Operator · Mentor · Educator

Professional Experience

15+ years building revenue organisations across EMEA as VP Sales, Managing Director, and founder-CEO. Six European markets opened from zero. Teams built. Enterprise accounts won. Barcelona-based.

01 / Career

Career & Operating Experience

2021 – Present

Barcelona / Paris

Allcolibri

Founder & CEO

  • Built company from €0 to €1M ARR, owning commercial strategy, GTM execution, product direction and team hiring.
  • Personally built early pipeline and closed first enterprise clients including Decathlon, Mastercard and Foot Locker.
  • Secured €1M mixed financing (€500k equity, €500k debt) to fund growth.
  • Defined pricing, channel partnerships and category positioning from scratch.

Founded and led Allcolibri, a B2B SaaS sustainability platform enabling brands to reward users with environmental impact, from inception to €1M ARR.

2013 – 2019

Paris / Barcelona

Kaisa

From launching France to leading international sales

  1. 2013 – 2016Paris

    Managing Director, France

    • Launched the French subsidiary from scratch: first hire, first client, first revenue.
    • Recruited and structured the local commercial team; established a GTM engine that scaled France from €0 to €3M ARR.

  2. 2016 – 2018Barcelona

    VP Southern Europe

    • Established the Spain office from zero and expanded remit to France, Italy and Benelux.
    • Hired, onboarded and developed regional sales teams across four markets; built the people infrastructure for sustained growth.

  3. 2018 – 2019Barcelona

    VP International Sales

    • Drove international revenue as part of the leadership team that scaled the business from ~€1M to €12M ARR.
    • Owned revenue across UK, DACH, Nordics and Southern Europe; built and led a team of 25+ across multiple markets.
    • Implemented structured forecasting cadence and pipeline management across all regions, improving revenue predictability.
    • Managed and grew strategic accounts including Toyota, Allianz, AXA, Richemont and Schibsted.
    • Kaisa was later acquired by Monterro, a leading Nordic B2B software investor.

2012 – 2013

Paris

Tapjoy

Sales Director

  • Opened the French market from zero; scaled annual revenue from €0 to €2M with key accounts Samsung, Havas, Publicis and WPP.
  • Recruited initial commercial capability and built early strategic relationships that established Tapjoy's French presence.

Launched Tapjoy France from zero to €2M annual revenue.

2009 – 2012

London

AOL / goviral

Head of Publisher Sales, Europe

  • Led European publisher sales and strategic partnerships, scaling goviral's branded video distribution network to 18,000+ publishers across 24 verticals.
  • Contributed to the growth of one of Europe's pioneering branded video distribution networks, later acquired by AOL for ~$97M.

Led European publisher sales at goviral, later acquired by AOL for ~$97M.

2007 – 2009

London

GroupM

International Sales Manager

  • Managed international commercial relationships across GroupM's global media investment network; key accounts included HP, Diesel and HSBC.

Managed international commercial relationships at GroupM.

2006 – 2007

Paris

Young & Rubicam

New Business Development Manager

  • Supported global RFPs and pitch development; contributed to wins including Hertz, Speedy and Intermarche.

New business development at Young & Rubicam Paris.

02 / Ecosystem

Mentoring, Investing & Startup Ecosystem

Active operator in the European startup ecosystem. Coached 50+ startups on GTM, sales and fundraising as mentor, investor and LP.

2024 – Present

Barcelona

eWorks (ESADE)

Startup Mentor

Esade’s venture creation programme supports entrepreneurs from their first idea through incubation and acceleration. Its founder community, meetups and entrepreneurship summit connect emerging businesses with peers, investors and experienced operators.

Venture creation · Incubation · Acceleration

Explore eWorks (ESADE) (opens in a new tab)

2025 – Present

Paris

Inovexus

Startup Mentor

A European early-stage investor and operator community connecting founders with experienced mentors. Its network brings practical expertise in scaling, hiring, international expansion and execution alongside access to investors and fellow founders.

Operator mentoring · Early-stage growth · Investor community

Explore Inovexus (opens in a new tab)

2020 – Present

Paris

Hook

Limited Partner

An early-stage investment and founder support programme combining funding, entrepreneur sessions, on-demand mentoring and investor demo days. Hook publicly lists Adrien de Malherbe among its backers, within a network of founders and operators supporting new ventures.

Early-stage investing · Founder support

Explore Hook (opens in a new tab)

2014 – Present

Paris

The Family

Investor

A founder fellowship built around entrepreneurial education, peer networks and access to investors. Its published programme describes support across product, go-to-market, hiring and fundraising, with office hours, masterclasses and investor demo days.

Founder community · Education · Fundraising

Explore The Family (opens in a new tab)
03 / Teaching

Teaching & Academic Engagement

Invited by leading European business and engineering schools to teach entrepreneurship and commercial strategy as a practitioner.

2025 – Present

Barcelona

ESADE

Tutor, BBA Entrepreneurship Project

2025

France

Centrale Lille

Lecturer, Entrepreneurship & Innovation

2013 – 2015

Nantes

Audencia

Lecturer, Mobile Marketing & Mobile Commerce (MSc program)

04 / Education

Education & Continuous Learning

Professional Learning & Certificates

Harvard Business Review

Lead with Technology and AI

NVIDIA

AI Infrastructure and Operations Fundamentals

SkillUp Online

AI SEO: Mastering Generative Engine Optimization (GEO)

SkillUp Online

SEO, Generative AI, and GEO Capstone Project

INSEAD

Blockchain Revolution Specialization

Academic Education

2006 – 2007

NEOMA Business School

MSc Corporate Strategy

2000 – 2005

EMLV Business School

MSc Management

Revenue, AI & Operating Stack

CRM & Revenue Operations

SalesforceHubSpot

Sales Intelligence & Outbound

LinkedIn Sales NavigatorApolloLushaOutreachAircall

Reporting & Automation

TableauGoogle SheetsZapier

AI & Productivity

ChatGPTClaudeGeminiManusPerplexity

Collaboration & Knowledge

NotionSlackGoogle Workspace

Interested in working together?

Looking for a VP Sales EMEA, CRO or GM Europe with this track record? Connect on LinkedIn or send a message.

Adrien de Malherbe helps B2B SaaS founders open and scale Europe through GTM strategy, first-country selection, VP Sales and CRO hiring, and Barcelona hub design.

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