You're seeing this page as if you were . The main menu is still yours, though. Exit from immersion
Barbara Den BakBD

Barbara Den Bak

Fractional CMO | Brand & Growth Strategist

€950/day
Amsterdam, NL
15+ years

Average response time: 1 hour

About Barbara

I help brands find their edge and translate it into growth.

As a Fractional CMO and Brand & Growth Strategist, I work with founders, scale-ups, and hospitality or lifestyle brands that are ready to sharpen their positioning, accelerate growth, and build brands that truly resonate.

Over the past years, I’ve founded and scaled multiple brands and held executive roles in fast-growing companies. My experience spans brand strategy, go-to-market strategy, customer experience design, and marketing leadership. I combine strategic thinking with hands-on execution to turn ideas into clear plans and tangible results.

I’m often brought in when companies need:
• A clear brand strategy or repositioning
• A go-to-market strategy for new products or concepts
• A Fractional CMO to lead marketing and growth
• A stronger customer experience or brand story
• Strategic support during scaling or transformation phases

My background as both a founder and marketing leader allows me to move quickly between strategy and implementation. I understand the realities of building businesses and focus on solutions that are both creative and commercially viable.

I particularly enjoy working with hospitality, lifestyle, wellness, and consumer brands, but I also support ambitious scale-ups looking to define their brand and accelerate growth.

If you're looking for a strategic partner who combines brand thinking, growth strategy, and entrepreneurial experience, I’d love to connect.
  • Dutch

    Native or bilingual

Can work on-site
Amsterdam (up to 50km)

Experience

  • Kaer | Transformational Hospitality
    Founder & CEO
    HEALTH AND WELLNESS
    January 2022 - Today (4 years and 6 months)
    Responsible for the overall brand and experience strategy, translating the Kaer Method into coherent guest journeys, service design principles and spatial concepts across physical and digital touchpoints. Act as strategic lead on experience ecosystem design, guiding multidisciplinary teams from vision and positioning to implementation, and facilitating strategic workshops to align brand narrative, experience principles and commercial objectives. Currently developing scalable hospitality blueprints for future destinations within the Kaer Collection.
    Hospitality Industry Brand Strategy Workshops Facilitation Entrepreneurship Business development
  • Urban Gym Group
    Chief Development Officer & Shareholder
    HEALTH AND WELLNESS
    January 2020 - January 2022 (2 years)
    Joined Urban Gym Group following the successful exit of High Studios, taking on a strategic leadership and shareholder role within the group. Directed innovation and brand growth across a 25+ location portfolio including TrainMore, ClubSportive, and High Studios. Launched new product formats and an internal academy while aligning the company's multi-brand strategy during a phase of rapid expansion.
    Brand Strategy Product Market Fit Product Strategy Branding Concept Development
  • HIGH STUDIOS
    Founder & CEO
    HEALTH AND WELLNESS
    January 2015 - January 2020 (5 years)
    Launched the Netherlands' first boutique fitness brand, merging design, music, and performance into a high-energy concept. Scaled the brand nationally with five stand-alone studios and twelve shop-in shops across the Netherlands, building a strong community and premium market position. Successfully exited through acquisition by Urban Gym Group, later joining the leadership team to drive innovation and brand integration across the wider portfolio.
    Branding Brand Strategy Conceptontwikkeling Fitness Entrepreneurship

Recommendations

Be the first to recommend Barbara

Help this freelancer shine by sharing your experience working together.

These freelancer profiles also match your criteria

AgathaA

Agatha Frydrych

Backend Java Software Engineer

4.7

(3)

2

BaptisteB

Baptiste Duhen

Fullstack developer

4.6

(4)

5

AmedA

Amed Hamou

Senior Lead Developer

4

(2)

7

AudreyA

Audrey Champion

Web developer

4.3

(3)

4

Education

  • & COMMUNICATION
    HBO
    1999
    & COMMUNICATION

Skill set

Categories