Atomico's State of European Tech report values Europe's tech ecosystem at around $4 trillion, and 70% of the founders it surveyed described Europe's operating environment as too restrictive. For North American and Israeli startups, that mix of a large market and demanding rules makes the first European sales leader a pivotal hire.
A company that posts a head of EMEA sales, a country manager or a regional sales director is preparing to build a local pipeline, and it will need European contact data, GDPR-aware outbound tooling, recruiters, an employer of record or office space, localized content and event budget. Those needs make Europe sales leadership postings one of the more specific buying signals available to B2B sellers.
This list ranks 10 venture-backed companies headquartered in the United States, Canada or Israel by the number of distinct Europe-based sales leadership roles they posted in the last 90 days, with ties broken by 12-month headcount growth.
How the companies were selected
The starting pool came from Landbase job-posting data. Every company on the list had to meet four criteria:
- Europe sales leadership signal: at least one posting in the last 90 days for a head of sales, sales director, VP or RVP of sales, regional director, country manager or general manager role located in Europe or the UK, or titled EMEA, UK, DACH, Nordics, France, Germany or Benelux
- Company size: 50 to 2,000 employees
- Venture-backed and North American or Israeli: at least one disclosed venture round and headquarters in the United States, Canada or Israel
- Exclusions: non-sales roles such as restaurant and cafe general managers, roles located in the United States, job boards, and investors posting on behalf of portfolio companies
Posting counts measure distinct open requisitions in Landbase's job-posting index over 90 days. They can include reposts or the same role advertised in several places, some roles may already be filled or closed, and they are a signal of intent rather than confirmed hires.
1) Classiq
CEO: Nir Minerbi
Europe sales leadership roles (90 days): 4 (Regional Sales Director France; Regional Sales Director Nordics, listed in the UK; Regional Sales Director Italy; Regional Sales Director Eastern Europe)
12-month headcount growth: +67%
Latest round: Strategic round, November 2025, following a $110 million Series C led by Entrée Capital in May 2025
HQ: Tel Aviv, Israel
Category: Quantum computing software
What Classiq sells
Classiq sells a software platform for designing, optimizing and running quantum algorithms.
The hiring signal
Classiq is opening territory one market at a time. Its Nordics posting describes the role as the company's first dedicated commercial leader in the region, requires native fluency in a Scandinavian language, and asks for a record of $200,000-plus ACV deals. Separate postings cover France, Italy and Eastern Europe.
Funding and growth
The May 2025 Series C was described by Classiq as the largest quantum software round to date, with the proceeds aimed at go-to-market, customer success and R&D. A later strategic round with AMD Ventures, Qualcomm Ventures and IonQ took total funding above $200 million.
What it means for sellers
Four country-level leaders hired at once will need local recruiting, employer-of-record coverage in several countries, and lists of research and industrial buyers by country. Event organizers in national quantum programs have a direct angle.
2) HERE
CEO: Mazy Dar
Europe sales leadership roles (90 days): 4 (Sales Director, Financial Services and Multi-Industry; Sales Director, Government Sector; Sales Director, Multi-Industry; Sales Director, Multi-Industry SME; all London)
12-month headcount growth: Not available in Landbase data
Latest round: $35 million Series D, May 2023, led by Bank of America (as OpenFin)
HQ: New York, United States
Category: Enterprise browser
What HERE sells
HERE, formerly OpenFin, sells the HERE Enterprise Browser along with HERE Core and HERE Studio. for managed, secure enterprise workspaces.
The hiring signal
All four roles sit in London and are split by segment: financial services, government, multi-industry enterprise and SME. The careers page also lists a London SDR, which suggests a full sales pod.
Funding and growth
OpenFin's Series D was led by Bank of America, with ING Ventures, CME Ventures and SC Ventures among the participants.
What it means for sellers
A segmented London team needs UK public sector and financial services account data, procurement framework guidance for government deals, and security certifications marketing. UK sales recruiters have a clear brief.
3) Grafana Labs
CEO: Raj Dutt
Europe sales leadership roles (90 days): 2 (Regional Sales Director, Enterprise Acquisition, Spain; Regional Sales Director, Enterprise Growth, UK)
12-month headcount growth: +15%
Latest round: $270 million, August 2024, at a reported $6 billion valuation; trackers list a 2026 round the company has not announced
HQ: New York, United States
Category: Observability
What Grafana Labs sells
Grafana Labs sells an observability platform built on its open source Grafana, Loki, Mimir and Tempo projects, available as Grafana Cloud or self-managed enterprise software.
The hiring signal
The two roles split new-logo acquisition in Spain from expansion in existing UK accounts. The UK role is still listed as a remote enterprise growth position, while the Spain role no longer appears on the board.
