This executive search is for a private equity-backed, revenue-generating, 7-year-old high-growth company that represents the next generation in healthcare innovation—PatientsLikeMe brings together patients in e-communities who create insights on their diseases and treatments by sharing information that improve their conditions.  At the same time, these insights bring value to large pharma and biotech companies, influencing the way they develop and deploy drugs.  With more than 100,000 registered consumer patients, PatientsLikeMe re-balances the healthcare system, ultimately returning power to the patient.

BSG Team Ventures is  retained to identify the VP of Product, an expert in e-community consumer acquisition, engagement, and retention.  With current pharma customers like Merck, Novartis, and Sanofi-Aventis, the Company’s goal is to grow to 2+ million registered users in the next several years.   This role will lead consumer online acquisition, experience & engagement, serving as the internal voice of the consumer.

MORE COMPANY DETAIL:

The roots of the company are anchored in one of three brothers who developed ALS, a neuromuscular disease that ultimately proves fatal.  Ben and Jamie wanted to do all they could to help their brother Stephen, and—leveraging their prior career experience and entrepreneurial leanings—decided to try to help their brother gain insights from other patients with ALS in order to improve the understanding of how the disease progresses and what might be done to ease and improve one’s condition.  And so was born PatientsLikeMe, a health data-sharing platform.  The Heywood family’s fight to save Stephen has been chronicled in the book His Brother’s Keeper as well as the documentary “So Much So Fast.”  For more, preview an interesting short video piece on their story at http://www.patientslikeme.com/about.

The Role

As VP Product, this consumer web expert needs to have the following 4 experiences as builder-leader:

Companies that might be part of this executive’s career progress (although less likely their most current position) include horizontal social networks (Facebook, LinkedIn), online affinity groups (Eons, Weightwatchers, sports fan communities like FanIQ, etc.), social commerce properties (BuyWithMe, Gilt, Groupon), or social gaming destination sites (Gamesville, Worldwinner, Zynga).

Below is a bubble diagram outlining  key career & functional attributes critical to success for this role:

The Company

Securing Business

The Company is one of the largest global providers of IT-security solutions and IT-Services with a focus on consulting, implementation and services.

The Company has offices in 8 countries – UK, Germany, USA, France, Switzerland, Austria, United Arab Emirates and Singapore with around 500 employees. The Company has more than 3,500 blue-chip customers and a range of government agencies.

Offerings include:

• Consulting in all aspects of IT-Security

• Continuous development of a holistic IT-Security Service Portfolio via our Managed Security Service Center and Call Center

• Close relationship with the key product vendors

• Holistic portfolio of IT-Security Solutions and Products

The Position

As a key member of the Americas executive team, the VP Sales will be the primary owner and driver of revenues for the Company, responsible for selling Managed and Professional Services (MAPS) solutions keying off of its core overlapping areas of service excellence:

o Data Protection

o Mobility

o Threats & Vulnerabilities

o Risk & Compliance (GRC)

o Cloud (securing the cloud)

The VP Sales will be part of the senior operating team for the Americas with principal responsibilities including:

• Exceed quarterly and annual revenue targets

• Develop & execute strategic sales and distribution plan: provide strategic and tactical thinking, as well as broad business insight. Take a leadership role in developing the sales strategy to support the growth of the business, while continuing to drive gross margins, quarterly bookings goals, and other KPIs

• Peer with the Professional Services team on client prospecting, engagement, and delivery

• Divisional revenue ownership

• Sales team-building

• Sales leadership and sales pipeline management

• Develop and managing detailed budgeting & forecasting

• Lead the management, maintenance & development of key partnerships in upstream indirect sales channels

• Foster teamwork and create a positive work environment for a geographically disparate sales force

• Lead and develop a dynamic and creative sales infrastructure that fits the needs of the business and the products the Company provides to its customers

• Drive internal discussion about strategies, ideas, new opportunities and the best methods for achieving success in a changing marketplace

• Consult with customers on their needs and provide feedback to other departments supporting sales efforts

• Forecast, track and report sales performance using internal tools and applications such as Salesforce.com

• Conduct internal pipeline meetings and reviews with the executive team

• Manage overall budget associated with sales plan

• Lead team in structuring strategic and integrated partnerships with key customers

• Personally assist in closing large deals and managing strategic accounts

• Travel as needed to ensure that sales and client needs are met and exceeded

Ideal Candidate Profile

The diagram below illustrates a comprehensive intersection of competencies critical in the VP Sales position:

Team

Reporting to the President of the Americas, the VP Sales currently manages and leads a sales team of 11.

