Director of Product Development
Industry: Dietary Supplement Brand.
Remote (West Coast) · Product Development · Retained Search · Director
The Challenge — Finding a technical formulator with real leadership presence
Our client, a prominent dietary supplement brand, needed a Director of Product Development to drive innovation and lead product formulation efforts. This critical leadership role required deep technical expertise to develop market-leading health and wellness products.
- Strong background in supplement formulation and product engineering
- Proven ability to drive innovation from concept through commercialization
- Experience leading product development initiatives in the dietary supplement or health and wellness space
- Strong leadership skills, with the ability to collaborate effectively with executive leadership and R&D teams
Our Approach — A precise, competitor-focused search for a passive top performer
This search required precision and persistence to find a candidate who combined deep technical expertise with the leadership presence needed to accelerate product innovation. The Kalon Executive Search team leveraged our proprietary search process and extensive industry network to deliver outstanding results.
- Tapped our proprietary database, advanced search tools, and industry networks to identify high-caliber candidates from leading competitors
- Quickly surfaced multiple strong candidates with relevant formulation and product development experience at well-known organizations
- Coordinated a rigorous multi-round interview process, including interviews with the CEO and senior R&D leadership
- Used headhunting expertise and strong negotiation skills to successfully recruit a top passive candidate from a respected competitor
The Result — A formulation leader already commercializing new products
The client successfully hired an exceptional Director of Product Development who started promptly, onboarded smoothly, and has already made a significant impact. Under their leadership, new products are being commercialized, strengthening the company's innovation pipeline and market position.
Outcome: A passive competitor hire recruited through consultative persistence — the Kalon team is proud to have delivered a technically strong, executive-ready product leader, recruited directly from a respected competitor and already driving the innovation pipeline forward.