Cross-border operating partner capacity

Operating partner capacity for Benelux portfolio companies.

We turn value creation plans into EBITDA proof. Senior operators embedded in the management rhythm – low ego, high curiosity, action from day one.

Discuss a Portco See proof Engagement models

2–5% Target first-year EBITDA uplift

From €15K Fractional senior operating partner capacity

12–24 mo. Exit-readiness window supported

Why VAST

The execution gap PE teams need closed.

The thesis is rarely the problem. The gap is between sponsor ambition and weekly execution inside the Benelux portfolio company: owners, KPIs, decisions and proof.

Sponsor / Deal Team

Cross-border PE Fund

Lean deal team
Stretched operating partners
Limited local operating access
Monthly visibility, limited weekly grip

The Execution Gap

Distance
Bandwidth
Accountability

Priorities drift
Blockers stay unresolved
Reporting replaces action
EBITDA proof arrives too late

Benelux

Portfolio Company

CEO needs senior sparring
Management team is stretched
Local nuance matters
Buyer proof needs to be built early

Our insight:
The gap closes when sponsor ambition becomes weekly local execution: owners, KPIs, decisions and proof.

When to call VAST

Three moments where senior local capacity changes the outcome

The VCP is right. Execution is not.

The thesis still holds, but pricing, cost, working capital or management cadence are not yet translating into run-rate EBITDA.

Local bandwidth is missing.

The sponsor sees the value, but the portco needs senior support in Dutch or English, inside the MT rhythm, between board meetings.

Exit proof needs building.

The equity story needs evidence buyers can diligence: clean KPIs, EBITDA bridge, operating momentum and management narrative.

Why us

Not consultants. Not interims. Operators who own the rhythm.

Not a

Strategy consultant

Analysis-heavy, junior-leveraged and often gone when the real execution starts.

VAST instead

Senior operators embedded until the work moves. No slide factory. No handover gap.

Not just an

Interim manager

Useful for a role gap, but often too narrow for a cross-functional PE value creation agenda.

VAST instead

PE-grade VCP, board cadence and hands-on execution across functions, with self-direction and high-EQ stakeholder management.

Not an

Executive search firm

Solves hiring, not execution. No accountability for EBITDA traction or exit readiness.

VAST instead

We own outcomes. Where additional capacity is needed, we deploy entrepreneurial operators we trust.

Not a

Distant operating partner

Stretched fund-level OPs flying in monthly. Limited local rhythm. 100-day plans drift between visits.

VAST instead

Embedded Benelux capacity for cross-border PE funds. Low ego, high curiosity and local execution reality covered.

VAST is built for the gap between strategy and execution: senior PE-experienced operators, embedded locally, accountable for measurable EBITDA impact from day one through exit.

What We Do

Where we move EBITDA

Every engagement starts with a financial scorecard. If the impact cannot be tracked, it does not belong in the VCP.

Commercial Excellence

+2% to +5%

EBITDA

Pricing optimisation – waterfall, value-based, discount governance
Sales effectiveness – pipeline, win-rate, cross-sell / upsell
Customer profitability – margin analysis, portfolio pruning
Go-to-market – channel strategy, territory design

Operational Excellence

+1% to +3%

EBITDA

Cost reduction – overhead, zero-based budgeting, org design
Procurement – spend analysis, consolidation, renegotiation
Working capital – DSO / DPO, inventory, cash conversion
Process improvement – efficiency, automation, KPI dashboards

Strategic Initiatives

Exit Ready

Through to exit

Buy-and-build – integration playbook, synergy realisation
Market expansion – new geographies, adjacencies
Operating model – org redesign, governance, MT development
Exit preparation – equity story, vendor DD, buyer meetings

What you get in month one

Not a discovery deck. A board-ready operating rhythm.

01Baseline EBITDA bridge

Agreed starting point, value leakage and run-rate opportunities.

02High-EQ management read

Fast, humble read on MT capacity, blockers, ownership, incentives and execution rhythm.

03Initiative inventory

Commercial, operational, working-capital and organisational levers mapped.

04Value creation scorecard

KPIs, owners, timing, EBITDA impact and confidence level per initiative.

05Weekly action cadence

Management rhythm moved from board reporting to action-oriented weekly tracking.

06Self-directed 100-day plan

Prioritised actions, quick wins and board-ready progress format, with named owners and escalation logic.

View the VAST execution frameworks

Diagnostic

VAST EBITDA Lever Map^™

A structured raster of commercial, operational, working-capital and organisational levers, scored on EBITDA impact, execution confidence and time-to-value. Built in week 2 of every engagement and used as the single source of truth for the VCP.

