Health & Lifes Sciences Executive Search

Leadership That Improves Lives

At Galvin-Rowley Executive, we specialise in appointing transformative healthcare and life sciences leaders, those who not only drive organisational performance, but deliver lasting impact on care outcomes, community wellbeing, and sector innovation.

From hospital boards to biotech scale-ups, our expertise spans Australia’s most complex and critical healthcare environments. Led by Rebecca Perrone, a former critical care nurse and industry executive, our bespoke search process delivers values-aligned, future-focused leaders across Melbourne, Victoria, and Australia-wide.

Why Choose Galvin-Rowley Executive?

With over 30 years of leadership recruitment expertise, Jen Galvin-Rowley has built one of Australia’s most respected executive search firms. Jen is a trusted advisor to Boards and executive teams, known for her rigorous, values-led approach to leadership appointments. Alongside Rebecca Perrone, our Healthcare & Life Sciences Practice Lead, our team delivers trusted outcomes in high-stakes environments.

What sets us apart:

  • Deep Sector Insight – Decades of collective experience across hospitals, health services, biotech, pharma, and public health systems

  • Tailored Search Excellence – Our six-stage consultative search process is designed to understand your governance, clinical, and cultural context.

  • Proven Outcomes – We’ve placed 40+ leaders in the sector with a 97.5% 12-month retention rate.

  • Reputation for Care – We represent your brand with discretion, empathy, and integrity – building long-term relationships with candidates and clients.

Sector Experience & Roles We Place

We place seniorleaders across the full healthcare and life sciences ecosystem:

Executive and Governance
  • Chief Executive Officer (CEO)
  • Chief Operating Officer (COO)
  • Chief People Officer / HR Director
  • Board Chair & Non-Executive Directors
  • Chief Strategy, Transformation & Digital Officers
Clinical & Operational Leadership
  • Chief Medical Officer (CMO)
  • Director of Nursing / Allied Health
  • Director of Medical Services
  • Clinical Governance & Quality Executives
  • Medical Affairs & R&D Leaders
Life Sciences, Biotech & Pharma
  • Medical Directors 
  • Regulatory Affairs Directors 
  • Clinical Research Executives 
  • Market Access & Commercialisation Leaders 
  • HealthTech & eHealth Executives 
  • AI, Data & Infrastructure Leadership

Relevant Experience

We’ve successfully appointed executives across:

Hospitals & Health Networks

  • Bendigo Health
  • Monash Health
  • Epworth

Pharma & Life Sciences

  • AstraZeneca
  • Pfizer
  • CSL Behring

Mental Health & Community Care

  • Beyond Blue
  • Windana
  • Department of Health (Victoria)

Disability & Aged Care

  • Melba Services
  • Oakleigh Centre
  • Abbeyfield Society

Case Studies

Here are some case studies around the impact that Galvin-Rowley Executive have had within these businesses.

Testimonials

“Rebecca was an exceptional partner throughout a lengthy and complex selection process. Her communication was proactive and transparent, consistently keeping me informed and engaged every step of the way. I valued her honest, insightful feedback and tireless commitment to achieving the best possible outcome. It was a genuine pleasure to work with someone so dedicated and professional.”  

Phil Troughton

Director, CSL Behring

“Rebecca is a breath of fresh air in the recruitment industry. She takes personal ownership of what she gets involved in and supports it with passion and sincerity. Rebecca has a unique way of supporting clients. She has excellent listening skills and excellent follow-through communication. I think she has the capability to set the standards in client relationships.”

Makarand (Mak) Tare

Chief Human Resource Officer, Novartis

“Rebecca steered me through one of the most complex and
lengthy recruitment processes I have ever experienced. The hiring company was based in the US and had no employees in Australia, thus creating numerous challenges for Rebecca to coordinate. She did this with professionalism and
empathy. I was never left wondering what the next steps were or how my candidacy was progressing. Rebecca kept me informed after every touch point, she had with the employer and me, as the candidate. Rebecca has been the best recruitment consultant I have ever worked with; from the initial meeting (ascertaining if I was a suitable fit for the potential employer & vice versa), to negotiating an appropriate salary package for the role I was hired.”  

Sue McCarthy

General Manager, Health Datacom

“We highly recommend Rebecca and her team for important executive search assignments. We briefed her on a critical Executive Position for our organisation that was known to have a very small talent pool in Australia. She conducted a thorough search of the market, both within the industry and beyond, to find a candidate with aligned skills, experience, and cultural fit. It was a proactive search during which she performed a competitor analysis, provided regular market updates, and offered a reputational assessment along the way. She was exceptionally detailed in her reporting and recommendations to us and managed the entire process from start to finish in a very proactive and professional manner.”  

Jamie MacLennan

Senior Vice-President and Managing Director (Asia-Pacific) TELUS Health

Meet Our Team

Jennifer Galvin-Rowley

Founder & Principal Consultant

Executive search leader with 30+ years of experience across the private, public and not-for-profit sectors.

Rebecca Perrone

Rebecca Perrone

Practice Lead, Healthcare & Life Sciences

Deep clinical and commercial expertise with a strong track record of C-suite and senior clinical appointments.

Laura Gaugain

Talent Acquisition

Focused on supporting precision search delivery and candidate care with a detail-oriented and people-first approach.

Trusted By Our Clients

Contact Us

Looking to appoint a healthcare or life sciences executive?  Let’s connect for a confidential discussion.

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.