The interim manager was appointed as managing director by the shareholders of a biotech company. His task was to manage the operational business, including patent disputes, and appoint a managing director. Above all, however, he was to initiate the transformation from a development company to a production company.
The shareholders each held 50 percent of the shares - and could not be more different in character. This went so far that the interim manager had to repeatedly moderate the communication between the shareholders - and prepare decisions even more carefully than usual.
Settling patent disputes out of court and winning lawsuits
The day-to-day operations posed another challenge: the company was accused of infringing competitors' patents in several countries. It was therefore up to the interim manager to coordinate and lead the teams of lawyers in the countries. With his strategy and negotiating skills, the interim manager was able to make a significant contribution to settling some of these disputes out of court. In other cases, lawsuits were won.
Supply chain and resources built up for independent production
At the start of the interim mandate, the company was purely a development company that sold test quantities to potential customers. The main part of production was carried out by another company owned by one of the shareholders. One of the challenges in the mandate was to lead the employees of the biotech company from this comfortable situation into a competitive situation on the market - and thus enable more independent growth.
In order to realize its own production, the interim manager set up a supply chain including the supply of raw materials. He led the development of quality standards and ensured that the necessary expertise was available in the in-house laboratory - in particular personnel and technology.
Managing Director successfully trained - mandate ends with appointment to the Advisory Board
The interim mandate ended successfully after 20 months. The transformation had begun and was completed after a further 6 months. The patent disputes were essentially settled. In addition, the interim managing director had introduced regular shareholder meetings - and thus a culture of open communication. The new managing director was found, hired and trained.
The client was very satisfied with the interim manager's work and appointed him to the company's advisory board after the mandate. Following the complete takeover by one of the shareholders, he still enjoys the trust of the owner today and continues to work with the company.
The project in brief:
- Interim CEO at a producer of bioplastics
- Patent disputes settled out of court and lawsuits won
- Supply chain and resources for independent production established
- Managing Director successfully trained
- Mandate ends with appointment to the Advisory Board
