My no-longer-replacement

I've written about the guy that my company said is to replace me here. At a recent conference he was showcasing some of our new stuff to a few select physicians (the kind of physicians that will keep their mouths shut about our up-and-coming products).  Some of these physicians know and like me, and it's always nice to chat with them. I would introduce my replacement and we would all talk about the medical devices on the horizon. My replacement (Mr. MBA), would chime in every once in a while when he was directed a question during our discussions. He was able to joke around and develop back-and-forth with the physicians, but as soon as anything technical came up (either about the diseases or the devices) he seemed like an idiot.  On top of this, it didn't seem like he cares about patients, which is part of why I despise this guy. The physicians relayed this to me and my superiors that were there. And they were not amused.

So the president of my company has notified me that Mr. MBA will be transferring to marketing since the physicians have notified management that Mr. MBA is not someone they want to work with. Party with, yes, but work with, never. This makes me feel good and bad. Good that he'll be gone (he was horrible for our group) and bad because the physicians don't think I'd be fun to party with. 

So the president, realizing that they made a bad decision, has put me on charge of the hiring committee. I have 2 weeks to make a short-list and 1 week to complete the first round of phone interviews. Then on-sites after that. They want to rush this so they can start training under me.  I've been pushing to get my #2 in charge of my group when I depart in a year but for some reason leadership is obsessed with finding someone external. I suspect it's because my #2 is a quiet kinda gal.  She isn't too aggressive (unlike me), though she's insanely motivated.  I'm planning on training her for the committee.  I suspect her reserved attitude is part of why leadership doesn't want her leading my group.