Case Study: Scaling GTM Talent
Across EMEA for Coupa Software
Client: Coupa
Sector: Executive Search
Specialist Region: EMEA
Coupa Software is a global leader in cloud-based spend management. Recognised repeatedly as a Gartner Magic Quadrant Leader and a Deloitte Technology Fast 500 company, Coupa empowers businesses to unify their spend processes with a purpose-built, scalable platform. During Coupa's critical European expansion phase, Andy and his team at his previous role became an embedded extension of their internal team, replacing nine fragmented suppliers with a unified, strategic hiring approach.
As Coupa expanded its presence across Europe, the company faced a critical challenge: sourcing top-tier sales and GTM talent to fuel its regional growth.
At the time, Coupa was working with nine different recruitment firms - a fragmented approach that led to inconsistent candidate quality, duplicated efforts, and misaligned messaging in the market. Many agencies focused only on quick wins, lacking the persistence and precision needed for senior, strategic hires.
Single trusted partner to replace fragmented supplier model
Persistent, precise hiring for senior strategic roles
Elite sales and go-to-market professionals for European expansion
Consistent brand messaging and market positioning
Andy Strong and his team became an extension of Coupa's internal team, working directly from their Dublin EMEA HQ. This embedded approach eliminated the fragmented supplier model and created a unified, consistent hiring experience tailored for hyper-growth B2B SaaS.
Andy Strong and his team stepped in to bring structure, quality, and consistency to Coupa's hiring efforts.
Rather than operating as a traditional external recruiter, Andy and his team embedded themselves directly within the Coupa team, aligning directly with senior leadership, understanding the company's DNA, and driving a bespoke executive search strategy tailored for hyper-growth B2B SaaS.
Deep alignment with regional and global CROs, CHROs, and functional leads to ensure strategic hiring vision alignment.
On-site presence at Coupa's EMEA HQ (Dublin) to nurture collaboration and ensure seamless integration.
High-EQ screening focused on cultural fit, long-term value, and DEI alignment for sustainable growth.
Relentless delivery at the pace of scale, without compromising quality - meeting the demands of hyper-growth.
Replaced nine fragmented suppliers
By consolidating from nine different recruitment agencies to a single embedded partner, Coupa achieved consistent quality, unified messaging, and accelerated hiring velocity across their European expansion.
Andy and his team became the single most effective external talent source in Coupa's global history, delivering over 110+ hires to date across EMEA and North America.
Delivered Coupa's top global sales performers across multiple years based in UK, US, Netherlands, and Germany, consistently exceeding quota and driving regional market dominance.
Placed leaders that ran EMEA, US and eventually worldwide operations, creating a sustainable leadership pipeline for continued growth and expansion.
Coupa dramatically improved both the quality and retention of its GTM hires by working directly with Andy Strong. The partnership led to:
High-performing GTM teams that consistently hit and exceed quota, with embedded sales leaders driving regional market dominance.
Reduced cost-per-hire and eliminated inefficiencies by moving from 9 fragmented suppliers to one proven partner, resulting in lower turnover and higher lifetime value per hire.
Delivered top-tier talent with cultural and DEI alignment, while building a scalable, repeatable hiring infrastructure for future growth.
This unified, embedded model gave Coupa a competitive edge in talent, driving growth, retention, and operational efficiency at every level of the business.
"Over the past 4 years, Andy and his team at Oakstone in Europe have sourced many key hires for us in EMEA, across all departments: Key Managers, Sales Execs, Presales and Professional Services team members. Their focus on delivery, cultural fit, background checks, transparency and overall professionalism fits well with our own company ethos. This has reflected in the high retention of people we've hired through Andy and his team."
+44 203 996078
info@strongsearch.co.uk
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