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Executive Search · Retail & E-commerce

Retail & E-commerce Executive Search

The Quantum Club places the growth, commercial, and operations leaders who scale retail and e-commerce brands: Heads of Growth, CFOs, and the operators behind breakout revenue. Exclusive, unlisted mandates on a No Cure, No Pay basis.

The operators who scale commerce

Scaling a commerce brand past its first ceiling takes leaders who've done it: performance and retention, margin and supply, the CFO who funds the next stage. They're proven, in-demand, and rarely on the market. A listing won't reach them; a network will.

Flagships and store openings

A store opening has a fixed date, and the team behind it has to be hired before it. The Club placed the full launch team for TYSON 2.0's Amsterdam flagship, still in place today, and the team that opened Snoop Dogg's flagship store, Tha Dogghouse. For Merrachi, which opened the first modest-fashion store in one of Amsterdam's elite shopping locales, it placed a Head of Retail among its leadership hires. In physical retail the store is often the brand's first impression, so the people who run it carry the standard.

Growth and finance for the next stage

Past the first ceiling, two seats often belong together: a Head of Growth who owns growth end to end, and a CFO who funds and controls the next stage. The Club has placed that pair twice: for the founders' group behind Dore & Rose and Hears, and for Meroda Cosmetics. Briefing the two seats together lets each hire be judged against the other, rather than against two separate job descriptions.

What the network covers

Executives the Club has placed have come from houses such as Hermès, Rolex and Burberry, from retail and client-facing roles as well as creative ones, and from Nike and Google on the brand, product and growth side. Behind them sits a network of 1,000+ members worldwide, admitted on track record and fit. For a commerce seat that range matters: the operator who runs a flagship and the one who grows a channel online are often different people, from different houses.

Placing for the seat's return

The Club scopes every commerce seat by what it should return, not only by what it must cover. A Head of Growth is measured on the growth they compound, a CFO on the capital and control they bring to the next stage. Briefing a seat this way changes the slate: it favors the candidate whose record shows the outcome the brand now needs over the one with the closest matching title. The Club places for the seat's return, not just its filling, so this hire pays for the next.

Direct-to-consumer and social commerce

For a digital-first brand, the sales channel can be content as much as a website. For Merrachi the Club placed an E-commerce & Growth Lead; for Meroda, a TikTok Shop Manager, social media managers and creative strategists alongside its leadership. The people who have run these seats well at scale are usually busy doing so, which is why they are reached by direct approach rather than by a listing.

What to settle before you brief

Commerce briefs are strongest when they start from numbers rather than titles: the revenue, margin or retention line the seat must move, the channels it owns, and the date by which it must be filled. A store opening adds a hard deadline and a team that has to be hired as a set; a growth seat adds the question of whether the hire inherits a team or builds one. A strategist works through these at the brief, so candidates are measured against the job the seat actually does.

Proof in retail and e-commerce

Across commerce the Club has placed a Head of Growth and a CFO for the founders' group behind Dore & Rose, now stocked by 150+ luxury retailers including Nordstrom, and Hears, whose first-year revenue Forbes put at $7M. It placed 15+ roles for Meroda Cosmetics, the fastest international grower in the 2025 CrossBorder Top 30. Real operators, real outcomes.

Seats the Club has filled

  • Head of Growth

    Owns growth end to end, from acquisition to retention, past the first ceiling.

    Placed for Dore & Rose Meroda Cosmetics

  • CFO

    Funds and controls the next stage, and steadies the numbers while it happens.

    Placed for Dore & Rose Meroda Cosmetics How to Hire a CFO

  • Head of Retail

    Opens and runs the physical store, where the brand is often met first.

    Placed for Merrachi

  • E-commerce & Growth Lead

    Turns a following into revenue online, across markets and channels.

    Placed for Merrachi

  • Head of Operations

    Runs a flagship from opening day: the team, the suppliers, the standard.

