Chief Executive Officer
in minutes from over 15,000 CVs with the power of AIFrom strategy resets and board reporting to leadership alignment, fundraising support, and operational turnaround, get a CEO who fits the mandate. Fast, precise matching with vetted, available freelancers.
Meet FRATCH Chief Executive Officer
Jakob Hess
Last position:
Chief Transformation Officer at Engagement with an internationally active technology group
- Transformation and global scaling (listed in the MDAX)
- Stabilization and professionalization of the ongoing value creation program
- Consistent challenging of the workstreams regarding content, target achievement, and progress, as well as realization of the defined value drivers
- Identification and removal of implementation blockers to ensure execution speed
- Reporting to the Executive Board and Supervisory Board
Ornel Franck Wora Yeno
Last position:
Purchasing Manager, Logistics & IT Manager at Onlinehandler
Proactive support of management in business field development & innovation management
New development of a suite of business applications for analyzing valuation, P&L, and market price risk data
Automation of all internal and external business and work processes
Development of AI-based and AI-supported ETL processes as well as data analysis
Business use-case development
Business and work process optimization
Enterprise architecture management
Sales data analysis and forecasting as well as capture
Inventory management & reordering
Supplier management and communication
Customs processing & clearance
Shipping handling & warehouse coordination
Interface management
Technologies used: Microsoft Office 365, Microsoft Teams, JTL-Wawi, JTL-WMS, OTTO Partner Connect (OPC), Amazon Seller Central, DHL Global Forwarding, Jira, Draw.IO, Java (8,17,21,25), Jenkins, SonarQube, Git, Gitea, Spring Boot, Spring Batch, Vaadin, H2, PostgreSQL, Docker, Local LLMs, Postman, JasperSoft Studio, JasperReports
Dirk Volkmann
Last position:
Interim Project Manager at Energy Producer
- Innovation division: Project development for a brownfield biofuel production partnership
Luca Beck
Last position:
Founder & CEO at Lube AI
- Develop custom AI agents delivering 90%+ reduction in manual workload and significant efficiency gains
- Provide end-to-end AI strategy consulting: from digital assessment to implementation and change management
- Design and deliver tailored training programs and workshops on AI adoption, prompt engineering, and automation
- Support clients in implementing scalable AI solutions integrated with existing technology stacks
- Focus areas: AI strategy, automation, workflow optimization, and capability building
Carolyn Shwash
Last position:
VP of Business Development at VendueTech
Led business development across DACH for a PropTech platform digitising distressed real estate and NPL asset sales — unlocking liquidity for illiquid assets through structured digital bidding processes for brokers, investors and insolvency administrators.
Developed and managed enterprise relationships with real estate agencies, banks, servicers and PropTech platforms — driving pipeline generation, commercial negotiations and partnership development across Germany and Europe.
Replaced opaque one-to-one negotiations with transparent multi-bidder environments — supporting distressed real estate sales, NPL/REO asset disposals, portfolio sales and high-demand residential listings with speed, compliance and auditability.
Manuel Pasieka
Last position:
AI Engineer at Misumi Europe GmbH & Motius GmbH
- Designed and built a next-generation NLP platform to accelerate sales-driven customer service through intelligent request analysis and routing, reducing average customer query response time by 30%.
- Architected a hybrid NLP system combining Large Language Models (LLMs) with traditional NLP pipelines for robust, explainable results.
- Developed request classification and routing mechanisms to accelerate customer support teams in handling customer queries faster and more accurately.
- Optimized LLM based data extraction and classification with context engineering.
- Integrated the platform into customer service processes, reducing response times and enhancing workforce efficiency.
Dustin Dehez
Last position:
External consultant at Deutsche Leasing
2nd LoD/Change the Bank (CtB)
- CtB: External consultant and workstream lead for rectifying findings by BaFin following a special IT audit in the 2nd LoD, management of the work package for revising the ICT Risk Management & ICT Asset Classification in accordance with DORA Chapter 2, the processes for structural analysis, protection requirements, and control assessments (4 FTEs).