Compensation

Compensation is competitive with the position’s requirements. In a performance-based environment, this will include base salary and incentive bonus structure based on both individual and company milestones.

BSG Team Ventures is pleased to have assisted in the recent search for Telkonet’s new Executive Vice President, Sales & Marketing.

Subscribing to the renewable energy industry mantra, “Efficiency is the first fuel,” Telkonet provides energy efficiency systems for residency intensive buildings.

BSG Team Ventures completed the search in 90 calendar days.  Key success attributes for the executive sought included deep experience and credibility with the ESCo (energy services company) industry, power purchase agreements, and energy performance contract creation within the commercial sector, including hotels, government, and education.

Telkonet, Inc. (www.telkonet.com) develops, manufactures, and sells energy efficiency and smart grid networking technology products and platforms in the United States and Canada. Its powerline communications technology (PLC) utilizes a building’s internal electrical wiring as a data communications network, turning power outlets into data ports while leaving the electrical functionality unaffected. The company offers Telkonet SmartEnergy products, including thermostats, sensors, controllers, and wireless networking products, as well as Networked Telkonet SmartEnergy platforms that incorporate Recovery Time technology for the monitoring of climate conditions and automatically adjust a room’s temperature accounting for the presence or absence of an occupant. It also provides smart grid networking technology products comprising Telkonet iWire System and Telkonet Series 5 PLC products, which include gateways, extenders, couplers, and ibridges to transform a site’s existing internal electrical infrastructure into an Internet protocol. In addition, the company offers high-speed wireless Internet access solutions and technology to the hospitality industry. It serves the hospitality, education, healthcare, and government/military markets.

For the full Telkonet corporate press release, see  http://www.marketwire.com/press-release/Telkonet-Appoints-Gerrit-Reinders-New-Executive-Vice-President-for-Sales-Marketing-OTCQB-TKOI-1405366.htm .

The Position

Reporting directly to the CEO, the Vice President of Marketing will play a senior leadership role within the management team, overseeing all branding, customer acquisition, public relations, and channel marketing efforts.

Core Responsibilities: This position will be responsible for the overall success of the Company’s consumer offering, including user acquisition/adoption/retention and general management of the brand.   The VP Marketing will build a business-to-consumer marketing function focused on the customer experience. He/she will also identify opportunities for increasing value and optimizing revenue growth and will ensure consistency in messaging across integrated marketing channels.

The VP Marketing will lead the Company’s  strategic and tactical consumer marketing initiatives and will assist with the development of the overall corporate strategy, vision, messaging, and product direction. He/she will be responsible for the creation of an innovative marketing strategy and outreach program for the Company.  He/she will also act as a key external evangelist for the company when called upon.

Specific responsibilities include:

Qualifications & Experience

Skills & Personal Characteristics

Ideal Candidate Profile

The following diagram illustrates the intersection of competencies critical in the VP Marketing position:

Americans dropping email, portals and auctions in favor of social media and online gaming

http://blog.nielsen.com/nielsenwire/online_mobile/what-americans-do-online-social-media-and-games-dominate-activity/

Nielsen reported a few days ago on Internet usage in the U.S.  Although intuitive to many of us, it offers numeric confirmation of the fundamental shift in user habits online.

Social networks/blogs were where we spent the most time (906 million hours in aggregate for the month of June).  Second place went to online games, at a little less than that (407 million hours), and e-mail–the bastion of baby boomers but shunned widely by X, Y, and Z generations, clocked in at a paltry 329 million hours).

In percentage change up and down, email, portals, and instant messaging took the biggest hits, while social networking, games, and online video saw the biggest increases.

Interesting also to look at the corollary for mobile users and how it was similar/different.  In fact, given that email activity on mobile devices increased from ~37% to ~42%, one might conclude that email has moved off the desktop onto the handset for the most part, and desktops are being preserved for rich media/bandwidth intensive behavior.

