Infrastructure is our daily work.
We’re still active in the industry. We speak with the people doing the work, not only those looking to change jobs.
Critical infrastructureWorldwide
Hiring who leads next is hard. We make it easier.
We reach leaders beyond your network and help you assess who fits your business. Rooted in infrastructure, connected to the people and projects moving it forward.
01 / Why Cabo Norte
You know your business.
We help you question the hire.
A replacement doesn’t always need the same profile. A growing team doesn’t always need another director. And one person can’t solve every problem.
We work with you to get the role right before we take it to market. Sometimes that means confirming your direction. Sometimes it means telling you the person you’re looking for won’t solve the problem. Either way, you get an honest view before you commit to a search—and clarity on the hire your business needs.
Explore our approachWe ask what others avoid.
Does the role have the authority to deliver? Is the package realistic? Would the person you want actually want this job?
Not everything can be essential.
If a candidate had everything except one requirement, which could you let go? That’s the conversation we have before the search.
02 / Our sectors
DEPLOYING LEADERSHIP WORLDWIDEEUROPEMIDDLE EASTAFRICAASIA
Executive search across
critical infrastructure.
Cabo Norte supports board, executive and senior leadership appointments across energy, water, marine, port, digital and industrial infrastructure.
01Energy Infrastructure
Networks. Generation. Energy transition.
A strong development pipeline does not guarantee projects will reach operation. Leadership requirements change as the business moves from securing permits and grid access to financing, construction and asset management. The executive appointment needs to match where your portfolio is heading, rather than the stage your business has outgrown.
02Water Infrastructure
Resilience. Treatment. Essential networks.
What takes priority: replacing ageing networks, expanding treatment capacity or improving the performance of existing assets? The leadership challenge is allocating capital across competing needs while maintaining service. Experience making those trade-offs matters more than having worked somewhere in the water sector.
03Marine Infrastructure
Nearshore construction. Dredging. Offshore wind.
From quay walls and breakwaters to dredging and offshore wind foundations, marine construction demands decisions grounded in both civil engineering and working on water. Our focus centres on nearshore projects, where ground conditions, marine access and construction methods shape delivery and profitability. The leadership requirement is specific: experience managing comparable works, with responsibility for technical decisions, site execution and contract performance.
04Port Infrastructure
Modernisation. Capacity. Connected operations.
More quay space does not automatically mean more throughput. The constraint may sit in terminal equipment, labour deployment, yard capacity or inland connections. The right executive must identify what limits performance before committing the business to its next investment.
05Digital Infrastructure
Data centres. Connectivity. Critical facilities.
Power availability, customer commitments and delivery schedules must align before new capacity earns revenue. Developing a data centre requires different leadership experience from operating one reliably or growing its customer base. Defining that distinction early makes the search more precise.
06Industrial Infrastructure
Facilities. Transformation. Asset performance.
The business case may promise higher output, but the transition can put current production at risk. Shutdown planning, commissioning and the handover to operations determine whether an investment delivers its intended value. Accountability must extend beyond completing the project to making the upgraded plant perform.
Throughout the infrastructure lifecycle: strategy, engineering, project delivery, operations and asset optimisation.
03 / Leadership appointments
Hire your next
A title tells you where someone sits.
Not what they can handle.
Leading an established business is different from building a new market. Running one project is different from taking responsibility for an entire portfolio. The title may be the same. The demands aren’t.
We look for people who have handled comparable demands—and understand what taking on yours would mean.
Book your discovery call
04 / Our approach
How we find and assess
your next leader.
Every retained search starts with an agreed mandate: scope, responsibilities, fees and milestones. We define how sensitive information is handled, which organisations are outside the search and how we communicate and review progress.
Define the brief.
Turn the business challenge into an agreed brief: expected outcomes, essential experience, reporting line and search boundaries.
Identify and approach leaders.
Identify relevant organisations and potential leaders. Use direct outreach to explore interest and test the brief against the market.
Assess leadership fit.
Discuss candidates against the agreed criteria: relevant achievements, leadership decisions, motivation and questions still to resolve.
Support the appointment.
Support interviews and offer discussions. Clarify expectations on both sides so the final decision is based on the role as it will actually be.
Optional · Strongly recommended
Assessment and
Development Centers
Assess your top three candidates’ leadership style, management strengths and development needs—with partner psychologists and a tailored growth plan.
Understand who you’re hiring—and how to help them succeed.
A strong track record doesn’t answer every question about someone’s next role. With our partner psychologists, we assess the demands they will face in your business and the support they may need.
- Leadership beyond the interview.
Understand how someone leads people, handles disagreement and takes responsibility when decisions become difficult.
- Operational and people management strengths.
Explore where they are strongest: bringing structure to complex work, improving delivery, building teams or developing others.
- Capacity for a bigger role.
Assess how they could handle greater responsibility, larger teams or a more demanding project portfolio. Previous success doesn’t automatically mean readiness for the next step.
- Judgement under pressure.
Examine how they approach competing priorities, incomplete information and decisions with consequences for people, projects and performance.
- A development plan with a purpose.
Identify where coaching, support or broader experience could help them succeed. Give the selected candidate a clearer view of their future within your company.
- Evidence for your decision.
Get a considered view of strengths, development needs and concerns to resolve before committing. You remain the decision-maker.
The assessment can support the comparison of your final candidates, an internal promotion or the development of a recently appointed leader. The scope, methods and outputs are agreed with you and tailored to the role and your organisation’s needs.
05 / About Cabo Norte
The infrastructure experience
behind Cabo Norte.
Leadership requirements change from one infrastructure business to another. A multinational delivering a major project, a growing subcontractor and a specialist engineering firm need different capabilities. Cabo Norte brings the sector experience to understand those differences—and assess who fits.
Founded by Robin Van Santvoort in 2017, Cabo Norte draws on his more than 20 years of recruitment and talent acquisition experience across construction, engineering, energy and maritime businesses. His work spans major multinationals, main contractors, subcontractors and specialist firms, including digital construction and BIM engineering.
That background includes recruitment for a USD 3 billion waste-to-energy project and major civil infrastructure projects with combined budgets exceeding EUR 10 billion, alongside assignments for smaller businesses. It informs how we approach each search: understanding the operating environment, the responsibilities involved and what the next phase will demand from the person appointed.
Our team is based across Europe—including Belgium, the Netherlands and France—as well as India, the Philippines and Vietnam, where we have particularly strong connections at senior leadership level. This gives clients access to different talent markets and local perspectives when a search needs to extend beyond their existing network.
Today, Cabo Norte focuses exclusively on executive search for critical infrastructure. We connect that experience and international reach to one practical outcome: helping you find and assess the leader your business needs next.
Connect with Robin on LinkedIn06 / Start a conversation
The perfect candidate.
The wrong brief.
Still the wrong hire.
Let’s get clear on who your business really needs.
Book your discovery call
Prefer to talk now?
+32 (0) 468 27 82 53Monday–Friday, 09:00–17:00 CEST
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