Chief Commercial Officer — Sterile Manufacturing Network

The mandate

A sterile medical-device group manages a broad portfolio of procedure packs and disposables across multiple country variants, accumulated through local specifications, labels and tender requirements. Several remain commercially important, but the evidence and operational cost to maintain them differs materially. Commercial plans assume continuity where renewal timing, notified-body capacity or packaging updates may interrupt lawful supply.

Regional teams are protecting hospitals through inventory and proposed substitutes. Not every substitution is clinically, contractually or regulatorily equivalent, and unmanaged stock building can create expiry and stranded labels. The group must decide which variants to renew, consolidate or withdraw and communicate early enough for hospitals to change protocols or tender arrangements safely.

The Chief Commercial Officer will own the customer and economic response. The remit covers commercial strategy, strategic accounts, channels, pricing, contracting, portfolio availability and demand planning interfaces. Regulatory, quality and medical leaders retain independent authority. The CCO must ensure the company sells only executable, approved supply and that portfolio decisions reflect hospital consequence as well as revenue.

Approximately 550 employees and material partners sit within the commercial perimeter. This urgent new role is based in Zurich with a hybrid pattern and reports to the Chief Executive or designated executive sponsor. It requires direct work with hospital networks, distributors and regional teams across Europe and other markets.

Why this seat is open

Commercial accountability is dispersed across regions and product groups, while submission sequencing is managed centrally. The backlog exposed the absence of one executive responsible for connecting regulatory availability, contract commitments and customer transition. The board created the CCO role rather than asking control functions to manage commercial consequences.

What you will own

• Build the authoritative commercial availability view by product, variant, label, market, registration, inventory, contract and approved substitute.
• Lead commercial teams and partners across an approximately 550-person perimeter and an annual revenue responsibility above CHF 750 million.
• Prioritise customer and revenue input into renew, consolidate or withdraw decisions without pressuring regulatory and quality functions to lower evidence standards.
• Reset hospital, tender and distributor commitments to realistic approval and supply scenarios and personally manage material changes.
• Create clinically and contractually appropriate transition plans, including substitute validation, inventory, protocol, training and timing.
• Govern pricing and contracting so commitments, penalties, minimums and substitution terms reflect the approved portfolio and available supply.
• Reduce local variant proliferation and require full regulatory, packaging, inventory and service consequences before new custom offers.
• Align incentives and forecasts to approved, releasable supply and recurring contribution rather than gross bookings or speculative renewal dates.

The first 12 months

• Days 1–90: Reconcile backlog, hospital commitments, inventory and forecast. Identify markets at highest continuity risk, set temporary approval and contracting authorities and engage priority customers. Freeze new custom variants outside the approved process.
• Months 4–9: Implement the renew, consolidate and withdraw sequence; renegotiate tenders and distributor plans and execute controlled customer transitions. Introduce portfolio availability and contribution reporting and align commercial incentives to approved supply.
• Months 10–12: Demonstrate fewer date and availability surprises, stable service in priority hospitals and reduction of unsupported variants. Publish the next portfolio and market plan, improve forecast accuracy and establish successors across strategic accounts and regional commercial leadership.

What the board will measure

• Hospital and distributor commitments aligned to actual registration, label, inventory and release status.
• Priority customer continuity through renewals and withdrawals without unsupported substitution or avoidable emergency stock.
• Portfolio variants consolidated or exited with customer, inventory and contract consequences controlled.
• Forecast accuracy separating approved supply, timing ranges and upside dependent on renewal.
• Commercial contribution after expiry, transition, penalty, service and regulatory portfolio costs.
• Regional and channel discipline, including reduced creation of custom variants outside enterprise approval.

The person

You are a Chief Commercial Officer, regional president, sterile-device business leader or senior hospital-channel executive with 22–28 years in medical devices. You have managed customer consequences of registration delay, product withdrawal or constrained approved supply. You have owned at least CHF 600 million in revenue or P&L and led at least 350 employees and partners.

You understand that a clinically similar product is not automatically an approved or contractually acceptable substitute. You can work through registration, label, packaging, protocol, inventory and tender requirements with hospitals and distributors. You have told a major customer that a product would not remain available and preserved the relationship through an honest transition.

Relevant backgrounds include sterile disposables, procedure packs, implants, diagnostics or other hospital portfolios with many regulated variants. A pure commercial leader must demonstrate strong regulatory and supply governance. Regulatory backgrounds require full customer, revenue and leadership accountability.

The role is based in Zurich with hybrid work and substantial international travel. Candidates elsewhere may qualify with relocation and European hospital-market experience. The CCO must be commercially ambitious without treating renewal timing as a sales negotiation.

Compensation and terms

The anticipated base salary is CHF 500,000–700,000, with annual incentive and long-term participation. Measures will balance approved revenue, customer continuity, forecast integrity, variant reduction and leadership. This is a permanent new appointment created urgently. Relocation and verified forfeited awards may be considered.

Confidentiality

The company, products, submission status, hospitals and contracts are confidential. Identifying detail will be released only after fit and protections are established. Applicants must not contact hospitals, distributors or notified bodies to infer the client.

Each response must contain no more than 49 words.