Funding and growth
Business Insider reported in August 2026 that Grafana's ARR had reached $600 million, citing the company.
What it means for sellers
Grafana is already established in Europe, so the opportunity is in territory expansion: Spanish-language enterprise data, partner and reseller mapping in Iberia, and regional event sponsorship around developer and SRE audiences.
4) Gradial
CEO: Doug Tallmadge
Europe sales leadership roles (90 days): 1 (RVP of Sales, EMEA)
12-month headcount growth: +217%
Latest round: $65 million Series C, June 2026, led by Insight Partners
HQ: Seattle, United States
Category: AI agents for marketing operations
What Gradial sells
Gradial sells AI agents that run enterprise marketing operations from request to publish, including content updates, localization, campaign operations and asset management across tools such as Adobe and Salesforce.
The hiring signal
Gradial posted an RVP of Sales for EMEA in late July 2026, a regional executive title rather than an individual contributor role.
Funding and growth
GeekWire reported that Gradial said ARR grew more than 10 times over 12 months.
What it means for sellers
A first EMEA executive typically hires a team in the following quarters. Recruiters, EOR providers and vendors of European enterprise marketing contact data are the most relevant sellers.
5) Upwind Security
CEO: Amiram Shachar
Europe sales leadership roles (90 days): 1 (Regional Vice President of Sales, Germany)
12-month headcount growth: +103%
Latest round: $250 million Series B, January 2026, led by Bessemer Venture Partners
HQ: San Francisco, United States
Category: Cloud security
What Upwind sells
Upwind sells a runtime-first cloud security platform that combines posture management, workload protection and threat detection across cloud, data and AI workloads.
The hiring signal
The September 2026 posting is a regional vice president for Germany. Upwind already operates in the UK and Israel.
Funding and growth
The Series B brought total funding to $430 million. Upwind said revenue grew 900% year over year and headcount rose from 150 to more than 300 over the prior year.
What it means for sellers
A German enterprise security push needs German-language marketing, DACH CISO contact data, works council-aware hiring support and channel partner introductions.
6) Deepgram
CEO: Scott Stephenson
Europe sales leadership roles (90 days): 1 (GM, Sales, EMEA, London)
12-month headcount growth: +93%
Latest round: $130 million Series C, January 2026, led by AVP
HQ: San Francisco, United States
Category: Voice AI
What Deepgram sells
Deepgram sells speech-to-text, text-to-speech and voice agent APIs that developers use to build voice AI applications such as contact center automation.
The hiring signal
Deepgram's GM, Sales (EMEA) role is based in London.
Funding and growth
The Series C valued Deepgram at $1.3 billion. The company said AVP was chosen partly for its ability to support international expansion, including Europe.
What it means for sellers
Voice AI in Europe means multilingual models and GDPR questions about audio data. Compliance tooling, local hosting partners and contact center contact data are relevant offers.
7) Federato
CEO: Will Ross
Europe sales leadership roles (90 days): 1 (RVP, EMEA Sales)
12-month headcount growth: +66%
Latest round: $100 million Series D, November 2025, led by Goldman Sachs Alternatives
HQ: San Francisco, United States
Category: AI underwriting for insurers
What Federato sells
Federato sells an AI-native underwriting platform for property and casualty insurers that prioritizes submissions and supports endorsements, renewals and premium audits.
The hiring signal
Federato posted an RVP for EMEA sales in September 2026. The role no longer appears on its job board and may have been filled.
Funding and growth
Goldman Sachs said Federato roughly tripled revenue over the prior year and would use the round for global expansion. Total funding exceeds $180 million.
What it means for sellers
An insurance software company entering EMEA will look first at London market carriers and Lloyd's. Insurer and MGA contact data and London insurance events are the clearest openings.
8) Cohere
CEO: Aidan Gomez
Europe sales leadership roles (90 days): 1 (Head of Sales EMEA, Public Sector, Berlin)
12-month headcount growth: +50%
Latest round: $100 million second close, September 2025, at a reported $7 billion valuation; a larger round was reported in talks in September 2026
HQ: Toronto, Canada
Category: Enterprise AI models
What Cohere sells
Cohere sells large language models, retrieval and agent products for enterprises and governments, with private and on-premises deployment options.
The hiring signal
Cohere's Head of Sales EMEA, Public Sector is based in Berlin. In October 2026 the company also posted a VP Sales, EMEA, in Berlin, after the data for this ranking was pulled.
Funding and growth
PYMNTS reported in September 2026 that Cohere was in talks to raise at a $20 billion valuation. The company did not confirm terms.
What it means for sellers
Public sector AI in Europe means sovereignty, EU AI Act and GDPR requirements. Compliance advisors, public procurement specialists and government event organizers have the strongest angle.