Marcus Wolf
Last position:
CIO (ad interim) at Bartec Group
- Responsible for infrastructure, operations, network and VoIP, security, quality assurance, as well as asset management and business continuity
- Planning and implementation of all requirements related to NIS 2.0
- Responsible for application development
- Company-wide implementation of SAP S/4Hana and leading development of new business processes, incl. cut-over planning
- Digital transformation and cultural transformation toward a "doer mentality"
- Realignment of infrastructure (hybrid)
- Restructuring of the organization with partial outsourcing
- Management of four direct reports with a total of 25 internal and external employees
- Budget responsibility of up to €25 million
Arash Keshavarzi
Last position:
Global Digital Product Manager, IoT Services at Pfeiffer Vacuum GmbH
- Responsibility for the further development of digital service products with a focus on customer value, profitability, and scalable growth
- Development and prioritization of the service product roadmap based on customer feedback, market analysis, financial evaluation, and technical feasibility
- Identification of new digital service opportunities as well as derivation of product requirements, feature priorities, and value propositions
- Alignment of product vision, roadmap, and user experience with product owners, center of competence, sales, service, and market organizations
- Support of go-to-market activities, market validations, and internal training for the successful launch of digital service offerings
- Use of data-based decision-making to assess customer needs, business model assumptions, and product progress
Philipp Thomaschewski
Last position:
Founder & CEO at FRATCH.IO
AI-native B2B SaaS for freelancer sourcing; DACH market.*
Enterprise partnerships across four industries: structured and closed multi-stakeholder deals with Telefónica (Telco), Emma Matratzen (Retail), Nürnberger Versicherungen and Flatex (Financial Services), Hubert Burda Media and Serviceplan Gruppe (Media).
Revenue and growth: scaled FRATCH from €0 to €3.8M annual GMV, with ~80% of revenue sourced from founder-led direct outreach and partner relationships.
Channel partnerships: sold FRATCH as a SaaS solution to recruiting firms (e.g., YER) — built the partner-enabled motion alongside direct enterprise sales.
Team build: scaled FRATCH from solo founder to a team of 7 across engineering, product design, operations, and supply outreach.
Proprietary network asset: onboarded 15,000+ freelancers as registered users — the proprietary DACH network powering FRATCH's matching.
Built and launched FRATCH GPT (fratch.io/gpt): a production conversational AI agent. Architected the full stack — LLM orchestration, embeddings, re-ranking — with hands-on involvement in technical design and execution.
GTM build: owned the full go-to-market stack — outbound, LinkedIn (organic + paid), content, and sales enablement.
Friedhelm Best
Last position:
Partner at Asia-Connect Executive Partners Pte Ltd
Building and establishing sales and marketing processes, as well as candidate management for executive and transformation mandates between Europe and Asia
Initial situation**
Asia-Connect started as a partnership for placing interim executives. After the first sales activities, scalable structures for sales, marketing, and candidate management were missing. With growing demand and the involvement of additional partners, there was a need for clear processes, defined interfaces, and reliable reporting in order to manage growth in a planned way and deliver mandates efficiently.
Responsibility & approach**
Built clearly structured end-to-end processes for sales, marketing, and candidate management.
Implemented standardized candidate management from first contact to talent pool.
Introduced binding marketing guidelines, including agency management and SEO implementation.
Established a KPI-based content and reporting process.
Introduced weekly KPI reviews and forecasts to manage marketing and sales.
Implemented a structured sales process from lead-to-opportunity to contract closing.
Piloted and continuously improved all processes in day-to-day operations.
Results & impact**
Introduced uniform marketing standards, including stable agency management (content output +60%).
Established a KPI-driven content and reporting process with regular performance reviews (engagement rate >45%).
Implemented a structured sales process from lead to close, with clear phase and decision logic.
Implemented an end-to-end candidate management process with clear quality criteria and a scalable data basis (time-to-shortlist –40%).
Increased efficiency in mandate fulfillment through shorter lead times and better coordination between sales and candidate management.
Created a scalable operational base to integrate additional partners and grow the network.
Mike Mandelc
Last position:
Australia (Living & working abroad) at Australia (Living & working abroad)
- Project-based work in marketing automation, process optimization, and content.
- On-site operational assignments in fully English-speaking teams.
- Focus on self-organized work, changing locations, quick onboarding, and a high level of personal responsibility.
- Remote projects for Spartan Race Australia & DMC Europe, among others.
