This case study shows what building a CEO Office looks like inside a fast-growing technology company, as complexity increases and expectations shift towards IPO readiness.

As Babbel scaled from €100m to €300m in revenue, the organisation faced many of the challenges that come with growth. One of the most persistent was scale itself: decision-making slowed, context fragmented, and leadership time increasingly disappeared into coordination, escalation, and follow-up.

The CEO Office was built to sit between strategy and execution, absorbing coordination load so the CEO and executive team could focus on strategy, people, and external work that only they could do.

Leadership Operations

What was built

• Decision frameworks and ownership clarity
  Decision frameworks and one-pagers clarified who decides what and when. Informal escalation was replaced with consistent decision logic, preventing decisions from defaulting to the CEO as complexity increased.

• Operating rhythm and planning cadence
  From the CEO Office, a predictable leadership cadence was held in close partnership with Corporate Strategy. Weekly executive syncs, quarterly strategy reviews, and the existing company-wide OKR rhythm were coordinated into a single operating system. This ensured priorities stayed aligned to plan and execution momentum did not drift as the business scaled.

• Information flow and selective automation
  Information flows were designed to surface what mattered without creating noise. Automation and AI-enabled workflows were introduced only where they clearly reduced repetitive coordination work. Executive onboarding was redesigned with People, IT, and Finance, compressing weeks of informal ramp-up into a structured, repeatable programme.

What changed

• The CEO shifted time away from escalation and coordination back to strategy, people, and external focus

• Cross-functional decisions moved within defined decision windows rather than stalling in escalation loops

• New executives reached productivity faster with clearer context and ownership

Executive Communications

What was built

• Board process and governance support
  Board preparation and follow-through were run from the CEO Office through a structured, repeatable process. Timelines, inputs, materials, and actions were coordinated so board discussions were decision-ready and continuity was maintained between cycles as expectations increased.

• Internal communication systems
  In partnership with Internal Communications, leadership decisions were translated into clear narrative that teams could act on. Quarterly all-hands, executive AMAs, and structured update rhythms connected strategy to day-to-day work across more than 1,000 employees without requiring repeated clarification.

• External executive communication
  Executive communication was built and led to support the CEO’s external presence. A disciplined content approach in the leader’s own voice increased visibility and supported external positioning with investors, media, and senior talent as the company moved towards IPO readiness.

What changed

• Board meetings ran smoothly with predictable materials and clear follow-through

• Leadership intent travelled internally without constant re-explanation

• External communication supported investor confidence and senior hiring

• Communication standards reinforced IPO-ready positioning

Leadership Capacity

What was built

• Executive Assistant function development
  A team of four Executive Assistants was built and led as strategic partners to the leadership team. Clear objectives linked to company priorities, shared context across executives, and quarterly planning aligned with leadership rhythm replaced ad hoc coordination.

  The function evolved from reactive coordination to strategic enablement, including cross-functional coordination, decision preparation, and issue anticipation."

• Leadership transition support
  Through multiple leadership transitions, including new C-level hires and organisational change, the EA function maintained execution continuity and decision discipline.

What changed

• EAs operated as force multipliers rather than administrative support

• Leadership capacity expanded without additional headcount

• The company navigated significant change without losing execution discipline

The Result

A CEO Office that scaled with the business from €100m to €300m.

• Clear decision rights and leadership operating rhythm

• Board processes and communication standards aligned with IPO readiness

• Stronger executive visibility supporting external positioning

• Internal communication aligning over 1,000 employees through growth

• An EA function operating as a high-leverage leadership system

• Infrastructure that adapted through multiple growth phases

The leadership infrastructure held through to IPO readiness without needing to be rebuilt.