COO – Regional Operations — Enterprise-Software Suite

The mandate

Following two years of uneven execution, the board is addressing regional delivery split across incompatible operating models within a multinational-owned enterprise technology and digital-products group. The immediate arena is the enterprise-software suite during a global go-to-market redesign. For mandate 144, the successful executive inherits decisions that have been deferred, competing stakeholder expectations and a need to establish facts before committing further capital.

The COO – Regional Operations operating perimeter covers approximately €2,150 million in annual recurring revenue portfolio, with activity spanning several enterprise-software suite customer, product and delivery clusters rather than a single asset. The COO – Regional Operations Technology remit carries direct influence over roughly 950 colleagues and third-party capacity.

The chair, executive committee and principal capital sponsors want a COO – Regional Operations who can convert ambiguity into a short list of explicit choices for the enterprise-software suite. The COO – Regional Operations Technology seat must resolve a global go-to-market redesign, while preserving the underlying strengths of the enterprise-software suite. For mandate 144, value will come through sharper allocation, stronger leaders and an operating cadence that exposes variance early.

The COO – Regional Operations’s first year on the enterprise-software suite is expected to end with one operating system, service reliability and scalable capacity. In mandate 144, authority covers resources and leadership appointments; material trade-offs go directly to the board sponsor.

Why this seat is open

This is an urgent replacement for the COO – Regional Operations — Enterprise-Software Suite seat following an accelerated leadership transition. Interim accountability is in place for the enterprise-software suite, but the board wants a permanent appointment within 6–8 weeks because a global go-to-market redesign cannot remain under split ownership. The predecessor’s outcome is being handled neutrally and professionally. The external search remains confidential until the preferred candidate and transition plan are agreed.

What you will own

• Set the COO – Regional Operations value-creation thesis for the enterprise-software suite, translate it into no more than five enterprise priorities and stop work that does not support them.
• Carry stewardship of approximately €2,150 million in annual recurring revenue portfolio, including allocation, risk acceptance and board forecasts.
• Lead the COO – Regional Operations Technology organisation of about 950 employees and partners, appointing a team with clear decision rights and credible succession for every critical seat.
• Resolve the enterprise-software suite economics and execution constraints created by a global go-to-market redesign, with COO – Regional Operations-approved owners, dated milestones and transparent escalation thresholds.
• Establish one COO – Regional Operations operating review across commercial, customer, financial, people, technology and risk outcomes for the enterprise-software suite; remove reconciliations that obscure accountability.
• Have carried end-to-end delivery accountability across multiple sites, channels or markets with quantified service and cost outcomes in mandate 144.
• Build the COO – Regional Operations’s three-year succession and capability plan for the enterprise-software suite, reducing dependence on individual executives and improving mobility across the wider Technology organisation.

The first 12 months

• Days 1–90: Validate the enterprise-software suite baseline, meet the 30 stakeholders most consequential to regional delivery split across incompatible operating models, assess the leadership team, stabilise immediate delivery risks and agree a board-owned scorecard with explicit decision gates.
• Months 4–9: Make the principal COO – Regional Operations portfolio and organisation choices for the enterprise-software suite, install the new operating cadence, fill critical leadership gaps and deliver the first measurable release of cash, capacity or customer value.
• Months 10–12: Demonstrate a repeatable enterprise-software suite trend against one operating system, service reliability and scalable capacity, lock the following year’s capital and talent plan, evidence control sustainability and present a credible three-year value case with downside actions.

What the board will measure

• Delivery of the COO – Regional Operations’s agreed first-year enterprise-software suite value case within a 10% tolerance, with variance explained before rather than after the relevant quarter closes.
• A COO – Regional Operations forecast that remains decision-useful across three consecutive quarters and reconciles the enterprise-software suite’s operating, cash, customer and people assumptions.
• Closure of the COO – Regional Operations mandate’s highest-priority enterprise-software suite risk and execution issues by their board-approved dates, with independent evidence that fixes are sustained.
• Retention of at least 90% of critical enterprise-software suite talent and ready-now successors for at least 70% of the COO – Regional Operations’s direct reports.
• A quantified COO – Regional Operations-owned improvement in the enterprise-software suite operating constraint behind a global go-to-market redesign, supported by a clean baseline and named data owner.
• Clear stakeholder confidence in mandate 144: no unresolved high-severity escalation older than 30 days and no material surprise withheld from its agreed governance forum.

The person

You are currently a Regional COO, Operations President or Delivery Executive in a multinational-owned Technology or adjacent enterprise. In relation to the enterprise-software suite, your COO – Regional Operations track record includes a transition where the original plan was no longer sufficient; you can explain your choices, evidence and numerical impact. Candidates from software, cloud services, digital platforms, IT services or technology-enabled business services will be considered where the operating model, customer stakes and governance intensity match this COO – Regional Operations brief.

As a COO – Regional Operations candidate, you bring 22–28 years of progressive Technology or adjacent-sector experience, consistent with the 22-28 experience band. At minimum, you have carried a P&L, book, budget or accountable portfolio of €1,250 million and led an organisation of at least 950 people.

For mandate 144, the board wants two transitions: a difficult enterprise-software suite portfolio choice and a leadership-system change during a global go-to-market redesign. As the prospective COO – Regional Operations for this enterprise-software suite, you must challenge optimistic cases and still create followership. References for mandate 144 must distinguish your contribution from the institution around you.

The COO – Regional Operations must be based in Amsterdam; international relocation is supported, but this Technology role is not designed as a remote appointment.

Non-negotiables

• Current or recent accountability at the level of Regional COO, Operations President or Delivery Executive, with direct exposure to a board, investment committee or equivalent Technology governance forum.
• Proven COO – Regional Operations ownership of at least €1,250 million and leadership of no fewer than 950 employees in a comparable enterprise-software suite context.
• One completed Technology or adjacent-sector example of regional delivery split across incompatible operating models with outcomes sustained for at least two reporting periods after the initial intervention.
• Sector credibility from software, cloud services, digital platforms, IT services or technology-enabled business services; experience that is purely functional and lacks COO – Regional Operations-level enterprise-software suite consequences will not meet the bar.
• Willingness to meet the Amsterdam location expectation, complete conflicts and background diligence, and protect the confidentiality of mandate 144.

Compensation and terms

The anticipated COO – Regional Operations package is €330,000–450,000 base + annual incentive and LTI, calibrated to the final enterprise-software suite scope and the candidate’s current mix. Any long-term participation for mandate 144 follows standard vesting and performance conditions. The COO – Regional Operations appointment in Amsterdam, centred on the enterprise-software suite, offers regular exposure to the chair, executive committee and principal capital sponsors. A notice period of up to 6 months can be accommodated for the selected executive in mandate 144.

Confidentiality

The client name, precise footprint and transaction history are outside this brief for mandate 144. They will be shared with qualified candidates under a mutual undertaking, and the composite facts here must not be reverse-engineered or circulated for mandate 144.