One can earn as much from consultancy as from working for a company, say former execs

Dragos Dinu, former CEO of pharmaceutical group A&D Pharma, and Nicolae Voiculescu, former head of Novartis Romania, say one can earn as much from consulting as in a private company.
In 2008 they established healthcare industry consultancy Link Resource together with Ion Nestor, managing partner of law firm Nestor Nestor Diculescu Kingston Petersen (NNDK), and last year posted an over 1 million-euro turnover.
“2009 was a good year, and results were above forecasts. For 2010 we have set a growth target of 25-30%,” said Nicolae Voiculescu, Link Resource partner. He specified that the growth would mainly come from new clients. At the beginning of last year the company had 3-4 clients, with its portfolio currently including 20 names. The biggest contract was worth “a little over 200,000 euros,” but Link Resource shareholders did not specify the names of the clients.
As for the reasons for which managers leave companies in favour of consulting, Link Resource representatives say there are times when money is no longer an incentive. “You gather expertise and feel you want to generate value. It can happen within a company, as well, but what do you do when you have reached a top position and have nowhere to go from there?,” says Dragos Dinu, Link Resource partner.
Dragos Dinu is one of the best-known people in the pharmaceutical industry, with a six-year mandate at the helm of the biggest local pharmaceutical group, A&D Pharma, under his belt.