We are looking for a client-facing CEO with hands-on, end-to-end responsibility for an internationally oriented SME in an international niche agro-industrial environment. The role combines operational and commercial strength with people-centered leadership, in a setting characterized by seasonality and high volumes. The CEO will safeguard business continuity and guide the organization into a next phase of professionalization while preserving the strengths of current operations.
Key responsibilities include further professionalizing processes, structures, and ways of working; elevating the management team through coaching, clarity, and ownership; creating support for change in a context where long tenure can be a strength but may also slow renewal; and maintaining strict profitability within a business model that operates at high volumes and controlled margins. The CEO will monitor and optimize revenue and margins, ensure clear agreements and uniform working methods, and provide effective operational oversight to support cost control, efficiency, and operational discipline.
The CEO will actively track international market developments, including competition dynamics, trade fair presence, and strengthening relationships with distributors and agents. The position typically requires frequent international travel to attend trade fairs several times per year. The ideal profile includes experience in production environments in food, agro, or horticulture (or an industrial context with similar dynamics), familiarity with high-volume, controlled-margin settings, and experience with quality, planning, and operational discipline—preferably in connection with seasonal or live product. Fluency in Dutch and English is expected, with German and French as a plus, and local presence is essential, with preference for candidates strongly rooted in the region.