Apollo Executive Search

Congratulations to Kees Scholten, who has recently stepped into the role of CEO at Cavalli Group, a rapid expanding leader in premium equestrian sports products across Europe. With decades of experience driving growth and building global brands at companies like Tommy Jeans, Levi’s O’Neill and Perry Ellis, Kees brings unparalleled expertise in strategic leadership, commercial development, and customer-driven growth strategies at international level. As CEO of Cavalli Group, Kees will focus on scaling the organization and team, increase professionalization of the commercial function and strengthening customer partnerships across Europe. With a vision to further cement Cavalli’s position as a European market leader, he will work closely with investor Trans Equity Network and a passionate leadership team to enhance operational excellence, customer experience, expand international sales and fuel innovation across product offerings. Apollo Executive Search wishes Kees great success in the fulfilment of his new role. Here’s to exciting new adventures ahead!

We’re proud to see Ester Boer, take on the role of Chief Financial Officer at Bollegraaf!  With an impressive track record at top international companies, Ester brings a wealth of experience and a pragmatic, people-focused approach to leadership. We’re excited to see the impact she’ll make in this next chapter.  Wishing you all the best in your new role, Ester!

A heartfelt congratulations to Frank Spikker on his new role as CEO of Vanquish Yachts! Frank brings a wealth of experience in brand, manufacturing and global businesses. His expertise in leading transformative, strategic growth and building high-performing teams across premium design, lifestyle and high-tech sectors, will be instrumental in guiding Vanquish Yachts through this important phase of further international expansion. With his strategic vision, customer-centric approach and proven ability to scale organizations, Frank is perfectly positioned to lead Vanquish into its next chapter of success. Vanquish Yachts, a leader in luxury yachts, is known for its exceptional design, performance and craftsmanship. As CEO, Frank will focus on driving global growth, enhancing brand positioning, and ensuring operational excellence whilst serving a very special customer base and maintaining the company’s unique statement: “Not for everyone.” Apollo Executive Search wishes Frank and the entire Vanquish Yachts team much success as they navigate this exciting journey toward even greater heights! 

We are very proud to announce that Jan Jurjen Visser, Thirza Wolfs, and Pleun van Engen have been promoted to Partner at Apollo Executive Search and Capenti! Since joining Apollo in 2021, Jan has built a leading practice in technology, software, and IT, with a particular focus on CEO and CCO searches, establishing many long-term, trusted relationships within the industry. Jan’s leadership has been instrumental in Apollo’s growth and he plays a vital role in Apollo team leadership. Before Apollo, he led a 25-person marketing & sales team at ANWB, worked as a strategy consultant at Nolan, Norton & Co. and EY, and earned an MSc in Transport & Logistics Engineering from TU Delft. Thirza is widely recognized in the industry for her exceptional quality of work and deep candidate network, consistently maintained at the highest standard. She has successfully led CEO, CFO, and CCO searches, playing a key role in strengthening Apollo’s relationships with family businesses and serving as a trusted advisor to many of them. Her deep expertise in consumer, healthcare, and business services has been a major asset to Apollo. With many years of high-end executive search experience, Thirza brings a wealth of knowledge and has been instrumental in driving Apollo’s professionalization.  Prior to Apollo, Thirza spent 15+ years at global executive search firms Spencer Stuart and Russell Reynolds Associates before joining Diageo, where she focused on Executive Hiring for the top 200 global roles. Pleun has been a key force in expanding Apollo’s executive search capabilities since joining in 2023. She has successfully placed leadership roles in manufacturing and high-tech hardware, working closely with CEOs, founders, and investors and is renowned for the quality she delivers on Apollo searches. Before Apollo, she led the European Supply Chain Practice at Russell Reynolds Associates, focusing on executive hiring in Consumer, Energy, and Industrial sectors. She began her career as a lawyer at Allen & Overy and holds a Master’s in Law from the University of Maastricht. Congratulations, Pleun, Thirza, and Jan, on this well-deserved promotion! Thank you for your outstanding contributions to Apollo’s and Capenti's success—we look forward to many more years of working together.

