Heartache: Talent Management at Cardio AI

In February 2024, Rory Pound, cofounder and CEO at Cardio AI, a medical device firm, had to let go a sizeable portion of the start-up’s workforce, largely because the company had failed in its attempt to expand into a new market—the pharmaceutical (pharma) industry. Pound and his cofounder had hired a seasoned salesperson to head business development for pharma, believing they had the right person for the job. But it could not have gone worse. The head of pharma business development blew a $2 million deal that was going to contribute materially to Cardio AI’s 2023 revenue, and was he was ultimately let go. Pound wondered what he could have done differently to help the salesperson succeed. It was a staggering setback for Cardio AI. The firm remained committed to pharma, but now it was without someone to lead the business. Pound contemplated stepping in, but he knew his strengths were elsewhere. Still some sense of stability was needed—and quickly. Perhaps more importantly, Pound wanted to know what went wrong in the hiring process and how the firm’s approach to talent management, in general, needed to change.