Execution

VAST 100-Day Cadence^™

A weekly management rhythm template that converts board priorities into named owners, KPI scorecards, milestone discipline and escalation logic. Replaces monthly reporting with action-oriented tracking that PE deal teams can diligence at any point.

Exit

VAST Exit Proof Stack^™

A pre-DD readiness layer covering equity story, KPI history, EBITDA bridge and management narrative. Built 12–24 months before exit so buyer-side diligence finds evidence, not promises.

Proof

Proof PE teams can diligence

Track record, selected outcomes, client voice and named engagement experience in one place.

Combined partner track record

50+ Portfolio companies supported on operational value creation

€15B+ Transaction, financing and portfolio environments led

30+ Cross-border acquisitions, integrations and PMI situations

Where the partners have operated

Apex Group

Intertrust

ING Corp. Investments

FTI Consulting

Royal IHC

HES International

Dümmen Orange

Sponsors and funds active alongside

Blackstone

Waterland

Bain Capital

Carlyle

Goldman Sachs Infrastructure

Macquarie Infrastructure

HAL Investments

Logos indicate environments where the partners have held operating, advisory or executive roles, or where they have worked alongside the listed sponsors. They do not represent endorsements or current client relationships.

Client voice

Experienced, no-nonsense execution support

VAST supported us with experienced, no-nonsense, pragmatic experts who structured and led the business unit integration to a success.

Management, Royal IHC

“nothing short of great”

Blackstone partner, Intertrust–ATC integration

“The weekly drumbeat around the Value Creation Plan and its execution forced us to devote time – and actually make it happen.”

Portfolio company, ING Corporate Investments

Selected client feedback from integration and value creation work. Additional references available under NDA.

Selected named engagements

Buy-and-build · IPO

Intertrust Group

Operating & M&A roles, Waterland and Blackstone ownership

Worked through the full PE lifecycle: buy-and-build programme, post-merger integration of acquired entities, vendor DD support and Euronext IPO preparation. HP led commercial and integration as CCO and Management Board member; Paul supported PMI and exit readiness.

“Nothing short of great.”– Blackstone partner, Intertrust integration

Both partners

Sustainability transformation · Operating model

HES International

Transformation office and operating model redesign

Led sustainability transformation for a European terminal operator owned by Goldman Sachs Infrastructure and Macquarie Asset Management: shareholder and ExCo alignment, ESG-linked business cases, transformation office setup, multi-workstream execution and divisional operating model redesign.

Paul Stoop

Operational value creation

ING Corporate Investments

Operational value creation lead

Drives operational value creation across 50+ portfolio companies: strategic repositioning, buy-and-build support, operational excellence programmes, commercial acceleration and exit preparation – with a board-level dialogue and PE-grade reporting cadence.

Paul Stoop

Business unit integration

Royal IHC

Integration structuring and execution support

Paul and HP supported management with experienced, pragmatic execution capacity to structure and lead a business unit integration: governance, workstream cadence, issue resolution and implementation discipline from plan to execution.

“Experienced, no-nonsense, pragmatic experts.”– Management, Royal IHC

Both partners

Global scale-up · ExCom

Apex Group

Executive Committee member (former)

ExCom-level role inside one of the world's largest financial services administrators (50+ jurisdictions). Commercial and integration leadership during a period of rapid international scale-up and acquisition-led growth.

HP van Asselt

PE advisory

MBB Private Equity

Operating advisor

Operating advisor to a mid-market PE firm on Benelux and European portfolio matters: commercial diligence, value creation planning, board-level intervention and exit readiness for portfolio companies.

HP van Asselt

Cross-border M&A

30+ acquisitions and integrations

Across the Americas, Europe, Middle East and Asia

Played leading roles in 30+ global acquisitions and integrations during 28 years of banking and financial services leadership – including target identification, negotiation, regulatory approval, post-merger integration and synergy realisation.

HP van Asselt

Restructuring & advisory

FTI Consulting · Valcon · ABN AMRO

Senior advisory and operating roles

Earlier-career foundation in PE-relevant advisory: restructuring and turnaround projects on behalf of international private equity funds for European portfolio companies, complemented by corporate finance and transaction experience.

Paul Stoop

Representative case

€500K EBITDA recovered in 9 months – with proof buyers could diligence.

“

Industrial services portco. €60M revenue. UK PE owner. Stalled VCP, 18 months to exit, no local execution capacity.

The situation

VAST embedded as Operating Partner Retainer, 4 days/month. Three EBITDA levers identified in week 2. Owner-led delivery from month 1, vendor DD-ready P&L by month 12.

Two levers. €500K run-rate uplift.