    Placed for TYSON 2.0 Tha Dogghouse

  • TikTok Shop Manager

    Runs social commerce as a sales channel in its own right.

    Placed for Meroda Cosmetics

Selected work

Dore & Rose

Head of Growth and CFO placed for the founders' group, shared with Hears · stocked by 150+ luxury retailers, including Nordstrom

Hears

Head of Growth and CFO placed for the founders' group, shared with Dore & Rose · per Forbes, $7M in revenue in its first year

Merrachi

200% annual growth · featured in Vogue Business · the first modest-fashion store in Amsterdam

Meroda Cosmetics

15+ roles placed for a CrossBorder Top 30 breakout

TYSON 2.0

A full launch team for Mike Tyson's Amsterdam flagship, still in place today

How the search runs

  1. Brief

    A strategist scopes the seat within 24 hours, in confidence, starting from the numbers it must move and the date by which it must be filled.

  2. Reach

    The search targets operators with the specific outcomes the brief needs, approached directly and off-market, each approach confirmed with the principal first.

  3. Shortlist

    A short, pre-qualified slate, assessed for fit as well as results, with a Talent Concierge supporting each candidate through the process.

  4. Place

    The Club runs the offer and the close and supports onboarding. You pay only when a hire signs, backed by a guarantee laid down in your agreement.

Terms of engagement

The model
No Cure, No Pay. Nothing is owed for the search itself: no retainer and no upfront payment.
When a fee is owed
Only when a candidate you chose signs. Every further hire of a candidate the Club introduced, even for a different role, is its own placement with its own fee.
The fee
25% of the agreed gross annual salary, holiday pay included and variable bonuses and one-off payments excluded, unless your agreement fixes another rate. Partner rates are agreed per engagement. Amounts are exclusive of VAT.
The guarantee
Its terms are laid down in your agreement. It is honored as a free replacement search or as a credit against your next placement, never as a cash refund, and is claimed in writing within fourteen days of the employment ending.
Payment
Invoices are payable within 14 days of the invoice date, unless your agreement says otherwise.
Ways in
Club Promo, a complimentary slate of five candidates for one mandate; Club Partner, the flagship engagement with a dedicated strategist; Elite Partner, by invitation, at a reduced fee.
First reply
Within 24 hours of a brief, in confidence.

The full terms are set out in your agreement and the deposited General Terms & Conditions (in Dutch).

Frequently asked

Do you recruit growth and commercial leaders for e-commerce?

Yes. Heads of Growth, CFOs, and commercial and operations leadership for scaling retail and e-commerce brands.

Can you place a CFO or Head of Growth?

Yes. The Club has placed both for scaling commerce brands, including the group behind Dore & Rose and Hears, led by Forbes 30 Under 30 Europe founders Bob Verlaat and Nick Nijhof, and Meroda Cosmetics.

How is the fee structured?

No Cure, No Pay: nothing for the search and no retainer. A fee is owed only when a hire you chose signs: 25% of the agreed gross annual salary unless your agreement fixes another rate, with partner rates agreed per engagement. The guarantee is as laid down in your agreement, honored as a free replacement search or a credit against your next placement, never as a cash refund.

Can you staff a store opening?

Yes. The Club placed the full launch team for TYSON 2.0's Amsterdam flagship, still in place today, and the team that opened Snoop Dogg's Tha Dogghouse.

Do you hire for social commerce and direct-to-consumer roles?

Yes. The Club placed an E-commerce & Growth Lead for Merrachi, and a TikTok Shop Manager, social media managers and creative strategists for Meroda Cosmetics.

How long does a retail executive search take?

A senior search typically takes two to four months from brief to signed offer. For a store opening, give the strategist the opening date at the brief, so the search is planned back from it.

Sources

Cited by the case studies under Selected work

Hire through the Club.

A partner strategist replies within 24 hours, in confidence.

Request a brief See the work