Steffen Eschinger
Last position:
Domain Lead FI, CO, HR, Investor Relations at Douglas Group
- Process Owner SAP ERP 8 FI, CO & Investor Relations
- Process Owner SAP Success Factors
- Responsible for 4 teams, 39 FTE
- Full responsibility for end-to-end processes in SAP for Finance, Controlling, HR, Investor Relations
- Interface to certified public accountants for Finance IT (KPMG)
- ITIL-4 implementation for service request change request and project management with Service Now (Project Manager)
Tobias Bobka
Last position:
Executive Consultant (C-Level) at klarsolar GmbH (E.ON Energie Deutschland GmbH)
- Led sales excellence and post-merger integration project for klarsolar GmbH into E.ON Germany
- Defined strategic integration and transformation: stakeholder alignment, B2B (up to 100 kWp) and B2C (up to 30 kWp) scaling, brand and sales strategy harmonization, synergy realization
- Developed and implemented holistic sales strategy 2025/26 with vision 2030
- Reorganized sales organization: lead generation, presales, inside sales, field sales, sales ops, after sales
- Introduced CRM-based lead qualification, performance monitoring, business rules and low performer management
- Established sales governance, performance reviews, continuous improvement processes, incentive and compensation logic
- Owned sales IT roadmap (ERP, CRM, BI, planning tools) and deployed KPIs, dashboards, control systems
- Professionalized sales recruiting, onboarding, knowledge management and training academy
- Acted as trusted advisor to C-level and shareholders, provided growth potential analyses and board recommendations
- Achieved all project goals on budget and timeline, seamless integration with measurable synergies in 6 months, increased market penetration and sales efficiency
Salome Lassner
Last position:
Senior Program Manager Transformation Office & Consultant at Getinge
Management of a transformation program of 7 projects across 3 sites in Europe with special focus on coating, CTD and combination products
Development of strategies, monitoring of progress and control of results
Defining the scope in Jira, managing the schedule and milestones in collaboration with the project managers of the standalone products
Coordinating cross-program collaboration and managing dependencies between all projects and suppliers
Reporting progress and creating reports for C-level management
Developing risk mitigation strategies and implementing effective measures
Establishing collaboration between the projects, the development team and the core team
Defining and establishing communication channels across sites and projects
Identifying potential program risks and supplier management
Defined roles and responsibilities across all projects
Planned, organized and moderated cross-departmental meetings for analysis and documentation of dependencies and requirements
Implemented and developed cross-divisional guidelines and recommendations to harmonize common processes
Developed proposals to reduce complexity
Defined the work culture and deliverables to ensure program gates and milestones
Coached key team members to increase interdisciplinary cooperation
Maintained tasks in Jira
Regular audits and reports to TÜV Süd and SUKL
Increased transparency for a complex program setup
Implemented measures to reduce risks
Established clear communication strategy for all involved projects and departments
Completed CTD submission for combination products to TÜV Süd and SUKL
Discover over 15,000 top freelancers
Chief Executive Officer statistics
Aggregated from the professional profiles of matched freelancers.
Experience
21 years
Position duration
5.6 years
Positions per freelancer
10
Top business areas
Strategy, Product Development, Information Technology
Top industries
Information Technology, Professional Services, Manufacturing
Certification focus areas
Information Technology, Project Management, Human Resources
Bachelor's degree or higher
91%
Master's degree or higher
64%
Doctorate
14%
Certifications per freelancer
2
Most common languages
English, German, French
Speak two or more languages
97%
Based on our profile pool as of 21 Aug 2026.
Daily rate distribution
The chart shows how the daily rates of freelancers in this role are distributed, based on recent contracts on our platform. Each bar covers a rate range — its height shows how many freelancers charge within that range.
Average rates for Chief Executive Officer
Rates are based on recent contracts and do not include FRATCH margin.
The average daily rate is the mean of all daily rates from recent contracts of comparable freelancers on our platform.
The median daily rate is the middle value of all daily rates — half of comparable freelancers charge less, half charge more. Unlike the average, it is barely affected by outliers.
Calculated based on our freelancers’ daily rates as of 21 Aug 2026. Actual rates may vary depending on seniority level, experience, skill specialization, project complexity, and engagement length.
About the role
What a CEO does
A Chief Executive Officer sets direction and carries the final responsibility for execution. Companies bring in a freelance CEO, interim CEO, or chief executive when they need a clear mandate, fast decisions, and a leader who can step in without a long ramp-up.
- Define or reset strategy and priorities
- Align the leadership team around goals and ownership
- Review performance, risks, and cash focus
- Represent the company to board, investors, and key partners
- Guide major changes such as restructuring, growth, or succession
Core strengths
Strong CEOs combine judgment, communication, and control of the business model. They know how to read the numbers, ask the right questions, and keep teams focused when the situation is unclear.