Pricing & commercial discipline

Customer segmentation, value-based pricing rollout on the top 30 accounts, sales process tightening. Result: +€280K run-rate EBITDA by month 6.

Operational excellence

Route optimisation, planning cadence, supplier consolidation, working capital release. Result: +€220K run-rate EBITDA by month 9. Vendor DD-ready P&L by month 12.

Engagement details anonymised to protect client confidentiality. Representative of typical Operating Partner Retainer outcomes on a Benelux mid-market portco.

The Journey

From baseline to exit proof

A focused 2–5% EBITDA uplift agenda by month 12, then continuity through the exit process – with proof buyers can diligence.

01 · Foundation +0.5–1%

02 · Acceleration +1–2%

03 · Consolidation +1–2%

04 · Optimisation Exit-ready

          05 · Exit
          
          Realised

Foundation

Months 1–3

+0.5–1%EBITDA

Baseline diagnostic
100-day plan
KPI framework
Quick wins live

Acceleration

Months 4–6

+1–2%EBITDA

Pricing rollout
Cost programmes
Buy-and-build kick-off
MT development

Consolidation

Months 7–9

+1–2%EBITDA

Structural embed
Process ownership
Next-wave identified
Run-rate locked

Optimisation

Months 10–12

Exit-readyCumulative

Equity story
Vendor DD prep
Final EBITDA push
Buyer shortlist

Exit

Year 2+

RealisedOutcome

Buyer meetings
Q&A support
SPA negotiation
Continuity handover

What makes VAST different

Senior operator capacity, translated into weekly execution.

Five reasons PE teams call VAST when the plan is clear but portfolio execution needs traction.

PE-native operators

We speak IC, board and management language – translating value creation ambition into owners, cadence and measurable actions.

Low ego, high curiosity

Embedded local capacity that can switch from sponsor and board to CEO, MT and functional teams inside the portfolio company – close enough to unblock decisions without adding noise.

EBITDA proof, not activity

Every initiative is tied to a baseline, value bridge and scorecard – so impact can be tracked and later diligenced.

Board-level cadence

We install the rhythm PE funds need: weekly action tracking, monthly value review and sharper board discussion.

Through to exit

From first 100 days to exit readiness: we help build the operational proof points that support the equity story.

Auto-rotates · click side cards or arrows

Representative outcomes

Pricing reset

€500K

Run-rate EBITDA recovered

Margin leakage identified, discount governance tightened and value-based pricing rolled out with the sales team.

Impact visible within 12 weeks

100-day execution

Value initiatives converted into weekly cadence

A stalled VCP rebuilt into named owners, KPI scorecards, milestone discipline and board-ready initiative tracking.

From reporting to action

Exit readiness

12–24 mo.

Operational proof built before vendor DD

Equity story, KPI history and EBITDA bridge translated into evidence buyers could diligence.

Earlier exit preparation

Engagement

Start with the smallest useful step

Begin with a scan, move to embedded execution when the value case is clear.

Value Creation Scan

4–6 Weeks

€20–30K

Fixed fee

Rapid diagnostic of the portco: EBITDA levers, execution risks, priority roadmap and 100-day plan.

New portco or stalled VCP

Flagship

Operating Partner Retainer

12 Months+

From €15K

Per month

Fractional senior operating partner capacity, typically 3–6 days per month. Built for situations where a full-time operator is too slow, too narrow or not yet justified.

Before, alongside or after management hires

Interim Executive

On-Demand

Placement

Margin-based

Trusted operators from our network, deployed rapidly when full-time CFO, COO, CCO or transformation capacity is needed.

Leadership gap or turnaround

ROI

Retainer from €15K/month = €180K/year. This is not a substitute for a full-time executive. It is senior operating partner capacity to create traction before, alongside or after management hires – with a focus on EBITDA levers, execution cadence and buyer-diligence-ready proof. On a typical Benelux mid-market portco, even one validated EBITDA lever can be a multiple of the annual retainer.

Retainer case calculator

Estimate the value creation case versus the VAST retainer.

A simple PE-style calculator: estimate current revenue, EBITDA margin, improvement case and exit multiple. The retainer logic is based on fractional senior capacity, not a full-time operator replacement.

Revenue

€75M

Current EBITDA margin

10%

EBITDA uplift

Exit multiple

Estimated enterprise value creation €1.8M

Run-rate EBITDA uplift €225K

Value / annual retainer 10x

Indicative only. Actual impact depends on baseline quality, initiative feasibility, execution speed and buyer-recognised proof.

First step

Send us one Benelux portco. We will tell you where we would start.

Share one portfolio situation. We will give a direct operating view on the EBITDA levers, execution risks, decision blockers and first 30-day priorities. No generic pitch deck – just the value creation view.

