Future CEOs / General Managers – AI-powered Software in London

Reports to: Group COO

Location: London (hybrid)

Seniority bar: + 5 years

About Circeus

Circeus is an AI-native holding that acquires and scales mission-critical B2B software businesses globally. We have raised $220m+ from leading global institutional investors and serve 200,000+ businesses across diverse verticals, focusing on high-retention, deeply embedded software. We acquire high-quality SaaS companies and accelerate their growth through a centralised AI platform, driving both revenue expansion and operational efficiency. We operate as long-term owners, continuously improving products through applied AI.

The Role

We are building a bench of operators to run the software businesses we acquire. You will take full ownership of a portfolio company or business unit: its P&L, its team, its product direction and its trajectory over the next decade rather than the next quarter.

The mandate is to make an already profitable, deeply embedded software business materially better. That means rebuilding workflows around AI, fixing pricing, raising retention, sharpening go-to-market, and deciding where to invest and where to stop. You will use our central AI platform to move products from systems of record into systems of action.

You will report into portfolio leadership and work alongside our central AI, M&A and value creation teams. Depending on your background, you may start in a General Manager or number-two seat before taking a full CEO remit, or step directly into one. It suits people who would rather own the outcome than advise on it: former founders, operators who have carried a P&L, or high-performers from investing or consulting who want to stop making recommendations and start making decisions.

What You'll Do

• Own the P&L of a software business, from revenue growth through to margin and cash
• Set strategy and the operating plan, then hold the organisation to it
• Rebuild core product and internal workflows around AI, with measurable results
• Recruit, develop and, where needed, restructure the leadership team beneath you
• Drive pricing, packaging and retention decisions using real customer and cohort data
• Work with the central AI team to deploy platform capability into your product
• Report performance clearly and honestly to portfolio leadership and investors
• Lead integration of bolt-on acquisitions into your business
• Build the reporting and operating cadence that makes the business legible and fast

What We're Looking For

• Track record of owning commercial outcomes: a P&L, a business unit, or a company you founded
• Experience in B2B software or SaaS, with genuine understanding of recurring-revenue mechanics
• Demonstrated ability to hire, lead and hold a standard across a full team
• Fluency with AI tooling in your own work, and a clear view on where it changes a software business
• Comfort with incomplete information and decisions that cannot be deferred
• Analytical rigour: you can build the model, not just read it
• Clear, direct communication with customers, teams and investors alike
• Willingness to travel and to be based where the business needs you

Nice to Have

• Founder or early-employee experience at a software company you helped scale
• Prior turnaround, carve-out or post-acquisition transformation experience
• Background in private equity, growth equity or strategy consulting before operating
• Experience shipping AI-native product into a live customer base
• Additional languages, particularly Italian or Bosnian, Croatian or Serbian

Why Circeus

• Run a real business with real customers and real revenue, not a project
• Exposure to a portfolio of software businesses rather than a single product
• AI applied to real commercial problems, with impact you can measure
• Direct collaboration with our central AI team
• Long-term ownership horizon, with capital and patience behind the plan
• Competitive compensation tied to the value you create