Stepping into the Future: A Conversation with Our CEO – Dr Ash Ghadar

As the company enters a new chapter, we sat down with our newly appointed CEO to discuss leadership transition, future ambitions, and what lies ahead following the retirement of our long service Managing Director.

Q: Congratulations on your new role.  how does it feel to step in at this moment?

Haughton Design has been built on a great foundation with a fantastic team that has enabled us to support some of the world’s larges pharmaceutical and medical device companies while also helping innovators develop and commercialise breakthrough ideas.  Stepping into the CEO role is both a privilege and an exciting opportunity.  I’m looking forward to leading the next chapter with a strong focus on world-class delivery, trusted partnerships, and a culture of innovation and excellence as we continue to grow and expand our reach.

Q: Looking ahead, what is your vision for the company over the next few years?

My vision is to build on the unique blend of specialism and professionalism that our customers already value so highly. Over the coming years, we aim to deepen and broaden our geographic and industry reach, while continuing to expand our specialist services, particularly across Pharma, MedTech, and Diagnostics.

We’ll continue to create value by delivering world‑class expertise through well‑managed, end‑to‑end services combined with strong and commercially informed sector knowledge. This will be delivered through smart, integrated ways of working and processes and a culture firmly rooted in Credibility, Quality, and Care. For our customers, this will translate into a true partnering experience, defined by reliability, agility, and trust, and supported by specialist, practical, real‑world problem‑solving.

Q: How would you describe your leadership style?

I’d describe my leadership style as being involved, compassionate, and empowering, with an emphasis on real understanding and evidence. I like to develop a feel for the challenges we’re facing so I can offer meaningful solutions and contributions. I believe in giving people the space to take initiative and empowering them to make their own decisions within a relatively broad boundary set by our strategic vision – a structured flexibility that encourages ownership without losing alignment. I value intelligence, curiosity, and attitude; people can learn skills, but mindset matters – although that can also evolve over time within the right culture. Ultimately, I want individuals to develop their own specialism and space, to collaborate and integrate effectively while respecting personal boundaries, and to feel a strong sense of belonging through shared values and purpose.

Q: What do you see as the biggest challenge facing the business right now?

There is a substantial shift in society toward people taking greater control of their own health, moving away from traditional healthcare settings. This has led to a surge in the development of new pharmaceutical and medical technologies in particular across therapeutic and diagnostic applications.

Innovative ideas, however, must be translated into commercially viable solutions that are effective, safe, and user‑friendly, with performance demonstrated through objective evidence and clinical trials.

The biggest challenge lies in the pace of change across MedTech and Pharma, combined with stringent regulatory expectations, technological advances, and commercial pressures. Staying ahead of this curve while maintaining the high standards our clients expect is critical.

We operate in new product development space, where economic uncertainty can slow funding streams and delay decision‑making, which can at times pose additional challenge.

In addition, delivering on our ambitious growth plans requires that our flexible and intelligent processes are tailored and optimised to support greater scale, while carefully balancing the need for speed with the disciplined, evidence‑driven approach required for safe, compliant, and high‑quality device development.

Q: And where are the greatest growth opportunities?

There are significant opportunities across several areas of MedTech and Pharma, with our core focus continuing to be on combination products, IVDs, and medical devices.

We are seeing strong growth in parenteral and respiratory drug delivery devices, driven by new therapies that require both novel device technologies and the adaptation of platform devices to meet increasingly demanding requirements. In parallel, demand is rising for accurate, portable, and cost‑effective diagnostic devices, as well as specialist consumables and implantable medical devices – areas where our expertise is highly relevant.

There is also growing momentum across the sector, with companies seeking responsive, trusted partners who can offer deep specialism within comprehensive and flexible services. This is where we are particularly strong, and where our proprietary, fully embedded workflow and integrated processes give us a clear competitive advantage.

While many of our customers are based in the US and EU, we are seeing significant and growing demand in other regions that can benefit from our capabilities and approach. Expanding our reach into these markets represents another important opportunity for the business.

Taken together, these trends create a broad and exciting landscape for growth. By strengthening our specialism in complex, high‑value sectors and continuing to expand our global footprint, we are well positioned to drive sustained growth and increase our impact over the coming years.

Q: How important is company culture in your plans?

