PLPaul Lucherini
Case Studies

Selected work, presented in the register that matters: situation, decision, outcome.

Engagements are anonymised. Investor relationships, NDAs and active mandates are respected. Each brief here has a deeper, named version available on request — including referenceable CEOs, founders, chairs and investors.

Cyber SaaS turnaround EV infrastructure VC video SaaS Listed Martech Pre-acquisition Martech Consumer DTC
01 · Cyber Security SaaS · PE-backed · UK & Singapore

Customer Success transformation, en route to exit.

Situation

A PE-backed cyber security SaaS business with mature product, strong reference customers and an investor mandate to ready the business for exit. Customer success and sales implementation were holding back time-to-value, retention was inconsistent, and the commercial signals investors look at — net retention, deployment speed, expansion — weren't yet diligence-grade.

Mandate

Interim VP of Customer Success, accountable to the CEO and the PE investor group. Eight-month brief: rebuild the customer success and implementation operating model, reduce churn, accelerate deployment, and create a customer journey that would survive investor scrutiny in an exit process.

Actions

Designed and embedded a new CS operating model — segmentation, journey, playbooks and automation. Restructured the implementation team to halve average deployment time. Introduced a retention programme with cohort tracking and churn-driver analysis. Established a Voice-of-Customer programme feeding directly into product and commercial roadmaps. Worked alongside the PE investors throughout to ensure commercial decisions aligned with the long-term value-creation plan.

Outcome

Revenue grew 60%, gross churn fell by 10 percentage points, and deployment speed doubled. The CS function became a defensible commercial signal in the data room. The business completed a successful exit with the investor group inside the planned window.

02 · EV Charging Infrastructure · PE-backed · UK

Building a national commercial function inside a capital-intensive scale-up.

Situation

A PE-backed public EV charging operator deploying capital at pace into a national infrastructure rollout. The commercial function needed to scale alongside the rollout — site acquisition, partnerships, B2B and B2C revenue, brand — while a follow-on debt raise was being structured with tier-1 institutions.

Mandate

VP Sales for 16 months, accountable to the CEO, the lead PE investor (one of the UK's largest renewables investors) and the management team structuring the next debt facility. End-to-end ownership of sales strategy, B2B and B2C commercial development, and pipeline.

Actions

Designed and implemented the sales strategy. Managed the commercial deployment of £80m of growth capital across the 24-month rollout window. Worked alongside the management team on a £50m follow-on raise with a syndicate of tier-1 institutional investors and high-street debt funders. Built the long-term B2C strategy for a future customer base of millions, alongside the B2B partnership and site acquisition motion.

Outcome

£80m of capital deployed against the commercial growth plan. £50m follow-on debt raise completed with the existing investor base. Sales pipeline expanded by 80%, with MQL/SQL generation doubled. Operational efficiency lifted by 30% across the commercial function.

03 · Video Tech SaaS · VC-backed · UK

A short-window turnaround to ready a VC-backed SaaS for its next round.

Situation

A VC-backed video technology SaaS business approaching a future funding round, with a commercial model that wasn't yet investor-ready. The founder/CEO needed an experienced commercial lead to refine the model, sharpen go-to-market and prepare the business for the next stage.

Mandate

Interim / fractional Commercial Director — four-month brief, working directly with the CEO and the venture investor group. Goal: reset the commercial model and put the commercial function on a footing that would survive investor scrutiny.

Actions

Created a new Go-To-Market plan, developed a partnership model, restructured the sales strategy, and overhauled the commercial structure. Worked closely with the CEO and the investor group on commercial governance and reporting.

Outcome

Commercial model reset and aligned to the investor narrative for the next round. Sales motion, partnership strategy and commercial governance all in place at the point of handover — ready to support the business through its planned funding cycle.

04 · Martech SaaS · NASDAQ-listed parent · Global

Integrating an acquired SaaS business into a $1.3bn listed parent — and quadrupling EBITDA.

Situation

A UK marketing-automation SaaS business acquired by a US NASDAQ-listed group with $1.3bn in turnover. The integration required commercial leadership across UK, US, Canada and Ukraine, alignment of three acquired Martech businesses into a single division, and the EBITDA expansion the listed parent's investors expected.

Mandate

Promoted into Commercial Director and Global VP of Customer Success — direct accountability for $70m+ ARR, 120+ FTEs across four countries, and integration of the acquired businesses. Six-year tenure spanning integration, transformation and ongoing acquisition activity.

Actions

Led commercial integration across geographies. Restructured the operating model to lift EBITDA. Built a North American retention programme that recovered three points of churn and contributed $3m in annualised revenue. Rolled out customer success principles across the Martech division. Contributed to the diligence and execution of a $49m acquisition in the US.

Outcome

EBITDA grew from 10% to 45%. North American retention moved from 68% to 82%. The integration delivered the cost and operational synergies committed at deal close, and the broader Martech division was built into a recurring contributor to listed-group earnings.

05 · Marketing Automation · Pre-acquisition · UK Media Group

Building the retention engine that led to a successful US sale.

Situation

A marketing automation SaaS business sitting inside a £630m UK media group. Recurring revenue and retention were below where they needed to be for the parent's strategic objectives — including a future divestment.

Mandate

Head of Customer Success on the senior leadership team — direct accountability for account management, customer success, product operations, implementation and creative services. Forty-plus FTE responsibility, contributing to overall direction and the eventual sale of the business.

Actions

Rebuilt the retention engine from the ground up. Embedded a structured customer lifecycle. Operationalised upsell and account expansion across the customer base. Worked alongside the senior leadership team on commercial strategy and the eventual sale process.

Outcome

Retention moved from 68% to 95% within 18 months. Recurring revenue more than doubled. Annualised upsell expanded from £384k to £1.9m+. The business was successfully sold to a US listed acquirer, with the strengthened retention and revenue profile a material input into deal value.

06 · Consumer DTC · Founder-backed · UK

From a founder concept to an investable scale-up — a £1.6m round at 50× revenue.

Situation

A consumer comparison and ecommerce business focused on football, footwear and leisurewear — pre-revenue, founder-backed, with strong product-market signal but no commercial engine.

Mandate

Chief Executive Officer — full operational and commercial accountability. Brief: build the commercial machine, raise institutional capital, and grow the business to a scale that justified the next stage of investment.

Actions

Built the commercial engine from a standing start. Implemented an SEO, content and digital marketing strategy that grew traffic from 75k to 330k+ monthly sessions. Raised £1.6m at a 50× revenue valuation. Improved key conversion metrics — sessions, AOV, conversion rate — across the funnel.

Outcome

Material revenue traction built inside the engagement window, with significant improvements across sessions, conversion and AOV. £1.6m fundraise completed at a 50× revenue valuation. The business graduated from a founder concept into an investable scale-up with a credible commercial engine.

Want the named version?

Each of these case studies has a fuller, named version — with referenceable founders, CEOs, chairs and investors.

Available on request and under NDA where the relationship requires it.

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