9) Torq
CEO: Ofer Smadari
Europe sales leadership roles (90 days): 1 (Regional Sales Director, Western Europe)
12-month headcount growth: +48%
Latest round: $140 million Series D, January 2026, led by Merlin Ventures
HQ: New York, United States
Category: Security operations automation
What Torq sells
Torq sells an AI agent platform for security operations that triages, investigates and remediates alerts across SIEM, EDR, identity and firewall tools.
The hiring signal
Torq posted a regional sales director for Western Europe in late July 2026.
Funding and growth
The Series D valued Torq at $1.2 billion and was earmarked for go-to-market expansion.
What it means for sellers
A multi-country territory benefits from SOC leader contact data across France, the Benelux and Iberia, MSSP partner lists and regional security conference sponsorships.
10) Eat Just
CEO: Josh Tetrick
Europe sales leadership roles (90 days): 1 (Head of Sales, Germany)
12-month headcount growth: +48%
Latest round: No new round confirmed in 2025 or 2026 press
HQ: Alameda, United States
Category: Plant-based food
What Eat Just sells
Eat Just sells JUST Egg, a plant-based egg made from mung bean protein, to retailers and food service operators.
The hiring signal
Eat Just posted a Head of Sales for Germany in September 2026, advertised six times in Landbase data.
Funding and growth
In April 2025, Vegan Food Group took exclusive rights to make and distribute JUST Egg in the UK and EU, backed by an £11.25 million (about $14.8 million) investment and a production line in Lüneburg, Germany.
What it means for sellers
A German retail launch needs grocery buyer data, trade marketing, German packaging and labeling support, and retail trade show presence.
What the Europe sales leadership data shows
First, most companies post one senior regional role rather than a team. Eight of the 10 had a single qualifying posting, usually an RVP, GM or head of EMEA. Classiq and HERE are the exceptions, building several country or segment leaders at once.
Second, the companies are late-stage and recently funded. Five of the 10 (Gradial, Upwind, Deepgram, Federato and Torq) announced rounds of $65 million or more between November 2025 and June 2026, and Deepgram and Federato both named international expansion as a use of funds.
Third, security and AI infrastructure dominate. Upwind, Torq, Deepgram, Cohere and Gradial all sell into technical or security buyers, and London, Berlin and Germany recur as first locations. Israeli-founded companies (Classiq, Upwind, Torq) are especially active.
For GTM teams, a Europe sales leadership posting is most useful when combined with funding, headcount and data enrichment signals, because the new leader's first purchases follow quickly. Landbase's earlier lists of AI startups adding headcount fastest and London AI startups hiring fastest cover related accounts.
All ten go-to-market hiring signals in this series are collected in GTM Hiring Signals to Watch in 2026.
How to find companies with this hiring signal in Landbase
This ranking was built from Landbase job-posting data. A natural-language search identified qualifying companies and postings, and the results were enriched with headcount growth and filtered into a structured dataset.
Landbase's web and CLI interfaces access the same account, datasets, and saved work.
For more complex requirements, the Advanced Dataset Creator supports filters, calculations, and custom output fields.
Landbase's data infrastructure includes more than 800 million contacts and more than 40 million companies across more than 1,500 fields, with enrichment from more than 20 providers.
A workflow for this signal could, for example, find US-headquartered companies that posted a head of EMEA sales or country manager role in the last 60 days, raised a Series B or later in the past year, and have no existing UK or EU office, then pull the new regional leader's contact once the role is filled.
The Landbase CLI setup supports these workflows from a standard terminal and from AI coding environments including Claude Code and Codex.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which US startups are hiring the most sales leaders in Europe?
Classiq and HERE each posted four distinct Europe sales leadership roles in the last 90 days in Landbase data. Classiq is hiring country leaders for France, the Nordics, Italy and Eastern Europe, and HERE is hiring four London sales directors by segment. Grafana Labs followed with two.
What does a Europe sales leadership posting indicate?
It usually indicates that a company has decided to build a regional pipeline rather than sell into Europe from headquarters. Account executives, SDRs and a local entity often follow.
How reliable are job-posting signals?
They show intent, not completed hires. Postings can be reposted, listed in several locations or filled quickly, and some on this list no longer appear on company job boards.
Who should sell to companies expanding into Europe?
Relevant sellers include providers of European contact data, GDPR and EU compliance tooling, recruiters and employer-of-record platforms, office and coworking providers, localization and translation services, and regional event organizers.
How can GTM teams track this signal?
Teams can filter job postings by title, location and date, then combine them with HQ country, funding stage and headcount growth. Landbase supports this through natural-language search, enrichment and structured datasets in its web app and CLI.
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