Company culture is absolutely central to our plans. An inclusive culture that promotes independent thinking, learning, collaboration, and strong, well‑defined processes is essential. Our guiding principles are Credibility, Quality and Care and it is paramount that all aspects of these values are embedded in everything we do.

We operate in a sector that depends heavily on trust and long‑term relationships, and the way we work internally directly shapes how we show up for our clients. We thrive as a business in a culture where people feel a genuine sense of belonging, where they are encouraged to develop a deep passion for their specialism, and where we take pride in caring for our customers by delivering high‑quality services and world‑class expertise.

For me, that means a culture of cooperation and knowledge‑sharing, where people support each other, collaborate effectively, and work together to solve problems. It also means a no‑blame mindset: focusing on finding root causes, fixing issues, learning, and moving forward. Alongside this, we put a strong emphasis on systemising and working efficiently, with smart, flexible processes that enable us to consistently deliver high‑quality work as we grow.

When people feel supported, trusted, and proud of what they do, quality naturally follows. That’s the culture I’m committed to strengthening as the business continues to expand.

Q: What would you like to say to customers and partners about this leadership change?

Our commitment to quality, transparency, and technical excellence remains exactly the same. You can expect continuity where it matters and fresh energy where it helps. What will evolve is how we scale our capabilities, expand our specialist services, and strengthen programme management and integration to offer a more comprehensive, value‑adding service to our customers and partners.

This leadership change is about building on what already works while enhancing the way we deliver, bringing more capability and strategic support to help clients navigate increasingly complex development challenges. Our goal is to create a greater impact for the companies we serve, without losing the reliability and partnership approach they already trust.

Q: What experiences in your career have best prepared you for this role?

I’ve spent over 25 years working across MedTech, HealthTech, Pharma, and scientific innovation, from hands‑on technical work to strategic leadership and board advisory roles. This blend of experience from commercial and public engagement to engineering and science has shaped how I view technology adoption and its societal impact; the challenges of product development and commercialisation; and how to build companies and teams that operate in harmony and deliver consistently in a complex, regulated sector.

In my experience, the scientist in me has always wanted to explore and understand; the engineer in me wants to create, refine, and perfect; and the realist in me, shaped by years of experience and learning from both successes and failures, has taught me to be a pragmatist, focused on delivering solutions that are fit for purpose. That balance of curiosity, rigour, and pragmatism has been central to my career, which I believe is what this role needs too.

Q: What will success look like for you in your first year?

Success in the initial phase will be about embedding a clear strategic direction and growth plan that everyone understands and feels aligned with, while making tangible progress in strengthening our capabilities. If our clients feel better supported and our team feels energised and confident about the future path, that will be a strong indicator of success.

Alongside solid financial growth, I want to ensure we have the right technical, operational, and process foundations in place to structurally support that growth. This means building systems and capabilities that allow us to deepen our specialism, expand into the key growth markets we’ve identified, and clearly cascade this direction through the organisation with a re‑energised ethos. Ultimately, success for me is about creating the conditions for sustainable, scalable growth and building the momentum to deliver it.

Q: If we revisit this conversation in 12 months, what would you hope to have achieved?

I’d like to be able to say that we’ve grown, not just financially, but in capability, reach, delivery, confidence, and focus. I’d want to see our guiding principles of Credibility, Quality, and Care fully embedded in how we conduct our business, and clearly recognised by our customers. I’d also hope to see stronger technical, operational, and process foundations in place, giving us the platform to further deepen our specialism and expand into our key growth markets.

I’d also want to look back and see a team that feels motivated, aligned, and part of a renewed ethos built around smart, specialist, scalable, and high‑quality delivery. And finally, I’d hope that our client relationships have deepened and broadened, that our customers feel better supported through the increased depth and breadth of our services, and that the business is clearly moving forward with purpose and momentum.

Q: What’s one thing people might be surprised to know about you?

Despite working in a highly technical and regulated sector, I’m happiest when I’m simplifying complexity, whether that’s in engineering, strategy, or even family travel planning. I’m naturally a bit of a perfectionist, but I also enjoy spontaneity and prefer to plan with options and flexibility rather than rigid detail. Experience has taught me to balance structure with realism and pragmatism, and to stay focused on what really matters.