CEO, Vertical Market Software Business – Germany

The Role

We are hiring a CEO for a vertical market software business in Germany. Full P&L, appointment as Geschäftsführer, and a team small enough that you will know every engineer and every major account. For many people this will be a first CEO seat.

The company serves German-speaking customers, so you will work in German day to day with the team, the customers and the founders you take over from. Your first job is the transition itself: taking a founder-built business through to full integration on group operating, financial and AI standards while keeping the people and the customer base intact.

After that, the mandate is growth in both lines. Revenue comes from pricing, packaging, retention and cross-sell first. Margin comes from replacing manual process with our central AI platform and holding a disciplined cost base. You lead the development and sales teams directly and set product direction, partnering with our central AI team to turn the product from a system of record into a system of action. Finance runs jointly with our central function, so you own forecasting and reporting quality without rebuilding a standalone back office.

This is an operating seat in an established, founder-built company, not a corporate business unit. We want the strategic rigour of a consulting background paired with the instincts of someone who has already led a team and carried a number, backed by the group’s operating, finance and AI functions.

About Circeus

Circeus 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 Do

• Own the P&L and deliver measurable revenue and EBITDA uplift against an agreed plan
• Lead the business through integration onto group operating, financial and AI standards
• Reset pricing and packaging, and address churn and cross-sell before new logo growth
• Define product direction and ship what changes what customers are willing to pay
• Lead and strengthen the development and sales teams
• Embed the central AI platform across the product and internal operations, and measure the return
• Run finance with the central function, owning budgeting, forecasting and reporting accuracy
• Protect institutional knowledge and key relationships through ownership change
• Present performance, risks and capital requests directly to the group

What We're Looking For

• Fluent German and English, both to professional working standard
• Strategy consulting background at a leading firm, with the analytical rigour that comes with it
• Operating experience at managerial level or above, with direct accountability for a team and a number
• General management or senior operating experience inside a private-equity-backed company
• Evidence of commercial impact, with the mechanics behind the numbers
• Strong grip on pricing, unit economics, retention, forecasting and cash
• Comfort working across engineering and commercial teams rather than a single function
• Practical AI fluency, demonstrated in how you have changed a product, a process or a team

Nice to Have

• Prior CEO, Geschäftsführer or divisional P&L ownership
• Experience across the wider DACH market, including Switzerland or Austria
• B2B software or vertical market software experience
• Post-acquisition integration or carve-out experience
• Exposure to M&A, from diligence through to close

Why Circeus

• A company to run, not a function to manage, with real decision rights
• Exposure across a portfolio of software businesses rather than a single product
• Direct access to our central AI team and platform, applied to problems you can measure
• A long-term ownership model that rewards compounding over short-cycle targets
• Competitive compensation and scope that grows with the portfolio