The posting
Company: POROUS GmbH
Role: Chief Executive Officer (CEO) (m/f/d)
Location: Berlin, Germany
Governance: Reports to shareholders; works closely with the Board (Beirat/Advisory Board), an external advisor, and the Scientific Advisory Board (SAB)
Start Date: Jan 2027
About POROUS
POROUS is developing a non-invasive, radiation-free method for the early detection of osteoporosis based on quantitative 3D ultrasound (QUS). For the first time, the technology measures not only cortical thickness but also pore size, pore size distribution, and viscoelasticity of the peripheral skeleton, addressing a key unmet clinical need, since osteoporosis is still often diagnosed too late.
The company is funded by the European Union and the State of Brandenburg, including through the European Innovation Council's EIC Accelerator programme and further EU and state funding programmes (ProFIT, Eurostars/Innosuisse). Alongside its core application in osteoporosis diagnostics, POROUS is also pursuing animal health applications with partners such as Suisag and FBN Dummerstorf (the “PigBoneS” project).
POROUS is currently in its development and regulatory approval phase and is at the transition point toward commercial scaling.
The Challenge
POROUS is at the transition from development to commercialization. We are looking for a leader to succeed the current management and take ownership of this transition: shaping a research-driven company into a provider that successfully places its product in the global market.
This is a leadership role with a focus on marketing and sales. Technology, clinical affairs, sales, and finance are the responsibility of experienced function heads. The CEO sets the shared direction, ensures that all functions contribute to it, and makes the call where their objectives diverge. This requires enough technical depth to credibly assess plans and progress across all functions.
Role & Responsibility
The CEO holds overall responsibility for POROUS's business success and reports to the shareholders. The role is deliberately designed as an integrating leadership function with a focus on global marketing and sales.
Core Responsibilities
- Strategy: Further develop the company's strategy for the path to commercialization and execute it in alignment with the shareholders.
- Execution: Ensure that all functions — technology and product development, sales, finance, compliance/legal, and IP and QM/regulatory — are aligned with this strategy, and rigorously track progress.
- Prepare the medium-term plan and budget for presentation to the shareholders.
- Organization: Complete the leadership team, particularly in the commercial function, and align the organization for market readiness and scaling.
- Representation: Represent the company to investors, partners, and the public, and keep shareholders and the board updated on progress, opportunities, and risks.
Organizational Duties
- Ongoing budget and liquidity/runway planning with the CFO.
- IP processes: invention disclosures, coordination with patent counsel.
- Collaborations/contract research: concept development, budget negotiation, contract development.
- Public funding: grant applications, obligations arising from funding notices/grant conditions (project cost tracking and reporting, drawdown requests, communication with funding bodies).
- General contract management.
- Fundraising (with the CFO).
- HR management.
Requirements Profile
Experience & Qualifications
- Several years of senior leadership experience with full P&L/general management responsibility (CEO, managing director, or comparable) in life sciences or MedTech.
- Experience leading a company from the development phase into commercialization, or having significantly shaped a comparable transformation.
- Experience in negotiation and deal-making, for example with distribution partners, licensees, or investors.
- Solid understanding of the MedTech value chain: product development, clinical evidence, regulatory approval and IP protection, market access and reimbursement, sales, and corporate finance.
- Familiarity with public research and growth funding (e.g., EIC, Horizon, Eurostars) is a plus.
- Academic background in life sciences, engineering, business, or a related field.
Competencies
- Ability to align different functions around a shared goal and to resolve conflicting objectives rather than deferring them.
- Enough technical depth to challenge and lead function heads substantively, without taking over their work.
- Persuasive communication with the board, investors, partners, and employees.
- Clear prioritization and decisiveness under uncertainty.
- Strong leadership in working with an experienced senior management team and in conflict situations.
- Ability to rally and motivate a team behind a shared goal.
Organizational Structure
Direct Reports
QM/RA, CTO, CSO, CCO, CFO, Head of Operations (HOO)
Internal Interfaces
All internal departments and functional areas
External Interfaces
Shareholders, Board (Beirat/Advisory Board), external advisor, Scientific Advisory Board (SAB), contract partners, authorities, clinical partners (including Charité), and other external stakeholders
Why POROUS
POROUS combines a scientifically grounded technology with a clearly demonstrated, previously unmet clinical need. This position offers the opportunity to lead this innovation to market readiness — with entrepreneurial latitude, an experienced leadership team, and direct accountability to the shareholders.
Sources: CEO Role Description (QM Manual, POROUS GmbH, Version 02/2022), Company Structure Proposal V2 (POROUS GmbH, as of: structure effective 01/01/2027), and porous.care (as of: September 2026).
