The client is seeking a CEO to lead the group through a new phase of consolidation and development across the Benelux. The role focuses on strengthening coherence and long-term sustainability while preserving the organization’s entrepreneurial agility and maintaining a genuine, people-centered approach that supports team well-being. The CEO will drive integration of recent acquisitions, align activities across the group, and ensure pragmatic structuring of the organization, operating modes, and procedures to consolidate gains and enable durable growth without becoming overly corporate.
As CEO, you will support an experienced, autonomous CoDir by fostering collective momentum built on cooperation, accountability, and high-quality execution. You will unify teams around a shared culture that is collaborative, agile, and oriented toward continuous improvement, while protecting an on-the-ground, pragmatic, human culture despite the group’s evolution. You will co-create with internal teams and relevant stakeholders a clear, ambitious, and realistic strategy aimed at sustainable value creation rather than growth at any cost, and you will identify Benelux development opportunities while adapting the organization to market changes, customer needs, and strategic partnerships.
The CEO will develop trusted relationships with teams, international suppliers, key clients, partners, family shareholders, and the board. The role expects a strong leadership profile with a scientific-oriented academic background (such as engineering, life sciences, chemistry, or similar) ideally complemented by management training, or a master’s in management sciences combined with a solid understanding of the scientific environment and the ability to work effectively with technical specialists. The ideal candidate will have at least 15 years of professional experience, strong commercial experience in a client- and partner-oriented environment, proven management of multidisciplinary teams, responsibility for P&L and development projects, experience in sectors such as life sciences, pharma, food industry, or comparable fields, experience across at least Benelux/Belux/France, and trilingual proficiency in French, Dutch, and English.