London, September 2026 – Renovata is pleased to announce the appointment of Alan Hiddleston as VP Sales EMEA & Site Leader at StarRez, the unified platform for student housing and residential communities. Alan joins StarRez as the business strengthens its commercial presence across Europe, bringing extensive go-to-market leadership experience across enterprise software, learning technology and adjacent markets.
About StarRez
StarRez is the leading residential management platform for student housing and residential communities, trusted by more than 1,300 institutions and organisations worldwide. Built to simplify complex housing operations, the platform brings together everything from applications and room assignments to billing, resident engagement and events, helping universities and accommodation providers operate more efficiently while delivering better experiences for the communities they serve.
The role
As VP Sales EMEA & Site Leader, Alan takes on a dual leadership role spanning sales across the EMEA region alongside his responsibilities as Site Leader. He joins at a point when StarRez is strengthening its commercial presence across Europe, bringing senior go-to-market experience gained across multiple international software markets.
Alan Hiddleston
Alan is an experienced go-to-market leader with a track record spanning enterprise software, learning technology and international sales leadership. At The Access Group, he led the rebuild of the UK & Ireland sales organisation. Previously, as VP EMEA and later global sales leader at Thought Industries, he built the company’s European operation from the ground up and secured its first seven-figure contract in several years. Earlier in his career, he spent six years at D2L, helping expand the business internationally across Asia-Pacific, India and South America.
Renovata’s perspective
This senior leadership appointment called for a commercial leader with experience building sales capability across international software markets. Alan brings experience both establishing a European operation from the ground up and rebuilding an established sales organisation, alongside a broader track record of international expansion. That combination made his background particularly relevant to StarRez and the requirements of the role. His appointment is another example of Renovata identifying senior commercial leaders whose experience closely matches the priorities of the businesses they join.
“Alan has a strong track record of building commercial teams and developing new markets across enterprise software. He brings first-hand experience of building a regional business and the leadership capability that will be valuable as StarRez expands across EMEA.” — Lucy Brealy, Partner, Renovata
Building commercial strength across Europe starts with the right leadership
For global software businesses, success across Europe depends on more than taking an established proposition into new markets. It requires experienced leadership capable of navigating different commercial environments, building strong regional teams and creating the consistency needed to turn market opportunity into sustained performance. Renovata works with technology and software businesses at these stages of growth, identifying senior commercial leaders with the experience and judgement to strengthen performance across markets.
The right leader accelerates your thesis. The wrong one costs you time you don’t have.
Renovata works with PE sponsors, portfolio boards, and operating partners to place the C-suite and senior commercial talent that drives performance and holds up in a sale process. If you have a leadership gap that needs closing, start a conversation with our team.
About Renovata
Renovata is a leading boutique executive search firm specialising in C-suite and senior leadership appointments for private equity, venture capital, and enterprise-backed businesses globally. Underpinned by over 20 years of executive search excellence, we deliver across technology, digital, product, engineering, finance, and commercial functions — with particular depth in high-growth, technology-first businesses at critical stages of scale and value creation. Our retained executive search model, transatlantic reach, and senior-led process give clients consistent access to a calibre of candidate and quality of counsel that generalist firms cannot match. www.renovata.com
Contact
To discuss a senior leadership or C-suite search mandate, or to learn more about Renovata’s GTM executive search practice:
Lucy Brealy
Partner, Renovata
lucy.brealy@renovata.com