I have it on good authority that  June has been declared New England Innovation Month, per Scott Kirsner who has been tireless tender of the innovation flame here in New England for years now (http://www.boston.com/innovation).  See the growing list of June events at http://neinnovation.com.

In honor, a few thoughts follow on Innovation in New England.  First, a pointer to a related concept, called National Entrepreneurs’ Day to recognize what entrepreneurs do for this country.  It’s an idea sparked by a fellow New Englander, David Hauser, founder & CEO of successful tech start-up Grasshopper.  The date being requested of the Obama administration happens to be the first day of spring each year.  [Coincidence that the French word for “start up” also references the spring season–“jeune pousse,” loosely translated as “young sprout” or seedling).

See the video clip below for serious entrepreneurial inspiration, and the other link to add your John Hancock (yes, yet another famous New England innovator) to the virtual petition.

* Killer link for entrepreneurial inspiration– http://grasshopper.com/idea

* Link to petition– http://www.entrepreneursday.org/dh

Now, back to June’s month-long celebration of innovation.   Indeed, New England  has a storied innovation past.  However,   what may begin as a strength in our region can at times turn to weakness, the metaphorical double-edged sword.   I’ve penned a wish list of five ideas for innovation here in New England along that thematic refrain, akin to “innovation on innovation”:

• #1 “Coopetition” in New England to foster national visibility
  New Englanders are known for their fierce independence and self-reliance.  We needed this when we came over as settlers 300+ years ago and put our MacGyver-esque skills to the test to survive (note, MacGyver was no doubt was an Irish immigrant from good New England pioneering stock).  It’s been said that unless you can trace your lineage to the Mayflower, you’re still considered an outsider.  New England has never been known for leaving fresh-baked pies for the neighbor who just moved in next door.  In fact, at times, neighbors live next to neighbors for years without getting to know each other, all in the name of “independence” and a desire to not meddle in others’ affairs.  However, New England could benefit a great deal if we pulled together and collaborated just a wee bit more.  Example, Peter Rothstein, recently named Director of the New England Clean Energy Council, has been driving for both State and Federal government resources (Department of Energy and other), to fund the concept of a “Regional Consortium” that would bring together all the components of the cleantech ecosystem in New England in a thoughtful, harnessed approach.    The only way New England can achieve this national recognition (and funding) is via collaboration.  OK, just to prove to hardy New England stock, we’ll call it “coopetition” just to retain a bit the independence streak that runs so deep up here.

• #2 Greater sense for openness for new ideas/ways of doing things
  New England also has a wonderful sense of tradition—Mayflower, Plymouth Rock, the Boston Marathon, Red Sox, clam chowder… we’ve pioneered our fair share of “we were first to….” And “we have the oldest of….”  I’d like to see us bring back a bit more of the revolution versus  evolution.  A bit more General George Washington and Lexington/Concord derring-do, rather than what has grown to be our reputation as conservative  in all things “blue sky”-oriented.  Wouldn’t it be great if we didn’t have to wait for the imprimatur from an MIT lab or a Harvard Business School professor before we tried something new?  New Englanders are possessed with pedigree.  And until something has been anointed with pedigree pixie dust, an innovation often languishes in ignominy.

• #3 Be more “what you know” versus “who you know”:
  As an outgrowth of #1 and #2 above, New Englanders often suffer from an acute case of “who you know.”  This to some extent is a derivative of the circular logic involving #2 above on pedigree.   Despite our reputation as the nexus of sophistication and erudition, New England seems to grow more and more insular in letting outsiders into board rooms as well as bar rooms.  New England, despite being the original crucible of diverse cultures, has homogenized. Amazing ideas and innovations come from equally surprising and diverse sources.  One of the best examples of “what you know” is exemplified in one of my favorite recent Malcolm Gladwell articles in the New Yorker Magazine (dare we say also a New England masthead), chronicling a Silicon Valley entrepreneur from India who heretofore knew nothing about the sport of basketball, who—when tasked with coaching his daughter’s middle school basketball team—innovated game strategy to turn a weakness into a strength and a last place team into a near division winner (see http://www.bostonsearchgroup.com/blog/type-leaders-required-to-outpace-competitors-in-recovering-economy/ )

