OPTIONIS GROUP

Company background

Backed by Sovereign Capital, Optionis Group is the market-leading professional services provider to contractors and small businesses specialising in accountancy, tax and umbrella employment solutions. Made up of a range of award-winning brands and headquartered in Warrington, it has six sites across the UK and over 450 employees.

The brief

To spearhead the group’s next phase of growth with a focus on driving ambitious sales strategies, a deeply experienced Chief Sales Officer was required. Directorbank’s George Heppenstall was approached by Optionis CEO, Doug Crawford, to identify a strong candidate pool for the role and oversee the recruitment process thereafter.

The CSO would take responsibility for a focused commercial strategy aimed at optimising market share and diversification of Optionis’ products and services. The brief therefore called for a commercial, results-focused professional with experience of working at Board level in a PE-backed environment. A demonstrable track record of identifying and developing profitable channels to market was essential as well as a proven ability in building strong industry relationships.

The outcome

George completed a comprehensive search process drawing on Directorbank’s network, referrals and targeted industry mapping. Renowned executive Greet Brosens was the stand-out candidate and successfully appointed to the role.

Greet brings over 25 years’ experience in driving multi-million pound brands and a history of implementing successful sales strategies on an international scale. She joins Optionis from Thomas International where she was instrumental in transforming the business into a SaaS subscription based platform with a sales and marketing strategy aligned to the changed business model. Prior to that, she spent over 20 years in the recruitment industry, in the UK and continental Europe, growing businesses of various sizes and adding additional revenue streams to the proposition.