Steven Klooster

C-level operator (2x CEO, 1x COO, 3x CFO) with 25 years leading and investing in SaaS, AI and technology companies across Europe and the US. I combine an investor’s view of value creation — a decade in strategy consulting and private equity (ex-Warburg Pincus) — with hands-on experience running and transforming scale-ups. Transformation & turnaround: As CEO, restructured TravelBird from ~700 to ~250 people and turned it EBITDA-positive while maintaining topline; repositioned and sold Bomberbot; drove VanMoof’s gross margin per unit from negative to 30%+.Growth & commercial: Launched TravelBird’s personalisation and dynamic-packaging technology; led Bomberbot through pivot into high school segment; led revenue operations at Clarity AI.Capital & exits: Raised $400M+ in equity and debt across Series A–D; led Clarity AI through a full strategic process to a completed exit; PE sponsor on the $1B+ Ziggo IPO and WNS NYSE offerings. AI-enabled operations: Rebuilt Clarity AI’s finance and operating model around AI tooling with a human review layer: one-third fewer finance FTEs, a faster close, and a data repository that answered exit-diligence requests within 24 hours. Building teams: First senior hire in finance and operations at multiple scale-ups; built international teams and data-driven, transparent decision-making cultures. Engineer (TU Delft MSc) with a finance MBA from London Business School. Based in the New York area.