How Icertis Built Its European Go-to-Market Organisation with Executive Search

Icertis Case Study

When Icertis began building its European go-to-market organisation, it selected Oakstone International as its first external executive search partner. What started as a strategic hiring initiative evolved into a three-year exclusive partnership, during which Oakstone delivered 30–40 GTM hires across EMEA and the US, spanning Sales, Presales, Customer Advocacy and Regional Leadership. Consistently outperforming larger search firms, Oakstone supported Icertis from initial market entry through to an established international GTM organisation.

Company Background

Search Background

Requirements

Oakstone Solutions & Value Proposition

Results

Ongoing Relationship

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Company Background

Icertis is an enterprise contract management platform in the cloud that solves hard contract management problems on an easy-to-use platform. With Icertis, companies can accelerate business by increasing contract velocity, protect against risk by ensuring regulatory and policy compliance, and optimise commercial relationships by maximising revenue and reducing costs. Icertis was founded in 2009 and is headquartered in Bellevue, Washington.

Search Background

• Icertis, a pioneering contract lifecycle management (CLM) company, needed to establish a European presence as it expanded its go-to-market (GTM) strategy outside the US.

• Icertis had minimal existing GTM infrastructure in Europe, relying on a small, UK-based sales team.

• With no dedicated talent team and only HR support, Icertis faced the challenge of finding an external recruiter who understood their business needs and could quickly source talent for their relatively unknown company in a new industry space.

• We were recommended to Icertis’s HR VP by an existing US client around 2018, becoming their first external recruiting partner.

Requirements

• Icertis was looking for new logo salespeople for core markets such as the UK, Germany and Northern Europe.

• Although Icertis was a relatively well-known company in the space, they wanted to target people outside the education sector, which would require selling the company and the opportunity.

Oakstone Solution and Value Proposition

• Oakstone launched a targeted recruitment strategy, focusing on high-quality, new-logo sales professionals to help Icertis establish itself in Europe.

• Initially, Oakstone’s work in the UK and Europe was non-exclusive, working with multiple recruiters.

• Even after working with larger recruitment firms, Icertis favoured Oakstone as we consistently delivered stronger results with a smaller team, showcasing our expertise in the CLM sector. Subsequently, we became their exclusive external recruitment partner.

• Oakstone worked on a range of contingent and retained agreements depending on the seniority of the role.

Results

• Oakstone worked closely with Icertis over three years, placing approximately 30 to 40 candidates in both EMEA and the US.

• Average hiring time: 12 weeks

  • Account Executive (UK)

  • Business Development Director (UK)

  • Director of Customer Advocacy (France, UK, Netherlands, Sweden)

  • Director of Sales (UK, USA, Denmark, Germany, Benelux, France)

  • Enterprise Sales (Germany, Sweden)

  • Enterprise Sales Director (Germany)

  • GM Customer Advocacy (Germany)

  • GM Pre Sales (UK)

  • GM Pre Sales High Growth (UK)

  • Partner Pre Sales Director EMEA (Germany)

  • Pre Sales Director (Germany, UK, USA)

  • RVP DACH (Germany)

  • Sales Director (Germany, France)

  • Sales Director DACH (Germany)

  • Sales Director High Growth (France, Germany, Ireland, Sweden, UK)

  • Sales High Growth (UK)

  • Senior Director, Alliances (UK)

  • SVP Sales (UK)

  • VP Sales High Growth EMEA (UK)

Ongoing Relationship

• Icertis now has an internal recruitment team with whom we will work closely.

• Today, Icertis relies on Oakstone’s support to fill specialised roles while their internal team handles other immediate needs.

More about Oakstone and Icertis 

• Why do companies move from multiple recruiters to a single exclusive partner?

  Companies often move to exclusive partnerships when a recruiter consistently outperforms others on quality, speed, and cultural fit. Exclusivity enables deeper business understanding, faster delivery, and better long-term outcomes.

• How does Oakstone support long-term GTM growth differently?

  Oakstone International can support Enterprise SaaS companies make one critical hire or serve as a long-term GTM and leadership recruiting partner, combining market expertise, speed and quality recruitment.

• How does Oakstone work alongside internal talent teams?

  Oakstone complements internal talent teams by focusing on specialist, senior, or hard-to-fill roles, allowing internal recruiters to concentrate on core hiring needs while maintaining overall hiring velocity.

I’m Hiring

Oakstone International are a specialised SaaS executive search and recruitment firm assisting companies globally. If you are looking for executive search assistance or would like to speak to a Divisional Director about future hiring assistance in EMEA, the US or APAC, contact Oakstone.

I’m Job Seeking

As a SaaS client-driven firm, we work exclusively for clients to find people with a specific set of skills and experience.

However, if you would like to submit your CV, it will be passed on to our divisional directors, and we will consider you for future roles that are appropriate to your background and goals.