- Executive leadership and decision-making
- P&L ownership and commercial thinking
- Board communication and stakeholder management
- Change leadership and crisis handling
- Hiring, delegation, and team alignment
Typical tools and context
A CEO works with management reports, cash flow views, KPI dashboards, board packs, strategy decks, and investor updates. In practice, the role often sits close to finance, operations, sales, and HR, because the best decisions depend on how these parts fit together.
Freelance CEOs are often brought in for founder transitions, turnaround projects, growth phases, post-merger integration, or when a business needs temporary executive leadership. That also makes the role useful when a permanent hire would take too long or when the assignment is limited and sharply defined.
What clients need
This role is a fit when a company has one of these situations:
- The founder needs to step back or share responsibility
- The leadership team lacks clear ownership
- Growth has outpaced structure and decision-making
- The business needs turnaround discipline
- A temporary chief executive is needed during change
In some companies, the brief is not full-time leadership but a focused mandate: stabilize the business, prepare a sale, support a merger, or professionalize reporting and governance.
How strong CEOs work
A strong CEO is not only visible. They are specific. They set priorities, remove friction, and keep the organisation honest about trade-offs. They know when to lead from the front and when to let the team own the work.
Companies should look for proof of outcomes, not just senior titles. Useful signals are clear communication, calm handling of pressure, and the ability to work with owners, boards, and management without losing the line of responsibility.
Freelance or permanent
A freelance CEO makes sense when speed matters, the assignment is temporary, or the company needs a senior leader for a defined phase. This is common in transition periods, during growth inflection points, or when the board wants an outside perspective before hiring permanently.
For freelancers, the best engagements are clear on mandate, authority, decision rights, and the expected handover. That is what keeps a chief executive assignment effective from day one.
Frequently asked questions
Not sure where to start with Chief Executive Officer? These answers cover the essentials.
A Chief Executive Officer sets direction, makes key decisions, and keeps the leadership team aligned. In a freelance or interim mandate, the scope often includes strategy, board communication, cash focus, and major organisational change. The exact remit should be written down clearly before the assignment starts.
A freelance CEO is a good choice when the company needs leadership now, but the long-term structure is not yet clear. This often happens during founder transitions, turnaround work, post-merger integration, or while a permanent search is still open. It is also useful when the mandate is temporary and tightly defined.
Not always. In some companies, managing director or general manager is the local title for the same top leadership role, while in others the scope is narrower. The key question is who owns the full business mandate, the leadership team, and the final decisions.
Look for executive judgment, clear communication, and a solid grip on finance and operations. A strong chief executive can translate strategy into action, handle board and investor conversations, and make hard trade-offs without losing team trust. Past responsibility for P&L, change, or turnaround work is especially relevant.
The brief should define the mandate, decision rights, reporting line, and what success looks like. It should also state whether the role is hands-on, advisory, or fully operational. For a CEO assignment, ambiguity about authority is one of the fastest ways to create friction.
Yes, many parts of the role can be handled remotely, especially strategy work, board preparation, and leadership alignment. But CEOs often need on-site time for key meetings, team resets, or sensitive change processes. The right setup depends on how much trust, visibility, and operational control the company needs.
Focus on evidence of outcomes in similar situations, not on the size of the job title alone. Look for clear examples of growth, turnaround, succession, or restructuring where the person had real accountability. A good CEO can explain what they changed, how they led people through it, and what improved as a result.
They need a clear mandate, access to decision makers, and enough authority to act. They also need fast access to financial data, operational insight, and the people who carry the work. Without that setup, even a very capable chief executive will struggle to deliver value.
The average hourly rate for Chief Executive Officer is 134 €, which corresponds to a daily rate of about 1,071 € based on an 8-hour working day.
Of the freelancers working as Chief Executive Officer, 91% hold at least a Bachelor's degree, 64% hold at least a Master's degree, and 14% hold a doctorate.
On average, freelancers working as Chief Executive Officer have 21 years of professional experience, with a single engagement typically lasting around 5.6 years.
The most common languages among freelancers working as Chief Executive Officer are English (97%), German (87%), and French (32%).
The most common industries among freelancers working as Chief Executive Officer are Information Technology (69%), Professional Services (68%), and Manufacturing (40%).
The most common business areas among freelancers working as Chief Executive Officer are Strategy (77%), Product Development (70%), and Information Technology (67%).
FRATCH Chief Executive Officer main locations
Our freelancers and interim experts are at home across the DACH region — available on-site in the major business hubs or fully remote. Choose a location to discover matched specialists, local market insights and up-to-date availability.
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