CASE STUDY

Carbon Tech Meets Product Excellence

An analysis of 6 Group’s recent high-impact Product Owner search.

ABOUT THE CLIENT

Our client is a profit-for-purpose company at the forefront of the carbon removal economy. It certifies engineered carbon removal through its flagship process, and issues COâ‚‚ Removal Certificates (CORCs). They support climate conscious corporations in achieving net-zero, and are widely endorsed by leading buyers Microsoft and Frontier. The organisation is recognised for pioneering rigorous methodologies in durable carbon removal technologies such as biochar, enhanced rock weathering, and carbonated materials.

 

THE PROJECT

The client needed to recruit a Product Owner to oversee and evolve its core certification platform – a critical role for enabling growth, improving user experience, and optimising the certification journey. The Product Owner was to work closely with the Technical Product Owner, focusing on strategic roadmap development and market-aligned product enhancements.

THE CHALLENGE

Key challenges of the project included:

  • Identifying professionals with deep understanding of both product strategy and technical certification workflows in a highly specialised domain;
  • Balancing strategic vision, stakeholder communication, and hands-on product management in a fast-scaling environment;
  • Attracting high-calibre talent into a niche carbon removal tech sector, especially with expectations of experience in sustainability-focused digital products.

WHY 6 GROUP?

We were retained by the client due to our:

• Proven success in delivering executive search within sustainability and climate tech sectors;

• Rigorous, consultative approach to identifying and assessing highly specific functional and behavioural competencies;

• Strong emphasis on candidate experience and brand representation;

• Experience supporting the client’s other executive roles, allowing deep familiarity with the company’s culture and mission.

 

OUR PROCESS

6 Group employed a structured, insight-driven retained search model, customized to the client’s needs. Key steps within the process included:

  1. Discovery & Alignment
  • In-depth briefing with the client’s executive and product leadership
  • Defined success criteria around business value, stakeholder management, and domain understanding
  1. Market Mapping
  • Identified top talent pools across sustainability tech, digital platforms and environment certification ecosystems
  • Focused on candidates in strategic European tech hubs: Helsinki, London, Amsterdam, Munich
  1. Targeted Outreach & Engagement
  • Positioning the client’s mission and Nasdaq backing to attract passive candidates
  • Promoted the opportunity to influence a high-growth, purpose-driven tech business
  1. Assessment & Evaluation
  • Functional assessments: Product ownership experience, roadmap strategy, and user-centred design
  1. Candidate Briefing & Support
  • Developed a comprehensive Candidate Briefing Document to communicate the client’s mission, growth metrics, and role expectations
  • Maintained close engagement and support throughout the candidate journey to ensure alignment and retention.

OUTCOMES & ACHIEVEMENTS

  • Successful placement of a highly qualified Product Owner who brought experience in both digital product leadership and sustainability-aligned innovation.
  • The process enabled seamless stakeholder buy-in across technical and non-technical teams within the client’s organization
  • The hired candidate brought a balanced understanding of strategic vision, product lifecycle management, and carbon credit workflows, significantly accelerating the client’s product development roadmap.

 

BENEFITS REALISED BY THE CLIENT

  • Increased efficiency in the CORC certification platform;
  • Improved product-market fit through strategic roadmap leadership;
  • Enhanced collaboration between product, tech, and certification teams

WHY 6 GROUP MADE THE DIFFERENCE

  • Sector-Specific Insight: Our understanding of carbon markets and digital product ecosystems provided strategic talent access that generic recruiters couldn’t match;
  • Custom Candidate Communication: The briefing document created a compelling narrative around the company’s mission, impact, and leadership vision;
  • Behavioural Precision: Through competency-based interviews, we ensured cultural fit and long-term alignment;
  • Speed & Accuracy: We delivered highly targeted profiles early in the process, reducing time-to-hire while improving quality.

CONCLUSION

Through our insight-led and high-touch executive search process, we enabled our client to secure a strategic Product Owner hire that is pivotal to its ongoing mission to lead the carbon removal certification space. This project further exemplified our ability to deliver complex, niche searches that contribute to global climate impact.

 

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