Bespoke Partners Creates Alliances Program and Leader Community to Boost Value Creation Amid Strong Q1
May 9, 2024 – San Diego, CA-headquartered executive search firm Bespoke Partners has announced commercial performance in the first quarter that exceeded all targets and launched its private equity-focused Alliances Program and the Bespoke Leader Community. The firm’s outperformance included winning a record number of searches to recruit executives in software and SaaS companies with private equity sponsors. “Deal flow is a chief driver of executive searches in companies backed by private equity,” said Eric Walczykowski, CEO. “Even though deal flow remains depressed, we handily beat all our commercial targets in first quarter and are on the path to another record year.”
During the first quarter, Bespoke launched its Alliances Program to curate content and services from select third-party firms that are proven to boost growth and profitability in portfolio companies.
“Our success is based on the performance of the executives we place and the clock starts ticking the moment a deal closes,” said Adelaide Maffey, vice president of strategic partnerships for Bespoke. “Value creation needs to start immediately to put the portfolio company on the path to achieving an investment thesis. That’s why we partner with firms that deliver best-in-class guidance and support to senior leaders we recruit.”
Alliance partners provide plan templates, execution guides and other best practice materials covering the full range of senior leadership roles, including CEO and GMs, finance, go-to-market roles, technology leader roles, and people and talent leader roles.
Bespoke launched its Bespoke Leader Community, a peer network of senior executives the firm has placed. “We are honored to work with the most impactful executives in the software and SaaS space,” said Morgan Kuwashima, manager of the Bespoke Leader Community. “These are leaders who have cracked the code on value creation and have led their companies to produce outsized returns for their private equity sponsors.”
Invitation-Only Network of Peers
An invitation-only network of peers, the Bespoke Leader Community offers members networking opportunities and access to a curated library of resources contributed by Bespoke alliance partners. Members also receive early access to Bespoke’s talent market trend research, a tool for effective team build-out and talent management.
Related: Bespoke Partners Launches People & Talent Leadership Recruiting Practice
“Our job does not end at placement but continues throughout the hold period and our placed executive’s tenure,” said Matt Sommi, senior vice president, private equity programs at Bespoke. “Both the new Alliances Program and the Leader Community provide unique, tailored resources and access to leadership best practices that increase the likelihood of success for the leaders we place.”
Bespoke Partners Launches Strategic Resourcing Group to Serve PE Outfits
Last year, Bespoke Partners has launched a service giving curated access to a comprehensive network of executives for private equity. The Strategic Resourcing Group (SRG) proactively provides vetted slates of actionable executives to private equity firms to accelerate recruiting of leadership talent for their portfolio companies. “You will solve your next executive leadership search before you start it,” said Eric Walczykowski, CEO. “We know the executives who can achieve an investment thesis based on our unparalleled success in private equity human capital advisory. Our curated SRG slates bring you leaders with technical skills, interpersonal skills and leadership acumen to drive your portfolio company to an on-target exit.”
The SRG service draws from Bespoke’s network of software and SaaS executives, built over a decade of working with thousands of candidates and 90 percent of the most active private equity software investors. “Private equity firms using SRG will instantly understand talent trends and availability, far in advance of others, enabling them to quickly land leaders who execute on value creation plans for portfolio companies,” the search firm said.
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, among many others, to recruit software talent and assess and evaluate teams at every stage of the investment lifecycle, from growth equity to buyout. Bespoke Partners is headquartered in San Diego, and operates other regional offices in Austin, TX, and Philadelphia.
The search firm has completed over 1,000 searches since its inception a decade ago. Its expertise includes all C-level searches across multiple functional domains, including financial officers, HR and people, marketing and technology, as well as board of directors and internal private equity operating partner searches. The firm’s expanding leadership advisory platform includes organizational due diligence as well as executive assessment and coaching.
Bespoke offers a two-year guarantee on executive placements with the company’s leadership assessment service. “If your search firm gives you only a six-month guarantee on placements, then you are working with someone that does not have your best interests at heart,” said Adam Boone, chief marketing officer at Bespoke. “We recommend moving on to work with a firm that takes your success seriously.”
Related: Bespoke Partners Adds Leaders for New Private Equity Client Services Program
Contributed by Scott A. Scanlon, Editor-in-Chief; Dale M. Zupsansky, Executive Editor; Lily Fauver, Senior Editor – Hunt Scanlon Media
