CEO | Persuasive

NLC- The Healthtech Venture Builder; Utrecht; On-site; EUR 180,000 - 260,000; Full time

Job summary

Persuasive BV, a Netherlands-based medical diagnostics company, seeks a hands-on Chief Executive Officer to drive the final development and first commercialization. The incoming CEO will transition the founding CEO to a CTO role, owning technology, IP, and regulatory matters while focusing on commercial strategy and fundraising.

The CEO will craft the go-to-market plan for Europe with potential US expansion, align shareholders, sharpen pricing and positioning, and lead fundraising efforts to

Qualifications

• Proven senior leadership in medtech/IVD environments or clinical labs.
• Experience shaping go-to-market models, pricing, and commercialization.
• Strong investor network and capability to lead fundraising initiatives.

Responsibilities

• Lead the company through final development and first commercialization.
• Develop commercial strategy, investor relations, and go-to-market execution.
• Align shareholders and position the company for partnerships and growth.
• Drive fundraising activities and represent the company to investors and clinicians.
• Understand clinical applications, hospital workflows, budgeting, and adoption barriers and translate insights into action.
• Lead a small team with clear priorities and accountability.

Skills

Fundraising

Go-to-market strategy

Strategic leadership

Investor relations

Commercial acumen

Stakeholder management

Job description

Chief Executive Officer

Persuasive BV is a Netherlands-based medical diagnostics company developing technology that isolates and measures diagnostic particles directly from blood, addressing a gap in current chest pain diagnostics where speed and accuracy of testing remain a critical clinical bottleneck.

After seven years of development, the technology is entering its final stage, with large‑scale verification and validation planned over the next one to two years alongside preparation for launch as a testing service in the Netherlands.

Purpose of the Role

We are seeking a hands‑on CEO to lead the company through its next phase of final development and first commercialization. This role was created as the founding CEO transitions to a dedicated CTO position, taking full ownership of technology, IP, and regulatory matters. The incoming CEO focuses exclusively on commercial strategy, investor relations, and go‑to‑market execution.

The CEO’s role is to convert this foundation into a commercially sustainable business model, refine it for future scaling, and lead the company toward international expansion and long‑term strategic relevance.

This is a CEO role requiring commercial strategy development and fundraising.

Over the next 12 to 24 months, the CEO will:

• Select a business model from the available options and build a credible go‑to‑market plan for Europe, with potential US expansion
• Align shareholders and position the company for strategic partnerships and growth
• Sharpen commercial focus, pricing, positioning, and marketing
• Work alongside the CTO
• Strengthen and professionalise PERSUASIVE’s proposition for pitching to investors
• Be fully dedicated to fundraising activities

Key Responsibilities

• Evaluate available business model options, select the most commercially viable path, and develop a 12 to 24‑month execution plan covering go‑to‑market, pricing, and positioning for the European market with a view to US expansion.
• Secure €1 to 2M in the next funding round through active outreach to angels, corporate VCs, and strategic partners, building a credible financial narrative around the verification and validation timeline and commercialization milestones.
• Represent PERSUASIVE externally with clinicians, strategic partners, and investors, while preparing the company for first commercialization in Europe, including US expansion.
• Drive fundraising efforts by actively engaging with suitable investors and leveraging technical and commercial acumen.
• Identify and remove barriers to adoption by spending time with customers to understand clinical applications, key stakeholders, hospital budgeting, workflows, training, and usage challenges, and translating these insights into action.
• Lead and refocus a small team on execution by setting clear priorities, ownership, and accountability, and eliminating non‑essential activity.

Requirements

• Demonstrated success raising from angels, corporate VCs, and grant or foundation sources in medtech or IVD, with an existing warm investor network in the Netherlands, Belgium, or Germany.
• Senior leadership experience in In‑Vitro‑Diagnostics, biomarker detection technology, or clinical laboratory settings, ideally in a start‑up or scale‑up environment.
• Experience shaping go‑to‑market strategies, pricing, and commercial models for innovative medical products.
• Experience and network in the cardiology or cardiovascular space preferred.
• Comfortable operating in a small, fast‑moving organization where the CEO leads from the front.
• Experience working across European markets; exposure to the US market is a strong plus.
• Strong commercial judgment, resilience, and decisiveness, combined with a genuine motivation to improve outcomes for chest pain patients.