Remote Work Impact on Productivity

The Challenge

The company had reached ~€50M ARR on the back of a series of strategic acquisitions, but scale had come at a cost. The business was operating with a fragmented technology stack, a decentralised commercial organisation, and a leadership team that hadn't yet been built for the next phase of growth.

The Private Equity firm needed to act on three fronts simultaneously:

• Unify the platform: consolidate multiple acquired products into a single, scalable architecture
• Install executive leadership: bring in operators capable of running at PE scale and pace
• Accelerate revenue: set the business on a credible path to €100M+ ARR

They turned to The Big Search to build two of the most critical hires on that agenda: the CTO and the CRO.

Overview of the two executive searches

Between November 2024 and January 2026, The Big Search partnered with a Private Equity-backed European energy intelligence platform operating in the B2B data and SaaS sector to build two critical leadership pillars: a Chief Technology Officer to unify the platform, and a Chief Revenue Officer to scale commercial performance.

These hires were designed as sequential interventions aligned with the PE firm's value-creation roadmap: first securing the technology foundation, then unlocking commercial scale. We closed both searches and received a client NPS of 9 and 10, respectively.

Phase  1 - Building the Technology Foundation: Chief Technology Officer

November 2024 → March 2025 | Private Equity Value Creation: Technology Foundation Phase

At the time of the Chief Technology Officer search, the company was a Private Equity-backed European energy intelligence platform with approximately €50M ARR, 250+ employees, and operations across 10+ countries. The SaaS business had grown through a combination of organic development and strategic acquisitions, building a multi-product portfolio of data and analytics tools serving energy professionals across Europe.

Having completed several M&A transactions in the preceding years – each bringing its own technology stack, team, and architecture – the PE-backed business was at a critical juncture: it needed a technology leader capable of integrating these acquisitions into a unified, scalable platform while maintaining product velocity. The group's PE sponsor was driving an ambitious commercial growth agenda, and technology was the enabling layer that everything else depended on.

The brief was brought in via the Private Equity firm's network, with The Big Search being selected based on its track record in placing CTOs at PE-backed SaaS and data businesses.

The search was to hire a technology leader with SaaS/DaaS experience, proven post-merger integration credentials, and the maturity to operate as a genuine executive partner to the CEO and Board. The Private Equity firm needed someone who combined engineering leadership with a commercial and organisational mindset, capable of aligning a fragmented technology organisation into a single product platform.

Executive search in DACH, UK and Nordic B2B SaaS & DaaS

The hunting strategy targeted VP Engineering and CTO-level profiles at B2B SaaS and data intelligence companies across Nordic and broader European markets – specifically those with:

• Experience leading post-acquisition technology integration programmes
• Engineering team leadership at scale (50–150+ FTE)
• Platform architecture and modernisation backgrounds
• Affinity with Nordic business culture and Private Equity operating rhythms
• B2B/DaaS product DNA – not pure enterprise IT or infrastructure

Target company archetypes included B2B media intelligence platforms, financial data businesses, digital marketplace operators, subscription analytics tools, and DaaS companies at growth and scale stages across the Nordics, DACH, and the UK.

We undertook an exhaustive mapping exercise across DACH, the UK and the Nordics, identifying 79 candidates.

Days to first shortlist delivery: 41 days from kick-off

⏱ Days to first shortlist delivery: ~11 days from kick-off

The B2B SaaS company's HR Director noted appreciation for "the efficiency of interview scheduling – coordinating multiple senior stakeholders who were frequently travelling" - as a standout operational achievement. The one point raised was the challenge of sourcing diversity at the CTO level, which was acknowledged as a structural market constraint.

Client NPS: 9/10

The placed candidate: A profile in revenue leadership for the DACH region

The future CTO of this Private Equity-backed energy intelligence platform is a mature, commercially-minded technology leader with 15+ years of experience scaling engineering organisations inside B2B SaaS and data businesses.

