Case Study
Causaly – A race for the best talent
Finding Causaly’s next Head of FP&A and Head of Financial Control.
The client
Established in 2018, Causaly specialises in a drug discovery platform that uses AI to accelerate the complex process of pharmaceutical development. A true disruptor in the biotech field, Causaly’s research platform is currently operational in 12 out of the top 20 pharmaceutical companies.
Researchers are using the company’s AI software for tasks such as biomarker discovery and target identification to find, process and apply research information.
In a recent Series B funding round, Causaly secured $60m (£48m) backed by Index Ventures, Marathon Venture Capital, EBRD, Pentech Ventures, Visionaries Club and angels including ex-chairman and CEO of Johnson & Johnson, Alex Gorsky.
The assignment
The CFO had to hire the best possible talent! The Founders and Investors were unwavering and wanted A* Talent at a Senior Level to help the business build a ‘best in class’ and scalable finance function fit to take them to IPO or Exit in the future. The VP of Finance was time-poor and had been let down by another search partner and the Internal Talent team had struggled with the brief.
The VP of Finance required experience combined with dynamism and the ability to operate in a very fast-paced, ambiguous and pressurised, scaling environment. The Head of FP&A needed expert Financial Modelling ability, strong commercial and strategic acumen, and knowledge of SAAS metrics. The Head of Financial Control requires expert Technical Accounting knowledge including IFRS 15.
Our solution
STOIX moved swiftly to identify the top talent on the market and deliver video profiles, not just CVs, to bring the candidates to life, saving the VP of Finance significant time on understanding culture and chemistry fit before meeting the candidates for an interview. The approach allowed for profiles outside of the initial brief to be put forward and challenged the thinking to allow for a more diverse shortlist, ultimately resulting in securing an outstanding ex-Big 4 Senior Manager level candidate who had the headroom to take the function to the next level.
Client feedback
I’ve worked with STOIX twice now on senior roles for my team and I’m delighted to say they’ve placed top-calibre individuals for both.
The team have extensive knowledge of the finance world so they fully grasped the background and profile I wanted, but also threw in some candidates outside of the typical profile to challenge my way of thinking.
Overall, I would have no hesitation in using the team again and would fully recommend them to anyone unsure of which Search Partner to use.
Ryan Collett
VP of Finance