Placing an EMEA Marketing Director for EdTech Scale-Up in 55 Days
Securing the first mini-CMO for European operations
The Challenge
A fast-growing US-based EdTech company was expanding into Europe and needed its first senior in-region marketing leader. The role was effectively a 'Mini-CMO': responsible for building and owning the entire European marketing strategy. The hire needed to be strategic, hands-on, and able to operate with autonomy in a high-growth, high-ambiguity environment.
The Client
Handshake is an EdTech company providing a career network platform connecting 20 million students, 1,600+ universities, and 1 million+ employers for job discovery, internships, and upskilling in the AI economy.
Headquarters
California, USA
Employees
1000+
Funding
$434 million
Investors
Lightspeed Venture Partners, Spark Capital, Annox Capital, and Proactive
Valuation
$3.5 billion
Our Approach
Optima Search | Europe & America structured a four-stage process built around precision — not volume.
1,800 profiles sourced and reviewed - narrowed to candidates with minimum 3-year tenure for stability.
47 candidates engaged in conversations; 7 fully screened and presented to the client.
Ongoing advisory dialogue throughout - refining expectations, managing market realities, and aligning the brief as insights emerged.
172 candidates (10%) directly approached through targeted outreach.
13 interviews conducted over four rounds with senior global stakeholders.
The Results
Gagandeep S. was successfully placed as the company's first European Marketing Director - establishing a senior marketing presence in the region and laying the foundation for scalable growth across EMEA.
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