How searches ran.

Case studies,
per practice.

It's never a straight line: briefs that change, candidates who say no, and hypotheses that don't pan out. What matters is that the search closes anyway.

Start a search How a search runs

The write-ups

Read about our impact.

Filter by practice to find your own market.

People

From a Chief People Officer Brief to an Operating Partner: Placing a Leader Whose Scope Outgrew the Job Title

Three months after closing its growth round, the company retained The Big Search to find a Chief People Officer.

1 search 73 mapped first shortlist 19 days from kick-off

People

Building the People Foundation for a PE-Backed DACH SaaS Platform

We partnered with a DACH PE-backed software company to hire a CHRO.

1 search 60 mapped first shortlist 21 days from kick-off

Consumer

Adding Operational Leadership to a 44-Year-Old Software Subsidiary and Unifying Commercial Execution Across a Pan-European Platform: Two Searches for a European B2B Mobility Payments Group

How The Big Search filled two leadership gaps at a European B2B mobility payments platform.

2 searches 184 mapped first shortlist 4 days from kick-off

Consumer

Localising a $20B Platform's US Playbook: Hiring the Marketing Lead for a European Market Launch

How The Big Search placed a Head of Marketing to launch a $20B live-commerce platform’s German market entry in 82 days.

1 search 218 mapped first shortlist 7 days from kick-off

SaaS

From Series A to Scale-Up: Placing the Chief Financial Officer to Professionalise Finance at a French Cybersecurity Company

A VC-backed European cybersecurity SaaS company needed a CFO who could build investor-grade finance infrastructure and lead its buy-and-build roadmap to €100M ARR. The Big Search delivered in 46 days.

1 search 89 mapped first shortlist 2 days from kick-off

SaaS

Three Hires: How a Founder-Led Platform Got PE-Ready in Under a Year

How a PE-backed e-commerce SaaS platform rebuilt its C-suite in 14 months: three executive searches, 551 candidates mapped, one board-ready leadership team.

3 searches 551 mapped first shortlist 2 days from kick-off

SaaS

Opening a New Region: Placing the General Manager Who Could Build the Commercial Foundation From Zero

In October 2024, The Big Search partnered with a major German-speaking European region to find its first General Manager.

1 search 183 mapped first shortlist 31 days from kick-off

Consumer

Operationalising the Buy-and-Build: Placing the COO at a Growth Equity-Backed German Property Management Platform

In October 2025, The Big Search partnered with a growth equity-backed buy-and-build property management platform operating across 15+ locations to place its first Chief Operating Officer.

1 search 99 mapped first shortlist 14 days from kick-off

DeepTech

From Lab to C-Suite: Building the Manufacturing and Finance Leadership for a VC-Backed Fusion Pioneer

Between July 2024 and April 2026, The Big Search partnered with a Munich-based fusion startup to build two of its most critical C-suite appointments.

2 searches 454 mapped first shortlist 7 days from kick-off

SaaS

From Founder-Led Growth to Commercial Scale: Building the Marketing and Customer Success Leadership at a Private Market Intelligence Platform

Between May 2024 and December 2024, The Big Search partnered with this private market intelligence platform to place two commercial leaders.

2 searches 322 mapped first shortlist 37 days from kick-off

SaaS

From Market Leader to Commercial Machine: Installing the Revenue Architecture for a €100M+ PE-Backed Automotive SaaS Business

The company was entering a new chapter: consolidating its market leadership and building the commercial organisation required to defend and grow it.

1 search 181 mapped first shortlist 50 days from kick-off

DeepTech

From DeepTech Pioneer to Commercial Scale: Hiring the Operational Leader for a VC-Backed DeepTech Company

The mandate was to hire a COO/President capable of building the operational and commercial backbone of a fast-scaling DeepTech business.

1 search 156 mapped first shortlist 22 days from kick-off

Consumer

Building the Digital Transformation Leadership Team at a €1.3B Revenue European Consumer Retail Group

Between November 2024 and June 2025, The Big Search was engaged to build three of the most critical leadership roles in a retail company’s digital transformation agenda.

3 searches 506 mapped first shortlist 30 days from kick-off

SaaS

From €50M to €100M ARR: Building the C-Suite Team That Enabled Scale for A Private Equity-Backed B2B SaaS Company

We partnered with a Private Equity-backed European energy intelligence platform to build two critical leadership pillars: a Chief Technology Officer to unify the platform and a Chief Revenue Officer to scale commercial performance.

2 searches 205 mapped first shortlist 24 days from kick-off

Tell us about the search. We'll tell you which of us should run it.

Start a search