Chief Marketing Officer
Already one of the most recognisable and best loved brands in the Netherlands, Marktplaats is set to grow even more in the coming years.
Since its founding in 1999, Marktplaats has become a national staple, consistently ranking among the Netherlands’ most popular and beloved brands. With over 3 million daily visitors, Marktplaats is one of the top 3 eCommerce destinations in the Netherlands (Group M Marktmonitor, March 2025). According to Kantar, it enjoys 96% brand awareness in the Netherlands by serving three key customer segments: Consumers (C2C), Used Car Sellers (both dealers and individuals) and Small Businesses.
Marktplaats has delivered robust, cash-generative growth, with the Motors category emerging as the primary revenue growth driver. In the post-pandemic period, the business accelerated significantly, guided by a renewed strategic focus under private equity (PE) ownership.
Following the $14BN acquisition of Adevinta led by Permira and Blackstone, one of Europe’s largest PE buyouts, the business embarked on a strategy of localisation to enable the principal markets, including Benelux, to focus on growth and operate with significantly more autonomy than the previous centralised structure enabled. This new corporate structure gives Marktplaats the license to operate with increasing independence, enabling it to move significantly faster, and more innovative and agile in pursuit of its stretching goals. The combination of an already thriving business led by an experienced leadership team, along with the backing of two of the world’s leading investment houses, makes Marktplaats one of the most exciting commercial opportunities in the Benelux.
Marktplaats has entered a pivotal phase of transformation – reimagining the future of classifieds in an era shaped by AI. Operational efficiencies are being unlocked and strategically reinvested to fuel sustainable, accelerated growth over the coming years, all while preserving strong margins. The business is well-positioned to deliver substantial value for shareholders.
With a strong Dutch presence, deep consumer trust, and a clear mission to lead the classifieds space in the AI era, Marktplaats is set for significant transformation – and marketing will be pivotal in driving this vision forward.
The Role: A Career Defining Opportunity
Reporting to CEO Tim Hilpert, the Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) will be central to the achievement of Marktplaats’ growth agenda. As a key member of the BNL Leadership Team, you will drive the transformation of a historically brand-focused function into a modern, commercially rigorous and AI-augmented marketing organisation. This includes rebalancing brand and performance activity, simplifying team structures, and embedding marketing as a true enterprise value driver. This is both a strategic and operational role—ideal for a visionary, data-led leader who can inspire teams, deliver commercial impact, and guide Marktplaats through the next stage of growth in a rapidly evolving market. The CMO will lead a team of ~22 FTEs, spanning commercial segment-aligned marketing managers and centralised functional teams (creative, paid media, content).
The CMO has a clear remit to build a focused marketing strategy with a clear set of priorities to support growth objectives, particularly in the Motors category which is and will continue to be a key driver of Marktplaats’ success. In close collaboration with the other members of the leadership team, your mission will be to both scale the business at pace and evolve the brand to secure our industry leadership and make Marktplaats the preferred platform for all demographics in the Netherlands. A key part of this will be to strengthen its trust, especially in the age of AI, while retaining the brand’s core of sustainability and its anchor in Dutch society.
To achieve this stretching and ambitious plan, you will need to review and define, where necessary, the correct team structure – with clearly defined roles, responsibilities and performance criteria, including the creation of methods of tracking, measurement, and reporting. You will need to assess and develop the optimal talent plan, whilst ensuring your team is motivated and engaged.
Success In This Role
- Push the limits and challenge the status quo to unlock unparalleled value creation
- Drive strategic alignment between brand positioning, budget allocation, and overall business value
- Transform marketing into an integrated, enterprise-wide growth driver
- Leverage AI technologies to enhance creativity and operational efficiencies
- Drive cultural change within the marketing organisation that embraces speed, curiosity, and bold, data-driven decision-making
- Develop and implement a comprehensive measurement framework that delivers clear, actionable insights quantifying marketing’s direct contribution to growth
- Lead the creation and execution of an end-to-end brand strategy to grow brand equity and strategically support business growth
Let’s Talk About You
You are a confident, credible, full-funnel marketing leader who can demonstrate a strong track record in business growth and acceleration through marketing. Deep understanding of the Dutch market (media, consumer behaviour, agency landscape) is a must have and online marketplace experience is advantageous.
It goes without saying that you have enjoyed a successful marketing career to date and can demonstrate a track record of success in developing and accelerating a household brand.
You are an accomplished leader and stakeholder manager with strong communication skills. Furthermore, you are analytical, data-led, and highly commercial.
Additionally, you will have/be:
Location
- Amsterdam, Netherlands
Further Reading
Our Story
New General Manager – Tim Hilpert
About Adevinta
