Chief of Staff - Executive Leadership Program
Banyan Software · Canada; United States ·
- Seniority
- C level
- Employment
- Full time
- Category
- Operations
- Experience
- 2+ years
Banyan Software is the best permanent home for software businesses that serve specialized industries, their employees, and their customers. With a buy-grow-and-hold-for-life approach and a permanent capital base, Banyan acquires and grows companies worldwide, honoring founder legacies and helping portfolio companies modernize through shared AI expertise and operational discipline. Founded in 2016, Banyan operates more than 120 portfolio companies across North and South America, Europe, and APAC, and has appeared on the Inc. 5000 list for six consecutive years. The Banyan Software Foundation, endowed with $100 million in Banyan stock, leverages technology to build a greener and more equitable world.
Chief of Staff, Executive Leadership Program
Banyan Software | Two-year program | Remote: United States or Canada | Start date: Summer 2027 | Open to final-year MBA candidates
The Opportunity
This is a high-impact opportunity to work directly alongside one of Banyan’s seasoned Operating Leaders, each overseeing a portfolio of software businesses in a buy, hold and grow investment model. As Chief of Staff, you become a trusted right hand to your Operating Leader and a close working partner to the CEOs and functional leaders across their companies.
The role is deliberately broad. Rather than a fixed rotation, you will move across multiple operating companies and business problems: shaping a go-to-market plan for one company, improving customer onboarding at another, or standing up the first 100 days of a newly acquired business. You will gain exposure to software M&A, but the core of the job is hands-on value creation and operating work. You own initiatives end to end.
The Executive Leadership Program (ELP) runs two years. Development is intentional. You will work through a range of experiences spanning go-to-market, M&A, customer, and finance priorities portfolio-wide, plus gain hands-on leadership reps, with regular check-ins and development opportunities to ready you for your next role. High performers move from the ELP program into a CEO or C-suite role within a Banyan operating company, or into a leadership role at Banyan Software HQ.
For those who want to learn how great vertical software businesses are built and run, and who want the fastest path available to running one themselves, this is the job.
What You’ll Gain
- A cohort of high-caliber peers. You grow and learn alongside other ELPs at Banyan, building a long-term network of future operators.
- Direct apprenticeship with senior operators. You will work very closely with an Operating Leader and see firsthand how experienced leaders make decisions across different software businesses.
- Dedicated development support. External executive coaching in Year 2, plus mentorship from Operating Leaders with decades of software experience.
- The fastest track we offer to running a business. High performers move directly from this program into a C-suite seat inside a Banyan operating company or a leadership role at HQ. It is not guaranteed, performance decides placement, but it is the first place Banyan looks when those seats open and we have a strong track record of placing CEOs through our ELP.
- Real operating reps, not case reps. You carry a genuine initiative inside a live business and leadership-level stretch assignments, decisions that show up in a P&L.
What You Will Own
Portfolio Value Creation
- Partner with CEOs and functional leaders across multiple operating companies to identify priorities and implement the Banyan Operating System, turning strategy into measurable operational improvements.
- Lead high-impact, cross-functional projects across product, go-to-market, sales, marketing, pricing, and customer success as the right hand to Leader.
M&A and Integration
- Gain exposure to Banyan’s acquisition process, including value-creation plan framing during diligence.
- Support integration planning and onboarding for newly acquired businesses, helping establish operating rhythms and priorities while respecting what already makes each business work.
- Help execute the value-creation plan once a deal closes, turning the diligence thesis into the specific operating bets a business needs to win in year one.
Executive Partnership
- Support your Operating Leader on critical initiatives, executive decision-making, and cross-company collaboration, frequently influencing outcomes without formal authority or direct reports.
- Build the judgment, breadth, and pattern recognition required for future general management by working different business problems across a portfolio of vertical software companies.
What We’re Looking For
Must-Haves
- Graduating or recently graduated from a top MBA program. This cycle is not open to first-year MBA students.
- 2–5 years of pre-MBA experience in an operating role (product, business operations, portfolio operations, or value creation), management consulting, private equity, or investment banking, with a demonstrated record of owning measurable outcomes.
- Exceptional communication and interpersonal judgment, with the ability to synthesize complex information and influence senior stakeholders without relying on formal authority.
- High learning agility and comfort with ambiguity. You get smart quickly in unfamiliar areas, prioritize what matters, and move from analysis to action.
- Low ego and high ownership. You are ambitious but humble, seek feedback, build trust quickly, and are motivated by the work of operating a business rather than by title.
Nice-to-Haves
- Experience in software, SaaS, or another recurring revenue business. Familiarity with vertical software economics is an advantage.
- Experience leading a team. Direct people management is not required; this role initially relies on leadership through influence.
Banyan is an equal opportunity employer.
Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Equal Employment Opportunity at Banyan: Banyan affirms that inequality is detrimental to our Global Teams, associates, our Operating Companies, and the communities we serve. As a collective, our goal is to impact lasting change through our actions. Together, we unite for equality and equity. Banyan is committed to equal employment opportunities regardless of any protected characteristic, including race, color, genetic information, creed, national origin, religion, sex, affectional or sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, lawful alien status, ancestry, age, marital status, or protected veteran status and will not discriminate against anyone on the basis of a disability. We support an inclusive workplace where associates excel based on personal merit, qualifications, experience, ability, and job performance.
Please Note: Banyan Software does not accept unsolicited resumes or applications submitted via email, LinkedIn, or other direct channels. All candidates must apply through our official Careers site to be considered for employment. Applications submitted outside of our applicant tracking system will not be reviewed.
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Protect yourself by following these steps:
- Verify that all communications from our recruiting team come from an @banyansoftware.com email address.
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