We’re building an AI-native operating model across our portfolio companies — and we’re now looking for the people to drive that change

Artificial intelligence is the single biggest lever for value creation in the coming years for most service companies. We are now launching a coordinated search in which several of Saari’s portfolio companies are each hiring their own AI Business Developer – a person whose job is to move the company toward an AI-native operating model.

Most of our portfolio companies operate in industries where AI is still an almost untapped competitive advantage – even though much of the work is precisely the kind of knowledge work that AI affects most. This creates significant opportunities to reshape the balance of power within those industries.

However, an interest in AI alone is not enough. With day-to-day operational pressures, AI tends to remain a set of disconnected experiments, and no broad, systematic transformation takes place. The real economic benefit of AI is realized when the work moves from experiments to becoming a permanent part of the company’s everyday operations, which requires much more than just technology. In an AI-native company, the routines of sales and customer service run with the help of agents, while experts develop the agents behind those processes and focus on the tasks where human expertise is irreplaceable.

Building an AI-native operating model is a strategic change at the core of the company – not a consulting project or a tool purchase. It defines how the company operates, competes, and creates value. The change must have an owner inside the company. Someone who drives AI-led process and service development full-time, with the CEO’s mandate and alongside business partners. This already works: we have seen it both in Saari’s own transformation and in our portfolio companies, for example at Bo LKV.

Now we are scaling this work in a coordinated way across our entire portfolio. This gives our companies a head start over small and mid-sized companies toiling alone: for example, a shared community of practitioners, shared proven practices related to agent architectures among other things, and continuous mentoring from Saari’s CDO. We want to build a new operational backbone into the companies, not a cosmetic layer on top of the old.

In private equity investing in small companies, AI is rapidly becoming a key means of value creation, so we are systematically embedding it into our companies. An AI-native operating model creates the conditions for a lasting improvement in companies’ competitiveness and performance, which is directly reflected in a company’s value. We believe this is exactly the “hands-on” value creation that Saari is built on.

We are not looking for ready-made AI change leaders – we are looking for people who will grow into them in this role. The most important things are the desire to learn, an understanding of business, and the drive to make an impact. A person suited to this role has a few years of work experience, for example in consulting or a product role, combined with strong business instincts, a hands-on approach, good interpersonal skills, systems thinking, and a genuine interest in AI.

In return, we offer a direct mandate from the company’s leadership, the opportunity to make a significant impact, continuous mentoring from Saari’s CDO, a portfolio-level community of practitioners, and competitive compensation. Through this role and what you learn in it, you will build yourself into a rare and sought-after AI-native change leader in the market.

Some of our portfolio companies are hiring already:

Safetum – AI business developer / Business AI developer

Lempi Kodinhoito – AI business developer

Korjauspartnerit – AI-kehityspäällikkö

If this role sounds interesting and like a good fit for you, we encourage you to apply directly to the open positions. More positions will open up soon at other Saari portfolio companies as well, so please follow their job openings too. More is on the way!

More information

Joonas Ojala, CDO, Saari Partners, joonas.ojala@saaripartners.fi, tel. +358 50 4641 072

Mia Sirkiä, Managing Partner, Saari Partners, mia.sirkia@saaripartners.fi, tel. +358 40 8600 240