Artico Search Recruits Chief Operating Officer for Capitolis
May 9, 2025 – Mercedes Chatfield-Taylor of Artico Search have assisted in the recruitment of Amol Naik as chief operating officer of financial technology company Capitolis. “Capitolis has been growing rapidly, and we have been looking for the right operational leader to help us scale and support further growth in our business,” said Gil Mandelzis, founder and CEO. “Amol has a proven track record of delivering impact and innovation in the financial industry, and his extensive experience in financial resource optimization and in building and scaling a fintech company will be invaluable as we continue our rapid growth. We are excited to have Amol join our team, and I look forward to his contributions to Capitolis.”
Mr. Naik is a seasoned financial services leader and a builder of world-class teams, bringing over 25 years of experience in strategic, operational, financial, and risk management roles across private and public fintech and global financial services firms. Most recently, he served as COO at Pagaya, where he helped build and scale the company through a successful public company transaction. Prior to that, Mr. Naik served a 23-year career at Goldman Sachs where he was a partner. Over the years, he held various global roles in the U.S., Europe, and APAC, redesigning the firm’s financial resource management process, leading operational strategy efforts, and driving the implementation of major technology initiatives.
In his new position with Capitolis, Mr. Naik will be responsible for managing the company’s day-to-day operations, driving company-wide execution against the firm’s business strategy.
“I am thrilled to join Capitolis as we accelerate towards our next phase of growth, building a scalable, sustainable, and robust business,” said Mr. Naik. “This is an extremely innovative, agile, and client-driven company. I have been impressed by the people, the investors, and the market opportunity. As COO, I look forward to fostering collaboration, driving results, and delivering solutions to clients in a cohesive way that helps address their challenges.”
Headquartered in New York City, Capitolis is the technology company creating safer and more vibrant financial markets by unlocking capital constraints and enabling greater access to more diversified capital and investment opportunities. Capitolis is backed by world class venture capital firms, including Canapi Ventures, 9Yards Capital, SVB Capital, Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), Index Ventures, Sequoia Capital, Spark Capital, and S Capital, as well as leading global banks such as J.P. Morgan, Citi and State Street.
With offices in San Francisco, New York, and Austin, TX, Artico is off to one of the fastest starts among boutique search firms in recent memory. Given the billions of dollars flowing into venture capital and private equity investments, as well as the ever-present threat of cybersecurity breaches, the founders expect continued growth ahead. Ms. Chatfield-Taylor has completed over 75 CEO searches as well as partner, principal, and other CXO level assignments for the world’s most successful global investors.
Related: Artico Search Fills Position for Next47
Ms. Chatfield-Taylor’s team focuses on executive-level search for scale-up venture capital and private equity-firms and their portfolio. The team has deep expertise in AI, software, data and emerging technology businesses.
Recent Search
Artico Search recently assisted in the recruitment of Mike Heller as partner with Floodgate. “It’s been over a decade since we’ve added a new partner at Floodgate,” Mike Maples said in a LinkedIn post. “Mike Heller checks every box we care about, as an investor, a human, and a co-conspirator for top .1% founders.”
Leading and Scaling with Talent
Talent has become the cornerstone of value creation in private equity, shaping the success of portfolio companies and driving superior returns. As traditional levers like financial engineering and cost optimization face diminishing returns, private equity firms are increasingly focused on leadership and operational excellence to unlock growth. The role of talent leaders has never been more critical—they are the architects of transformative strategies, aligning people and processes to maximize organizational potential and achieve sustainable scalability.
Hunt Scanlon Media is convening hundreds of operating partners, chief talent officers, and executive recruiters at the Harvard Club in New York on May 15, 2025. We will examine the vital role talent professionals play in driving value creation—from shaping investment strategies and operational initiatives to fostering leadership excellence and organizational growth.
Mr. Heller is a seasoned go-to-market (GTM) and sales leader turned early-stage investor with deep experience in both operational and advisory roles. He has previously held positions as Expert in Residence at First Round Capital and Venture Partner at Angular Ventures. Prior to investing, Mr. Heller built and scaled revenue functions at startups like Clearbit—where he was the first GTM hire and helped grow ARR 30x—as well as holding sales leadership roles at Whimsical, Dropbox, and across various international markets with Prep Zone Academy. Over the past few years, he has also advised 30+ early-stage startups on GTM strategy, positioning, and growth.
Floodgate is a venture capital firm that focuses on early-stage investments, particularly in seed and pre-seed rounds. Based in the San Francisco Bay Area, the firm is known for backing startups at their formative stages, often before product-market fit has been established. Floodgate has invested in a range of technology companies across sectors and is recognized for its hands-on involvement with founders during the earliest phases of company building.
Related: Artico Search Completes Search for Cowboy Ventures
Contributed by Scott A. Scanlon, Editor-in-Chief and Dale M. Zupsansky, Executive Editor – Hunt Scanlon Media
