CEO - Vertical Market Software Business - Netherlands

CEO, Vertical Market Software Business – NetherlandsThe RoleWe are hiring a CEO for a vertical market software business in the Netherlands. Full P&L, statutory appointment, and a team small enough that you will know every engineer and every major customer. For many people this will be a first CEO seat.Your first task is the handover itself: taking a founder-built business through to full integration on group operating, financial and AI standards, without losing the people or the customer relationships that make it valuable.From there the mandate is growth in both lines. Revenue comes from pricing, packaging, retention and cross-sell before it comes from anything else. Margin comes from replacing manual process with our central AI platform and running a disciplined cost base. You lead the development and sales teams directly and set product direction, working with our central AI team to move the product from a system of record towards a system of action. Finance runs alongside our central function, so you own the numbers and the forecasting while drawing on shared infrastructure.This is a hands-on operating seat in an established, founder-built company, not a corporate business unit. The roadmap, the pipeline and the payroll all land on your desk in the same week. We are looking for the strategic rigour of a consulting background combined with the instincts of someone who has already run a team and carried a number, and we back that with the group’s operating, finance and AI functions.About CirceusCirceus is an AI-native holding that acquires and evolves mission-critical B2B software for the AI era. We serve 250,000+ businesses across diverse verticals, focusing on high-retention, deeply embedded software. We have raised $220m+ from leading global institutional investors. Through a centralised AI platform deployed across the portfolio, we expand software from systems of record into systems of action, driving both revenue expansion and operational efficiency. We operate as long-term owners, continuously improving products through applied AI.What You'll DoOwn the P&L and deliver measurable revenue and EBITDA uplift against an agreed planLead the company through integration onto group operating, financial and AI standardsRebuild pricing and packaging, and attack churn and cross-sell before chasing new logosSet product direction and ship the capabilities customers will pay more forLead, develop and where necessary strengthen the development and sales teamsDeploy the central AI platform across the product and internal operations, and measure the effectManage finance in partnership with the central function, owning budgeting, forecasting and reporting qualityRetain the people and customer relationships that hold the domain knowledgeReport performance, risks and investment cases directly to the groupWhat We're Looking ForStrategy consulting background at a leading firm, with the analytical rigour that comes with itOperating experience at managerial level or above, with direct accountability for a team and a numberGeneral management or senior operating experience inside a private-equity-backed companyDemonstrated commercial impact, with clarity on the levers you pulled and what they deliveredStrong command of pricing, unit economics, retention, forecasting and cashComfort working across engineering and commercial teams rather than a single functionPractical AI fluency, evidenced by changing how a product, a process or a team worksBased in the Netherlands or able to work there regularly, with fluent EnglishNice to HaveDutch language skillsPrior CEO, GM or divisional P&L ownershipB2B software or vertical market software experienceExperience taking over from a founder or leading a business through ownership changeExposure to M&A, from diligence through to integrationWhy CirceusFull ownership of a company, with decisions made close to the workBreadth of exposure across a portfolio of software businesses rather than a single productDirect collaboration with our central AI team on problems with measurable commercial impactA long-term ownership horizon that rewards durable growth over short-cycle targetsCompetitive compensation and scope that grows with the portfolio