Chief Product Officer

Transform world-class innovation into a scalable technology business

Chief Product Officer | Createc | Cockermouth, Cumbria

REPORTING TO:
Chief Executive Officer

LOCATION:

Cockermouth Cumbria, hybrid

WORKING PATTERN:
Full-time

Rullion Executive Search is working in partnership with Createc to appoint a Chief Product Officer. Createc has spent the last 15 years developing advanced technologies across robotics, AI, sensing, imaging and complex engineering. With multiple King's and Queen's Awards, world-first innovations and sustained growth, the business is ready for its next chapter.

Rullion Executive Search has been exclusively retained to seek for a commercially minded Chief Product Officer to help Createc move from a consultancy and project-led technology business towards a product-led company built around scalable solutions, commercially exploited IP and recurring revenue.

This is not a traditional CTO role.

It is a rare opportunity to shape the direction of an award-winning technology company and determine how exceptional innovation becomes sustainable commercial success.

The opportunity

Reporting directly to the CEO and operating as part of Createc's senior leadership team, you will own the technology and product portfolio strategy. You will help determine where the business invests its time, capability and capital, balancing market opportunity with evidence, risk, funding and delivery capacity.

You will work across four major technology initiatives:
Radiation Intelligence, Mobile Robotics, Manipulation and Digitised Environments. The technology and talent already exist. The challenge is to turn those capabilities into scalable products, repeatable services and long-term commercial growth.

The questions you will answer

• Which technologies should Createc invest in?

• Which customer problems are worth solving?

• Which ideas should become products?

• Which initiatives should be accelerated, reshaped or stopped?

• How can Createc create recurring revenue from its technology portfolio?

What you'll be doing

• Define and communicate Createc's company-wide technology and product strategy.

• Bring multiple initiative roadmaps together into one coherent portfolio and technical vision.

• Lead investment prioritisation, portfolio governance and evidence-based stop, start and continue decisions.

• Commercialise intellectual property, products and services through credible routes to market.

• Drive the transition from bespoke project work towards differentiated, repeatable and scalable offerings.

• Build the product maturity, infrastructure and commercial discipline required to scale.

• Coach senior leaders across Software & AI, Robotics, Product & Design and Physics.

• Work closely with Commercial, Operations, Finance and the Board to align market pull with technical opportunity.

• Create a culture of accountability, constructive challenge and confident decision-making.

Who Rullion Executive Search and Createc are looking for

The search is focused on a leader with a proven ability to commercialise innovation, rather than simply invent it. You may currently be a Chief Product Officer, VP Product, Product Portfolio Director, Technology Strategy Director, Product Commercialisation Director or Head of Product & Technology.

What matters most is a demonstrable record of turning strong technical capability into products and services that customers repeatedly buy.

Your experience may include

• Taking R&D outputs from customer need to commercial product.

• Scaling B2B software, industrial technology, hardware or multidisciplinary deep-tech products.

• Building recurring revenue through product, service, subscription or licensing models.

• Commercialising intellectual property and improving routes to market.

• Managing a portfolio of…