Why they fit:

🏗️ Platform integration: led 4 acquisitions in 5 years as VP Engineering, consolidating technology teams into a single coherent product platform

👥 Engineering at scale: managed a 130+ FTE engineering organisation through sustained M&A and growth

🌍 Nordic-native: based in Oslo, culturally fluent, career built inside major Nordic technology and media groups

💡 SaaS/DaaS DNA: entire career at the intersection of B2B platforms, digital publishing, and data products

🤝 PE-ready: the business mindset, organisational maturity, and change management credibility to turn a fragmented group into a scalable, investable business

Phase  2 - Drive Commercial Scale: Chief Revenue Officer

October 2025 → January 2026 | PE Value Creation: Commercial Acceleration Phase

Following the CTO hire, the business needed to unify a fragmented commercial organisation to build the foundation to grow revenue by installing a revenue leader, with full ownership of the commercial roadmap and revenue targets, through the final stretch of the PE value creation plan. The challenge was not to hire a sales leader but to install a commercial operator capable of building a scalable revenue engine across multiple markets and product lines. 

This was a repeat engagement, built on the trust established through the CTO search. The client's HR director – who had been in the industry for over 25 years – described the overall relationship with TBS as "partner-like rather than transactional" and highlighted confidence in The Big Search's ability to handle a complex, multi-stakeholder process with continuity.

The mandate was to hire a commercially driven leader capable of unifying and scaling a ~75–100 FTE commercial organisation – spanning Sales, Marketing, Customer Success, and Partnerships – across Europe. The geographic hypothesis centred on the DACH and Nordic regions, where the PE firm's portfolio strategy and the B2B SaaS company's strongest commercial base intersected.

Executive Search in DACH and Nordic B2B SaaS & DaaS

Two dedicated hunting ground projects were built for this search:

• Nordic CROs – DaaS & B2B SaaS: Targeting senior commercial leaders at Nordic B2B SaaS and data intelligence companies, including energy analytics, fintech data platforms, logistics intelligence, and subscription software businesses (e.g. Vortexa, Macrobond, Xeneta, Cognite, ZeroNorth, StormGeo, Doconomy, Ardoq, Syncron, Aiven, and 80+ others).
• DACH CROs – DaaS & B2B SaaS: Targeting senior commercial leaders at DACH-headquartered or DACH-focused B2B SaaS and data companies (e.g. Celonis, TeamViewer, LeanIX, LucaNet, Staffbase, SoSafe, Regnology, Aareon, and 80+ others).

Profile criteria targeted:

• CRO / CCO / VP Sales with B2B SaaS or DaaS revenue model experience
• Track record of scaling recurring revenue from €20–100M ARR
• Hands-on multi-product GTM leadership across international markets
• Experience operating in PE-backed companies
• Ability to lead and structure a large commercial organisation (50–130 FTE)

We undertook an exhaustive mapping exercise across Nordics and DACH, identifying 126 candidates.

Days to first shortlist delivery: ~2 weeks from kick-off

‍"The client noted that "any of the 8 interview-stage candidates could realistically have been hired – the final decision came down purely to personality and team fit, not capability or calibre."‍

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⏱ Days to first shortlist delivery: ~2 weeks from kick-off

The client's HR Director described completing a rigorous executive search process with full interview coordination across multiple stakeholders in ~90 days as "an absolute miracle." They also highlighted the seamless mid-search team handover as a standout moment of operational excellence, noting it was "flawless, well-coordinated, and professional" – something rarely achieved in their experience.

Client NPS: 10/10

The Placed Candidate: A Profile in Revenue Leadership for the DACH Region

The future CRO of this Private Equity-backed energy intelligence platform is a seasoned B2B data and analytics commercial leader with 25+ years of experience driving revenue growth and managing large-scale enterprise accounts across Europe.

Why they fit:

💰 Revenue at scale: built and led DACH commercial operations for 17 years, through a PE-backed growth cycle that took the business from €300M to €3B in value

🌍 DACH & European footprint: deep market expertise across Germany, Austria, CEE, and broader Europe; native to the exact geography Montel needed to unlock

📊 Data intelligence DNA: entire career built inside financial and commercial data businesses, closely mirroring Montel's DaaS/SaaS model

👥 Commercial organisation builder: track record of structuring and scaling large multi-country sales teams across complex, multi-stakeholder environments

🤝 PE-ready: the strategic maturity, operating discipline, and board-level credibility to lead a commercial organisation through the final stretch of a value creation plan

Most Private-Equity backed companies underestimate how critical leadership sequencing is to delivering on their investment thesis. If you are approaching a similar inflection point in one of your portfolio companies, we’re happy to share how we think about building leadership teams for scale.