends upon having leadership teams who can successfully navigate a much more complex environment to achieve clinical objectives like product or program development and delivery while managing issues including heightened performance expectations, succession planning, scaling strategies, intra-industry communication, and political and diplomatic challenges. As a result, the global health sector has experienced the same increased competition for talent as have other industries. 

Russell Reynolds Associates’ Global Health Services Practice is focused exclusively on helping global health enterprises to identify and recruit the senior leaders needed to meet these challenges. We draw upon the firm’s extensive contacts and decades of experience in both the global pharmaceutical and healthcare industries and the nonprofit sector, as well as our ongoing research into the C-suite needs of global health organizations and the characteristics of successful global health leaders. These resources give us the broadest possible reach when helping global health organizations evaluate and build their leadership teams.

“You brought a vision of how to meet our needs that transcended traditional thinking. Without your enthusiasm, energy and knowledge, our search would have had a very different outcome.” – Adel Mahmoud, M.D., Ph.D., Professor, Department of Molecular Biology, Woodrow Wilson School, Princeton University

“For me, the jump from diplomacy to a highly satisfying new career in a global health NGO wouldn’t have happened without RRA. The RRA team helped me and my new employer see synergies and find a winning outcome - RRA’s knowledge of the two fields made the difference.” – Karl Hofmann President and CEO, Population Services International

“Working with the Russell Reynolds Associates’ team, I was impressed with their comprehensive knowledge of the field and how they helped me put this role into context as I was preparing to make a shift in my career from the for-profit to the nonprofit environment.” – Jeff Flug, Chief Executive Officer and Executive Director, Millennium Promise

“Russell Reynolds Associates brings an impressive global network for sourcing highly qualified candidates. More importantly, they ask the right questions, helping us to clarify our search requirements and hire the talent we need to meet our strategic goals.” – Christopher J. Elias, M.D., M.P.H., President, PATH

Our Proven Track Record

Russell Reynolds Associates has helped global health organizations identify and recruit executives at all levels, including board members; chief executives and C-suite officers; and vice presidents of research and development, finance, marketing and business development, and human resources.

Representative successful global health assignments include:

• Chief Operating Officer, Chief Financial Officer and Vice President of Resource Development of one of the world’s largest global health foundations
• Provost of one of the world’s leading medical and public health research institutions
• Chief Executive Officer and President of more than a dozen organizations dedicated to fighting infectious disease
• Chief Financial Officer and Head of Business Development for a global product development partnership (PDP)
• Chief Executive Officer for a major disaster relief and humanitarian organization
• President and Chief Executive Officer and the Chief Operating Officer for two leading reproductive and family planning organizations
• Chief Executive Officer of global reproductive health care advocate and provider
• Chief Executive Officer for a non-profit organization focused on the health problems of low-income and vulnerable populations in the developing world

Our Interdisciplinary Approach

The global health sector is transnational and interdisciplinary, and we take the same approach to every global health search. The engagement teams assembled to serve our clients include the firm’s experts from the pharmaceutical, life sciences, health services, nonprofit, and public sector industries, as well as consultants from our functional leadership practices—to help global health organizations meet their specific leadership requirements.

Our Process

While every search is tailored to meet each client’s unique timeline and decision-making requirements, we work within an overarching structure which ensures candidate quality and provides the foundation for an orderly, timely and successful search process.

• Organizational review – We begin with a thorough review of the context of the search, the expectations of the search committee and other key constituents, the strategic goals of the organization, the competitive landscape and any other factors that define the environment.
• Position specification and qualification matrix – Our findings are distilled into a document specifying the position’s responsibilities in detail as well as the corresponding qualification matrix, which serve as a benchmark against which potential candidates are measured.
• Research and candidate identification and screening – Drawing upon our extensive database, engagement histories and network of contacts, we develop a list of qualified, viable candidates.
• Candidate evaluation – We then interview selected candidates, focusing on competencies outlined in the position qualifications. This process can also be augmented by psychological testing and executive assessment.
• Candidate evaluation and selection – Working with you, we develop a focused interview guide, schedule first and subsequent rounds of interviews and facilitate the evaluation process.
• Referencing – As priority candidates are identified, we begin an extensive referencing process. As a final candidate emerges, we expand our contacts to a full slate of supervisors, peers and subordinates qualified to provide meaningful, confidential insights, which are gathered into a report.
• Negotiation – We then work with you on the structure of a compensation package calculated to attract the finalist. We can also serve as an intermediary to resolve differences or details in order to successfully complete the negotiation
• Follow-up – After an offer is accepted, we periodically follow-up with both your organization and the candidate to insure that expectations on both sides are being met. We are also available for executive assessment and development services to assist in galvanizing the team for future success.

Maximizing Human Capital in a Time of Change

The challenges facing today’s global health organizations require a new set of skills from their leaders, making it critical that board members and CEOs have an accurate understanding of the capabilities of their existing executive teams. 

Our Executive Assessment services combine a rigorous assessment methodology with deep industry-specific expertise that includes competency interviews, psychometrics, culture surveys and referencing, to identify key leadership competencies and development opportunities. Such knowledge has proven particularly valuable to global health organizations confronted with benchmarking performance or assessing a shift in strategy. For example, to ensure executives setting therapeutic priorities have the necessary technical backgrounds, or that leaders driving organizational change have the experience to navigate that transition, and executives working in politically charged environments have the requisite diplomatic skills.