Apollo Executive Search joins Capenti Group in strategic partnership. We proudly share our strategic partnership with Capenti, as we become part of an international group of leading executive search and interim solutions, including the renowned Schelstraete Delacourt, founded in Belgium in 1990 with today already 35% of their activities outside the BeNeLux. With this partnership, Apollo is well equipped to serve our current customer base in the Belgian and Luxembourg market, as well as to offer a wide range of interim solutions. In addition, this will help Apollo in the long term to further strengthen its services, through joint investments in technological innovation and the exchange of best practices in our front and back office. Together with the rest of the Apollo team, our managing partners Peter Zeeuw van der Laan and Maarten van der Kwaak are looking forward to the collaboration with Capenti and this new phase. We invite you to read the full announcement here 👉 https://lnkd.in/eYpXV2-T

Is your portfolio company’s leadership team facing challenges in executing its value creation plans? Are some strategic initiatives stalling because they are outside the team’s experience, comfort zone , or simply because there is a lack of capacity ? One way to strengthen your execution power for strategic initiatives is to hire someone with a background in (strategy) consulting. However, making the right choice is complex. Which role and profile match your situation? How do you test whether a candidate is suitable for your organization? How do you present it attractively to a candidate? Apollo Executive Search has extensive experience in answering these questions and successfully completing such searches. We help you focus on the function, select the right candidate and convince top talent to come on board. With our label ConsultancyExit we also have a huge network among potential candidates. Curious about our approach and insights? Contact us for our extensive discussion starter deck on this topic.

We are pleased to share that Ronald van Harten has been appointed as the new CCO at Ratio Electric. Ronald brings extensive commercial experience, having successfully led marketing and sales teams across various industries in different countries. In his role as CCO, Ronald will work closely together with Ratio Electric’s CEO to (further) establish the company’s commercial strategy. His primary responsibility as CCO will be to lead the commercial team, to further professionalize and scale the commercial department, to drive growth, and ensure alignment with the company’s overall business objectives. At Apollo Executive Search, we are excited to see Ronald thrive in this new role, and we very much appreciated the collaboration with Ratio Electric.

Ontzettend trots op onze 3e FD Gazelle op rij! Dank aan al onze opdrachtgevers voor het vertrouwen en de prettige samenwerkingen, onze Apollo kandidaten en natuurlijk aan het geweldige, hard werkende Apollo Executive Search team! Op naar #4!

 ✨ Proud moment for Apollo Executive Search! ✨ For the third year in a row, we can call ourselves an FD Gazelle! A special recognition of growth and impact, made possible by the trust of our clients and candidates and the hard work of our team. A heartfelt thank you to everyone who contributed to this: our colleagues for their dedication, our customers for their trust, and the candidates who inspire us every day. On to more great collaborations and growth milestones! 🏆 Peter Zeeuw van der Laan Maarten van der Kwaak Jan Jurjen Visser Mayke van Gelder Thirza Wolfs Pleun van Engen Louise van Baar Karen Steeman-van Rosse Nadine Collet van Rems Jessica Kraintz Djamila Sebbaha Magdeleen J. Jyotsna Tripathi Abha N. Atul Soni Natasha Stojanovska Soumi Roy Kateryna Getsenko Amanda Ebieme

We are excited to announce that Bob Mols has been appointed as the new CEO of Yource Group, an investment of Parcom! Bob brings a wealth of experience and successful track record in transformation and growth leadership roles across the customer chain. At KPN he was end-responsible for the Customer Service organization for a number of years in context of increased digitization. More recently Bob served as CEO of Asito and HEYDAY Facility Management, combining a unique blend of entrepreneurial spirit and corporate leadership. His expertise in driving cultural transformation, optimizing operational processes and boosting business performance has been pivotal in the success of several large-scale companies. We at Apollo Executive Search appreciate the Yource team for allowing us to be part of this process and look forward to seeing Bob's contribution to a successful future at Yource.