Bespoke Partners Assists Zipari and Aptos Retail in CFO Searches

May 19, 2021 – San Diego, CA-headquartered executive search firm Bespoke Partners recently filled chief financial officer positions for Zipari and Aptos Retail with the placements of Matthew Crumley and David Bertolino, respectively. Vice president Katelyn Quaresma led the Zipari assignment; vice president Nick Donlan spearheaded the Aptos search.

Mr. Crumley arrives on the heels of Zipari’s strategic growth investment from leading private equity investment firm Thoma Bravo and subsequent acquisition of HealthX—both of which have enabled Zipari to extend the leading CX platform and solutions for health insurance payers and third-party administrators of all sizes. “Matthew brings more than two decades of finance and operations experience at a range of enterprises, from private-equity backed companies to global public corporations to technology start-ups,” said Mark Nathan, CEO of Zipari. “Matthew is a customer-focused CFO and brings the financial acumen and experience to take Zipari to the next level.”

Mr. Crumley is known for strategically collaborating with management teams to grow revenue efficiently with direct and channel go-to-market strategies. His software and SaaS revenue model experience comes from products and services delivering enterprise software in the cloud. Mr. Crumley has also led financial planning and analysis, corporate collaboration, debt and equity financings, business intelligence, mergers and acquisitions, SEC reporting and domestic and international corporate reporting, tax, treasury, IS/IT, customer success and HR. Mr. Crumley is currently CFO of StorageCraft Technology.

“It’s such an exciting time to join Zipari as they expand their customer experience platform,” said Mr. Crumley. “I look forward to bringing my experience in the design and implementation of IS/IT systems and business processes to deliver financial insights that will help Zipari grow while mitigating risk.”

Zipari is a modern consumer experience solution focused exclusively on transforming the digital health insurance experience from end-to-end. Zipari’s Customer Experience Platform with over 20 products modernizes digital engagement for every consumer and market segment, delivering value by growing revenue, boosting engagement, capitalizing on operational efficiencies, and improving member outcomes. Zipari now serves more than 40 million members via their payer customers and is backed by Thoma Bravo, a private equity firm, with a 40-plus year history, focused on investments in software and technology companies.

Aptos Retail

Mr. Bertolino joins Aptos at a time where the company is focused on emerging from the pandemic stronger than ever. Buoyed by its capital commitment from Goldman Sachs in March 2020 and its subsequent acquisitions of Revionics and LS Retail, Aptos is on track to reach its highest year of revenue in company history in fiscal year 2021.

Mr. Bertolino has more than 20 years of experience in international finance management and cross-functional leadership for enterprise technology companies. In his role at Aptos, he is responsible for overseeing the company’s global finance organization, including financial planning and analysis, accounting, and tax functions.

Before joining Aptos, Mr. Bertolino was chief financial officer at N3 (now part of Accenture), where he drove long-term strategic planning and analysis. Prior to N3, he held various financial leadership roles at Verint Systems. He joined Verint Systems through its acquisition of Witness Systems, where he had served as vice president corporate controller. Earlier in his career, Mr. Bertolino held leadership positions at Siemens and KPMG.

Aptos is the largest provider of enterprise software focused exclusively on retail. Its cloud-based Singular Retail solutions are used by over 1,000 retail brands in 65 countries. With omnichannel commerce and merchandise lifecycle management solutions, Aptos helps retailers develop dynamic and responsive assortments, streamline operations and deliver integrated, seamless experiences.

Serving the PE Sector

Bespoke Partners is an executive search and leadership advisory firm dedicated to partnering with top private equity firms, including Francisco Partners, Clearlake Capital, WCAS, Insight Partners, GI Partners, General Atlantic, CVC Capital Partners and TA Associates, to recruit software talent and assess and evaluate teams at every stage of the investment lifecycle, from growth equity to buyout.

Related: Talent Chiefs Emerge Among Fastest-Growing Roles in Private Equity

The search firm has completed over 600 searches since its inception in 2011. Its expertise includes all C-level searches, as well as board of directors and internal private equity operating partner searches. The firm’s leadership advisory expertise includes organizational due diligence as well as executive assessment and coaching. Bespoke Partners also has offices in Austin and New York City.

Since joining Bespoke Partners in 2015, Ms. Quaresma has placed executives across the C-Suite at public and private equity backed companies. With a focus on the finance function, she has worked with firms such as Thoma Bravo, Accel-KKR, Clearlake Capital Roper and Vector Capital in solving for crucial CFO hires. Ms. Quaresma has placed executives at companies like Bomgar, WebPT, Imprivata, T2Solutions, NetDocuments, Corel, CheetahMail, Oversight, Achieve3000, MedeAnalytics Qognify and Pluralsight.

With a focus on CEO and CFO searches for private equity-backed software companies, Mr. Donlan has helped build out executive teams at Riverbed, Imperva, Quest, Insurity, MRI Software, Paycor, ABC Financial, MeridianLink, Property Brands, and others.

Recent Placement

Bespoke Partners recently placed Impact Strategy Group founder Kristin Nimsger as operating partner at Thoma Bravo, a private equity firm with over $73 billion in assets under management. Ms. Nimsger is a proven executive leader known for driving transformation and growth. She is founder and CEO of Impact Strategy Group. During her career, Ms. Nimsger has led (as CEO and/or president) four SaaS software businesses driving outsized results for shareholders, management teams and customers.

Thoma Bravo is a private equity firm with a 40-plus year history, including over $73 billion in assets under management as of last fall, and a focus on investing in software and technology companies.

Related: Larger Funds Bring Increased Competition for Private Equity Talent

Contributed by Scott A. Scanlon, Editor-in-Chief; Dale M. Zupsansky, Managing Editor; and Stephen Sawicki, Managing Editor – Hunt Scanlon Media