We find the people who lead science and engineering businesses.
David Jay Associates works at board to senior executive levels, internationally, within the science and engineering space, with a particular focus on life sciences. Every search is executed by the person you brief. No delegation, no execution team, no B‑team.
Where science meets commercial leadership.
Our focus is life sciences, extending to the industrialised sectors that share its engineering and regulatory character, and the organisations that underpin them such as private equity, banking and consultancy.
We appoint across every function, from Chief Executive and general management to commercial, financial, medical, scientific, HR, marketing and procurement leadership.
- Pharmaceuticals
- Biotechnology
- Medical devices
- CRO and CDMO
- Consumer health
- Diagnostics and genomics
- Digital health
- Chemicals
- Energy and mining
- Infrastructure
- Property and construction
- Professional advisory
Agile by design, uncompromising on quality.
David Jay Associates is a boutique executive search firm working at board to senior executive levels, internationally, within the science and engineering space, with a particular focus on life sciences. We work across the UK, mainland Europe and North America. Our clients range from pre-revenue, private equity-backed university spin-outs through to listed, multi-billion dollar companies, alongside the advisory firms that serve them.
Our method is drawn from the best practices of some of the world’s leading search and recruitment firms, with the parts that do not help find great people quickly stripped out.
Four things we do differently.
Ownership
Each search is executed by the person mandated to take it on, not handed to a production team. Every approach call, every email, every source call to our network is made by the same person. Candidates notice, and they engage differently as a result.
Sophistication and speed
We fuse executive search methodology with agency pace. We do not spend your project hours writing long reports; we spend them finding exceptional people.
Shared risk
Our fees are structured to share risk with our clients, so we carry real skin in the game on concluding a search quickly and well.
A network, not a database
We introduce chairs to founders, CFOs to advisers, and businesses to investors. Several of our client relationships began as an introduction that had nothing to do with a search.
A fee structure that carries your risk, not just ours.
Most retained search bills you in stages regardless of what the search produces, and adds each instalment to the final bill. We do neither.
A refundable deposit
We refund the deposit in full if you are not satisfied with the shortlist after first interviews, or if we withdraw from the search. Provided the brief has not materially changed, you can walk away having paid nothing.
Then nothing, until you have your person
Beyond that deposit we ask you for nothing until your chosen candidate has verbally accepted an offer. Every hour of research, every approach call and every interview happens first.
Offset, not added
The deposit and the second instalment are both offset against the total fee, so they are never an addition to it. The balance falls due once the successful candidate starts.
Thirteen weeks of cover
If your appointment leaves within thirteen weeks, we find a replacement free of charge. Where we cannot, a proportion of the fee is refunded.
Full terms are set out in our terms of business and agreed in writing before a search begins. Fees vary with the seniority of the role, and any expenses are approved by you in advance.
A record at board and senior executive level.
A representative selection of completed appointments, from pre-revenue spin-outs to top-ten pharmaceutical companies.
| Appointment | Client |
|---|---|
| Chief Executive Officer | UK pre-revenue MedTech university spin-out |
| Chief Medical Officer | Pre-revenue UK biotech |
| Chief Medical Officer | Listed CRO, GBP10m turnover |
| Chief Scientific Officer | Pre-revenue UK biotech |
| Chief Financial Officer | AIM-listed CRO, GBP6m turnover |
| Chief Financial Officer | AIM-listed CRO, GBP5m turnover |
| Interim Chief Financial Officer | AIM-listed CRO, GBP58m turnover |
| Divisional Managing Director | US-headquartered CRO, USD40m turnover |
Considering a board or senior appointment?
A short conversation is usually enough to tell whether we are the right firm for the brief. If we are not, we will say so and point you somewhere better.
Start a conversation