Life sciences consultancy Validant Group hires Tim Dietlin as CEO

Validant Group, a San Francisco-headquartered life sciences consulting firm, has hired Tim Dietlin as chief executive officer. He is based in Chicago.

Dietlin brings more than 25 years of leadership experience to Validant – most recently spending eight years at Heidrick & Struggles as global managing partner of the healthcare and life sciences practice. In the role, he oversaw a practice providing leadership advisory services to pharma, biotech, and services and technology firms.

Before that he was a partner and leader of the life sciences strategy and transformation consulting practice at IBM; SVP of global consulting and strategic alliance at INC Research (now Syneos Health); and head of R&D and medical affairs consulting at Campbell Alliance, a life sciences management consultancy.

Dietlin has an MBA from DePaul University and a bachelor’s degree from Loyola University Chicago.

“Tim brings a unique skill set to his role as CEO of the Validant Group. His deep understanding of the life sciences industry, coupled with his business effectiveness and leadership advisory experience, allows Tim to build transformative teams that drive growth and attain long-term success,” said Alistair Macdonald, chair of the Validant Group board of directors and operating partner, GHO Capital.

GHO Capital, a London-based private equity firm focusing the healthcare sector, acquired Validant in December 2018. By May 2022, GHO had more than tripled Validant’s size to 265 employees and significantly broadened its footprint throughout the US, Europe, and Asia. Major bolt-ons included DataRevive, a firm specializing in regulatory filings for pharma and biotech companies; IDEC, a regulatory consultancy catering to pharma and biotech firms in the Japanese market; Oriel Stat-A-Matrix, a consultancy and training firm focusing on medical device compliance for US and international regulations; and Greenleaf Health, a regulatory consultancy focusing on clients regulated by the FDA.

Validant provides end-to-end regulatory, compliance, and quality consulting across the product lifecycle, from preclinical to clinical, manufacturing, and distribution.

“The Validant Group has built a strong foundation as a leader in the life sciences industry. By uniting this already powerful partnership of companies, and capitalizing on our collective capabilities, we will unlock the full potential of our business,” Dietlin said. “Together, the Validant Group will deliver a full-service platform that provides unmatched regulatory clarity at every phase of the product life cycle.”