Bespoke Partners Continues Expansion
September 10, 2020 – San Diego, CA-headquartered executive search firm Bespoke Partners has strengthened its search staff with the addition of Brian Waivada as a partner. He will be based in the firm’s New York City office.
“Brian is an experienced search leader and client manager, and we are excited to bring his knowledge and expertise to the Bespoke team,” said CEO Kristie Nova. “Our model continues to evolve as we introduce leadership advisory services into our engagements and include organizational and executive assessment in search. Brian will be an integral part of this journey as we march towards the next chapter of our growth.”
Mr. Waivada has over 20 years of combined retained executive search and in-house talent acquisition experience. During his tenure as a partner at True Search, he was instrumental in growing the firm from 30 to more than 300 employees. At True, he led a team of associates that focused on a broad range of private equity backed software searches, including CFO, COO and operating partners. Previously, he led the global talent acquisition arms for McKinsey and BlackRock. He started his early career in private equity executive search at Heidrick & Struggles and Patriarch Partners.
“I look forward to building on to the solid foundation developed by CEO Kristie Nova and the outstanding team already assembled there,” said Mr. Waivada. “Bespoke Partners is already an industry leading talent solutions provider and I believe is perfectly positioned to help drive transformational growth and provide innovative talent solutions to its clients going forward.”
Serving the PE Sector
Bespoke Partners is an executive search and leadership advisory firm dedicated to partnering with top private equity firms, including Thoma Bravo, 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.
Bespoke Partners Adds CEO of Sales Benchmark Index as Board Member
Bespoke Partners recently added Matt Sharrers, CEO of Sales Benchmark Index (SBI), as a new board member. Mr. Sharrers was appointed to help provide mentorship to CEO Kristie Nova as it relates to effectively scaling a professional services organization. “I have been tracking Matt and SBI for several years and have always been impressed with Matt’s passion and incredible vision for growth,” said Ms. Nova. “We have been very deliberate in our board member selection, and Matt’s experience in effectively scaling a professional services organization makes him a truly valuable addition to our board as we march towards $50 million in revenue.”
Last year, Bespoke Partners conducted more than 100 searches; it has completed over 500 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.
Providing a Diverse Slate of Candidates
Bespoke Partners has long been committed to diversity and inclusion. “We strive to provide a diverse slate of candidates to our clients,” Ms. Nova said. “Often what we find, especially within the CTO and CFO functions, is that women in C-level or No. 2 positions are far outnumbered by their male counterparts. The issue clearly starts before women are even in the position to be considered for an executive level role with less and less bubbling towards the top.”
Bespoke is a female founded and led business, and its diverse values are reflected in its company makeup. “We make a conscious effort to work with women and diverse candidates to mentor and coach them throughout career,” said Ms. Nova. “We help them with compensation negotiations, career pathing and introductions across our network. Ultimately, we want to stay in touch and build close relationships with high potential leaders to give the help that we can to get them into the roles they are aspiring for.”
Contributed by Scott A. Scanlon, Editor-in-Chief; Dale M. Zupsansky, Managing Editor; and Stephen Sawicki, Managing Editor – Hunt Scanlon Media
