Chief Executive Officer

Banyan Software

About The Position

The CEO is responsible for providing operational and strategic leadership for Zap Solutions with a focus on accelerating AI-driven product differentiation, evolving the company’s GTM function by expanding Zap’s geographic and vertical reach, and building the commercial and operational infrastructure that enables sustained growth. With the support of Banyan Software's Education Portfolio Leader, the CEO will establish strategies, plans, and practices to meet the company's growth and profitability goals. The successful profile will have demonstrated success in executive roles at growing vertical SaaS businesses and be prepared to deliver ongoing product innovation and scale Zap’s go-to-market function. This is a compounding opportunity, not a turnaround. Zap enters Banyan's portfolio as a category leader with exceptional customer loyalty and a platform that has earned its position over 25 years. The right CEO is energized by building durable institutional value over the long term and finds Banyan's permanent ownership model, with no exit clock and operational autonomy.

Requirements

Experience as a CEO or senior executive of a SaaS business (enterprise or vertical SaaS preferred) or General Manager/EVP/VP of a $10M–$50M SaaS business unit
Verifiable track record of value creation in vertical SaaS businesses serving regulated or compliance-sensitive markets; higher education, healthcare, or government verticals are advantageous
P&L experience with strong financial literacy, SaaS unit economics fluency, and demonstrated ability to improve net revenue retention, pricing power, or margin durability
Structured, process-oriented operator who can bring discipline and accountability without bureaucracy; specific experience building operating cadence and decision rights in founder-led businesses is a plus
Experience inheriting and developing a founder-built team, with specific examples of raising the talent bar while preserving cultural cohesion
Comfort operating within a PE-backed portfolio company structure, including working closely with Operating Partners, managing to KPIs, and communicating business performance with transparency and precision
Ability to establish a roadmap for future growth, steering the business toward the highest-potential market segments where Zap can sustain an advantage and ensure continued profitable expansion
AI-first leadership orientation; pushes the organization faster on AI adoption than it would move on its own and can distinguish operational reality from vendor hype based on doing the work
Interest and ability to lead by example in revenue-generating commercial activity, including direct engagement with medical school and graduate program decision-makers
Executive presence appropriate for managing relationships with institutional buyers in higher education and healthcare, as well as Operating Partners and Portfolio Leaders at Banyan
Ability to bring discipline, focus, and accountability around key performance indicators across the team without creating bureaucratic drag
Tireless curiosity and advice-seeking; treats feedback as useful data rather than a threat and systematizes learning across the organization
Frugal mindset with a focus on building organizational capabilities through strong team development
Talent magnet with a successful record of attracting and retaining talented, engaged teams; makes hard calls on underperformers directly and quickly
Long-term orientation; explicitly motivated by building institutional value over a long horizon rather than optimizing for a transaction window
Must be collaborative yet decisive and action-oriented; impeccable integrity and high ethical standards
An undergraduate degree from a well-regarded university is required

Responsibilities

Define and communicate a compelling vision and growth strategy for Zap Solutions and lead overall execution against it
Maintain healthy and predictable growth by establishing and consistently meeting the execution milestones of the company's financial and operating plans
Expand Zap's geographic and vertical reach beyond its current U.S. medical school base into graduate science programs, hospital systems, and the Canadian and Australian markets
Own and strengthen relationships with key customers and institutional partners, including executive-level engagement and joint planning with major medical and graduate school accounts
Design and execute a direct and expansion GTM strategy that drives new logo acquisition, deepens penetration in existing accounts, and maintains Zap's industry-leading customer satisfaction and retention
Develop and execute operational initiatives to continually improve profitability and margin quality
Drive product development discipline, including structured roadmap planning, AI capability delivery, and technical debt prioritization
Ensure functional teams are productively working toward company priorities and operating with a customer-first mindset
Bring outstanding leadership to the organization; build, retain, and develop a world-class team that can execute at scale without founder-level dependency
Preserve and extend a winning culture where the team is engaged, challenged to succeed, and rewarded appropriately
Operate as the primary interface to Banyan Software's Portfolio Leaders on business performance, financial results, and strategic direction