September 5, 2017

ThinkingAhead’s Healthcare Innovation & Technology Executive Search makes Modern Health Care’s Top 25 list

By ThinkingAhead

ThinkingAhead was recently selected as one of the Top 25 Executive Search Firms in Modern HealthCare’s annual national survey of all search firms that work in healthcare placement. This recognition highlights the experience and professionalism that we provide to all of our clients in the healthcare (payor/provider), pharmaceutical, and life sciences industries.

“Being in the top twenty-five nationally, for a boutique firm like us, is huge,” said Kay Linder, ‎partner at ThinkingAhead’s Healthcare Technology & Innovation practice. “Not only is it a third-party testimonial that we’re a major player with a national scope — it also lends us and our 19 years of dedication to this industry much more legitimacy than many of the other healthcare recruiters that are popping up opportunistically. They just aren’t as serious or as experienced as we are.”

Since 1998, the Healthcare Innovation & Technology team has focused on finding the best people to fill roles in both the healthcare provider and insurer sides of this industry, which has experienced (and is still undergoing) massive and tumultuous changes. Over the last two decades, major advancements in healthcare technology and data analytics have changed the way healthcare companies recruit and hire.

Not only have insurers and hospitals had to quickly adapt to these advancements, but they have had to do so while simultaneously adapting to an ever-changing healthcare environment. Executives in the field are now doing more work around value-based care and network performance, which involves setting up new billing structures and getting proper reimbursement systems in place to ensure that physicians and healthcare systems as a whole are appropriately compensated for their work.

“Originally earlier on, all of their most of our work and placements were tightly wrapped around placing professionals skilled in selecting and implementing technology for healthcare organizations,” said Linder. “But as the industry has changed and the demands have expanded, clients are coming to us for all areas of innovation that they’re trying to create or expand, including roles that are being significantly retooled to keep pace with changes in the industry and the marketplace. Now clients are also asking our help on leadership roles tied indirectly to technology, i.e. Chief Quality Officers, Population Health executives, etc.”

In order to find and place top talent in this industry, the Healthcare Innovation & Technology team has also needed to adapt. Over the last few years, they’ve started to explore new ways to find and recruit candidates — people who can adapt to these technological and policy changes — to fill these important roles. “Those recruiters who solely rely on LinkedIn and LinkedIn Recruiter are all competing for the same talent pool, which doesn’t necessarily produce the top talent who are very cautious and careful about exploring new opportunities.”

Another interesting result of the changing marketplace and client needs has been the ability of our Healthcare division to collaborate with the ThinkingAhead Life Sciences team, who successfully recruit individuals who are responsible for developing and bringing new life-saving drugs to market.

“Now, people are moving back and forth between healthcare and life sciences more often, and our clients are looking at candidates from both sides as well,” said Linder. “Life sciences companies, in many instances, have been dealing with more advanced technology for longer, so hospitals health systems and insurers are recruiting individuals from this industry, especially in data analytics, technology products and cyber security.”

While these changes have certainly affected how leadership positions are being filled, they haven’t changed the type of people who fill them: healthcare and life sciences alike are still populated by people who are passionate about patient care. Professionals in these industries — whether they personally work with patients, develop pharmaceuticals, or coordinate insurance behind the scenes — are ultimately striving to help people stay healthy

This approach, spearheaded by Kay and Cathy Moll, partner-in-charge of ThinkingAhead’s Life Sciences practice, has empowered our company to stay ahead of other executive recruiting firms and will continue to drive our success in the future.

Modern Healthcare is a weekly healthcare magazine that is ranked number one in readership among healthcare executives. Their report on healthcare executive search firms is based on self-reported data gathered in a survey conducted annually. In addition to executive placements, the report includes information on ownership, net revenue, number of recruiters on staff, website, and headquarters location.