Get a first operating view →

Optional alignment

Success Fee

€50–150K triggered on EBITDA uplift above 5%, measured on the agreed baseline.

Equity Stake

Sweet-equity option on the portco, vesting with continued engagement and exit realisation.

Hybrid

Reduced retainer + larger success component. Calibrated to your fund's alignment preference.

Team

Senior operators.
Embedded in the portco rhythm.

The partner who writes the proposal is the partner in the board meeting and the portco rhythm.
Senior, embedded and accountable for measurable progress.

VAST was founded by two senior PE-experienced operators after years of seeing the same recurring pattern: cross-border funds with strong Benelux assets, deal teams operating from outside the local market, and execution gaps that quarterly board reporting could not close. We built VAST to be the operating partner we wanted inside portcos: senior, embedded, action-oriented, self-directed and accountable for outcomes.

Built for cross-border PE funds with Benelux portfolio companies. Senior executives only. Embedded in your portco.
Accountable for EBITDA outcomes – from Day 1 through to exit.

High EQ. Humility. Entrepreneurial drive. Self-direction.
No juniors. No rotation. No handovers.

Paul Stoop

Co-Founder & Partner

Paul Stoop is an operational value creation leader, operator and two-time founder with hands-on experience building, managing and transforming businesses in PE/VC and portfolio-company environments. At ING Corporate Investments, he leads operational value creation across 50+ portfolio companies, translating investment theses into value creation plans, KPI cadence, strategic repositioning, buy-and-build, commercial acceleration and exit readiness. Earlier, he founded MainHaven Capital and co-founded Ballentine, building strategy, operations and interim-management capacity around portfolio-company execution.

Selected results

HES International – led sustainability transformation, operating model redesign and multi-workstream transformation office, directly accountable to shareholders and ExCo.
Intertrust – delivered integrations and transformation workstreams, including buy-and-build, post-merger integration and IPO preparation under Waterland and Blackstone ownership.
ING Corporate Investments – operational value creation support across portfolio companies including Strohm and On That Ass, with focus on VCPs, KPI architecture, strategic repositioning and exit readiness.

Operational Value Creation Founder / Operator PMI / Integration Exit Readiness

HP van Asselt

Co-Founder & Partner

HP van Asselt is a senior executive, board advisor and PE operating advisor with 28 years of banking and financial services experience across the Americas, Europe, Middle East and Asia. He has played leading roles in 30+ global acquisitions and integrations, including Intertrust’s sales to Waterland and Blackstone and its Euronext IPO. As former CCO and Management Board member of Intertrust, former Executive Committee member at Apex and current private equity advisor, HP brings board-level governance, commercial excellence, M&A execution and global scale-up experience.

Selected results

Intertrust – helped scale the platform through acquisitions, integrations, Waterland and Blackstone ownership, and Euronext IPO preparation.
Apex Group – Executive Committee experience in a global financial services platform, combining governance, commercial performance and integration complexity.
Private equity advisory – senior board and management support on commercial excellence, operating governance, integration and value creation execution.

PE & Board Advisory M&A / IPO Commercial Excellence Global Integrations

Practical questions

Questions PE teams usually ask

A few practical points before you bring us into a Benelux portfolio situation.

When should we call VAST?

When the investment thesis is clear, but execution inside the portfolio company needs traction: named owners, KPI cadence, decision speed and measurable EBITDA proof.

How quickly can you start?

Usually with a short first-look review of one portfolio company. From there, we can move into a focused Value Creation Scan or an Operating Partner Retainer when the value case is clear.

How do you measure impact?

We agree the baseline upfront, translate initiatives into a financial scorecard and track progress through weekly or bi-weekly execution cadence. The aim is not activity – it is buyer-diligence-ready proof.

Are you consultants, interims or operating partners?

VAST sits between these models. We bring senior operating partner capacity: more embedded than an advisor, more flexible than a full-time interim and focused on measurable value creation.

Do you only support cross-border PE situations?

Cross-border PE situations are our core focus: funds owning Benelux portfolio companies from outside the local market. We can also support local investors when senior execution capacity is the constraint.

Contact

Send us one Benelux portfolio company.

Share the asset, the thesis and where execution is stuck. We will give you a first operating view on EBITDA levers, execution blockers and where we would start in the first 30 days.

📅

Fastest route

Get a first operating view

Send us one Benelux portfolio company. We will pressure-test the EBITDA levers, execution blockers and first 30-day priorities.

Book a working session →

Paul Stoop

paul.stoop@vastvaluepartners.com

+31 6 23 54 83 77

HP van Asselt

hp.vanasselt@vastvaluepartners.com

+31 6 15 64 96 46

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