Regional President – Latin America

The Opportunity

A leading international provider of testing, inspection, laboratory and life sciences services is seeking a senior executive to lead and accelerate the next phase of its Latin American business.

This is a newly formalized regional leadership position with responsibility for a multi-country platform generating approximately €60–70 million in annual revenue, with its principal operations currently concentrated in Brazil, Chile and Colombia.

The successful candidate will take ownership of the regional strategy, performance and development agenda, acting as the senior bridge between the Latin American businesses and the Group's European executive leadership.

This is a CEO-level operating mandate within a larger international organization. The successful individual will be expected to operate with significant autonomy, make independent investment and resource-allocation decisions, lead senior country teams and develop the platform through a combination of organic growth, operational improvement and strategic M&A.

The business is entering an important period of development, with an initial focus on expansion and acquisitions across Latin America followed by increasing emphasis on integration, optimization and consolidation.

The Business

The Latin American platform operates primarily across food testing and laboratory services, with additional activities spanning areas including:

• Agriculture and agri-food
• Biopharmaceutical and life sciences
• Clinical and diagnostic services
• Environmental testing
• Genomics and related scientific services
• Other specialized laboratory and technical services

The organization operates through a decentralized and highly entrepreneurial model, with technically strong local teams and established operations across multiple countries.

The opportunity is to connect these businesses more effectively at a regional level while preserving the local expertise and entrepreneurial culture that underpin their success.

The Role

The Regional President will have broad responsibility for the strategy, P&L, growth, operational performance and organizational development of the Latin American platform.

The role will work closely with country leadership teams and senior Group executives in Europe, while providing a clear regional perspective on investment, acquisitions, market development and organizational priorities.

The position is expected to evolve as the wider regional leadership structure develops, but the successful candidate will operate at approximately CEO-2 level within the broader Group structure and will have substantial exposure to the executive committee.

Key responsibilities

Regional Strategy & Leadership

• Define and execute the medium- and long-term strategy for the Latin American business.
• Establish clear priorities across Brazil, Chile, Colombia and other markets within the regional portfolio.
• Identify opportunities to expand the platform organically and through strategic investment.
• Act as the principal link between Latin American operations and European Group leadership.
• Develop a cohesive regional leadership culture while maintaining appropriate local autonomy.

P&L & Operational Management

• Hold overall responsibility for the regional P&L and financial performance.
• Drive revenue growth, profitability, cash generation and return on invested capital.
• Allocate resources and capital across countries and business lines according to strategic priorities.
• Ensure operational performance, service quality and customer development remain aligned with regional objectives.
• Establish appropriate performance metrics and accountability across the country portfolio.

M&A & Business Development

• Lead the identification and evaluation of acquisition opportunities across Latin America.
• Develop acquisition strategies aligned with the broader regional growth plan.
• Work closely with Group M&A, finance and executive leadership on due diligence, valuation and investment decisions.
• Lead or oversee post-acquisition integration and organizational alignment.
• Identify opportunities for consolidation and platform-building within fragmented markets.
• Balance acquisition-led expansion with organic development and operational optimization.

Organizational Development

• Lead and develop senior country and functional leadership teams.
• Establish the organizational structure required to support the next phase of regional growth.
• Build stronger collaboration and knowledge-sharing between countries.
• Identify and develop future regional and country leadership talent.
• Operate effectively within a decentralized, matrixed international organization.

Stakeholder Management

• Build strong relationships with European executive leadership and Group functions.
• Represent the Latin American business at senior executive level.
• Develop relationships with major customers, partners, regulators and other external stakeholders.
• Navigate differing regulatory, cultural and commercial environments across multiple Latin American markets.

Candidate Profile

The ideal candidate will be an experienced regional CEO, President, Managing Director or senior General Manager who has previously operated with broad commercial, operational and financial responsibility across Latin America.

We are particularly interested in executives who combine regional P&L ownership with strategic and M&A experience.

Essential experience

• Significant senior leadership experience across Latin America, ideally with responsibility for multiple countries.
• Demonstrable experience managing a substantial P&L and full business performance.
• Experience operating at CEO, President, Regional MD or comparable level.
• Strong strategic planning and capital-allocation experience.
• Meaningful experience with M&A, acquisitions and post-acquisition integration.
• Experience developing businesses through both organic growth and inorganic expansion.
• Proven ability to operate across different cultures, regulatory environments and business models.
• Experience leading senior management teams across geographically dispersed operations.
• Strong commercial and financial acumen.

Preferred background

Experience in one or more of the following environments would be highly relevant:

• Testing, Inspection & Certification
• Laboratory services
• Food testing / food safety
• Environmental testing
• Life sciences / biopharma services
• Clinical or diagnostic services
• Agriculture and agri-food services
• Technical or scientific services
• Other decentralized B2B services businesses with comparable complexity

Direct experience in testing or laboratory services is advantageous but not essential for the right regional operator.

Leadership Characteristics

The successful candidate will be a highly autonomous and commercially minded leader who is comfortable operating without unlimited resources or centralized support.

They will demonstrate:

• Entrepreneurial leadership – able to build and develop a regional platform rather than simply manage an established structure.
• Strategic thinking – able to translate a broad regional opportunity into a practical investment and growth strategy.
• Financial discipline – comfortable owning a P&L, allocating capital and making difficult investment decisions.
• M&A orientation – able to identify, assess and integrate businesses as part of a broader consolidation strategy.
• Operational credibility – capable of engaging with technical and operational leaders while maintaining a strategic perspective.
• Cultural intelligence – comfortable leading across different Latin American countries and working with European stakeholders.
• Decisiveness – comfortable making independent decisions within a complex matrix environment.
• Influence – able to align decentralized businesses and senior stakeholders without relying solely on formal authority.

Location & Travel

São Paulo is the preferred location, reflecting the scale and strategic importance of the Brazilian business.

Candidates based elsewhere in Latin America, including Buenos Aires, Santiago or other major regional hubs, may also be considered where the leadership profile is particularly strong.

The position will involve regular travel across Latin America and interaction with senior European leadership, including stakeholders based in Brussels and other European locations.

Compensation

A competitive executive package comprising:

• Base salary
• Annual performance bonus
• Long-term incentive / LTI

The final package will be determined according to the experience and seniority of the successful candidate and the employing structure.

Selection Process

The process is expected to include:

1. Initial video interview with senior Group leadership.
2. Second-stage interview with the current senior leader responsible for Latin America.
3. Executive assessment in Brussels, involving meetings with members of the Group executive committee and relevant senior stakeholders.
4. Finance / P&L case study designed to assess financial and commercial decision-making capability.

Why This Role?

This is an opportunity for a senior executive to take genuine ownership of the development of a significant Latin American platform within a highly successful international group.

The mandate combines:

Regional CEO-level autonomy + €60–70m P&L + multi-country leadership + significant M&A + European executive exposure.

The successful candidate will have the opportunity to shape the regional organization, determine where and how the business invests, build the next generation of leadership and play a central role in the consolidation and expansion of a growing Latin American services platform.

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