• #4 “Hold” vs. “Fold” or “Sold”
  OK, so I’m not pioneering this idea, but if imitation is the highest form of flattery, I’m a big fan of this growing mantra in the innovation community here in New England that goes like this.  Massachusetts used to have an incredible set of tech & science crown jewels:  in biotech, Genzyme, Biogen & Millennium Pharma.   In tech, companies in hardware and systems like Data General, Digital, Wang, 3COM, and Banyan Systems.  In software & Internet the likes of Lotus & Lycos.  However, over the years, these companies have either been sold or forced to fold.  One of the few remaining companies embracing the “hold” mentality is EMC, preferring to buy others than sell themselves out.  However, just one EMC, or even a handful more doesn’t make for a robust, sustainable innovation ecosystem.  Innovation can metaphorically be cast in the same light as combustion– that combination of spark, oxygen and fuel that powers innovation and drives creativity.  Spark is the new idea, fuel is the money provided from investors in the idea.  And oxygen is the people who take the idea and the money, the business-saavy entrepreneurs who partner as the steel to the innovator’s flint to spark the novel idea, tech innovation, or scientific breakthrough.  I wish we were making more oxygen in New England.  This type of oxygen only comes from the talent that grows up and makes small companies into big companies.  These bigger companies serve as a training ground for the next generation of entrepreneurs to cut their teeth, get their training, build their network.  These larger companies offer entrepreneurial training wheels.  When we sell companies too early, they never get the chance to develop a critical mass of next generation talent who can apprentice at the knee of others and with greater security to make mistakes without having each decision be a bet-the company-one that risks putting the company in mortal peril.  When there is no larger company safety net, fewer young talents practice jumping into the uncertainty of innovation acrobatics, often key experiences required to be able to drive younger companies to success later in their innovation careers.

• #5 Create a “Celebrate the student Week”
  I’ve always been in awe of many of the Asian countries who celebrate things that we in the U.S. might find odd.  I believe they have a day that celebrates children.  And a day that celebrates the elderly wise ones in their communities and cultures.  There is likely no region in the U.S. that has more undergraduate and graduate students than New England.  And these students are the equivalent to our regional “innovation fountain of youth.”  Undergrads, Masters students, PhDs, Post-docs, Fellows.    I wish we could celebrate them.  What better time to do it than during New England Innovation Month.  Make them feel welcome.  Give them social stature to counterbalance the grumblings around U-Haul vans that descend like locusts in late August, or parties that get a bit too raucous.   New England students should be lauded.  Perhaps a regional “student innovation awards” as capstone to this celebration.   OK, at minimum, a free scoop from yet another New England innovation legend, Ben & Jerry’s.  A  scoop of a new flavor in their honor, “College Cram Crunch.”

The Q2 2010 CEO survey has logged more than 50 respondents, so although additional responses may roll in, we’re posting the results in order to make the feedback to those who participated as timely as possible.   Additional responses are unlikely to skew the percentages significantly.

We at BSG Team Ventures periodically take the temperature of the markets we serve.  Below are the results.  This survey’s focus was on the economic recovery (is it indeed here, and if so, measured how?), and where CEOs are budgeting their spend in the 2010 recovery year.

A note on methodology.  We send these surveys only to those who fit the category (in this case, sitting CEOs or board member/founders of technology/science-driven growth-stage companies).    All responses were anonymous due to the web-based survey technology employed. The majority of respondents were in the United States, with the highest concentration on the East and West coasts (New York, Boston, and San Francisco/Silicon Valley areas).

For prior survey results from Q3 2009, titled “Strategy & Outpacing Your Competitors in the Recovery”, go to http://www.bostonsearchgroup.com/blog/3rd-quarter-innovation-ceo-survey-results-outpacing-competitors-recovery/.

The response to the first question clearly demonstrates that CEO sentiment versus our last survey has demonstrably shifted, with almost 75% of CEOs indicating that the economy has either bottomed out, or is recovering.

Similarly, for those growth-stage tech or sciences driven companies, when looking at revenues, more than 40% of CEOs reported that revenues were up from Q1 to Q2, with the largest percentage revenue increases in the 1-25% range.  Approximately 10% of CEOs reported revenue increases of 25% or more.