Bespoke Partners Launches People & Talent Leadership Recruiting Practice
September 22, 2023 – San Diego, CA-headquartered executive search firm Bespoke Partners recently launched a new people &talent leadership recruiting practice for HR leaders. The firm has named Alexandra Bossetta as a partner and leader of the new practice. “Talent is the most important lever for value creation in private equity portfolio companies. That’s why finding the best human capital leaders for these companies is mission critical,” said Eric Walczykowski, CEO. “Alex is second to none in her knowledge of the talent market and what it takes for a human resources executive to be a strategic leader in the drive toward the investment thesis.”
“She has quickly proven herself to be a trusted advisor and dependable partner for our top-tier clients in one of the most important leadership decisions they face,” Mr. Walczykowski said. “I’m beyond excited for her to lead this critical new practice for Bespoke.”
Ms. Bossetta has been with Bespoke Partners for four years and served most recently as SVP and functional lead for HR, talent, and operations searches. Prior to Bespoke, she worked as a team lead at GLG in the firm’s fastest growing segment, where she supported private equity and venture capital firms in research, deal origination, and due diligence efforts.
Ms. Bossetta has completed searches for senior talent leaders and will now focus on chief people officers, CHROs, talent partners for private equity firms, human capital operating partners, VPs of HR, and many more. Notable examples of her recruiting engagements include placing chief people officer Kimberly Sisnett at Waystar, a provider of healthcare payments software and an EQT portfolio company. Other HR placements she has led include those at Duck Creek (Apax Partners), Confluence (Clearlake Capital), TrueCommerce (WCAS), and Eptura (Thoma Bravo).
“Since I first interviewed with Bespoke, it’s been my goal to launch a practice focused on placing human capital leaders to drive growth for our clients,” said Ms. Bossetta. “It’s been rewarding to help define the talent thesis for portfolio companies through strategic human resources placements. I am honored by the trust our clients place in us as we build out exceptional teams in their companies.”
“Alex is playing a major part in defining an essential leadership trend in the industry, which is the rise of the CPO and strategic human resources,” said Mr. Walczykowski. “PE firms recognize that managing talent, fostering a high-performance culture, and encouraging engagement and growth are essential parts of executing value creation plans. CPOs and other senior human capital leaders are the stewards of these programs and Alex is at the forefront of the effort to find and place these high-impact leaders.”
Related: Bespoke Partners Launches Strategic Resourcing Group to Serve PE Outfits
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.
Recent Additions
Bespoke Partners recently brought aboard Jessica Larson and Matt Sommi to lead the firm’s new private equity client services program. These new leaders will be expected to partner with clients to tailor Bespoke’s service offerings in talent advisory, executive search, curated network access, and leadership advisory to achieve the clients’ human capital goals. “Talent is by far the most critical factor for a private equity portfolio company to achieve the investment thesis,” said Mr. Walczykowski. “Our client services program enables private equity firms to analyze their human capital needs and tune our services to maximize the impact of talent on their growth goals. Jessica and Matt bring unmatched expertise and insight to working with highly successful private equity firms to generate outsized returns.”
Bespoke Partners Names Leader of Product and Technology Executive Practice
Bespoke Partners has appointed Ned Lanphier as partner and leader of its product and technology executive practice. Previously serving as senior vice president, Mr. Lanphier has been with Bespoke Partners for four years and has been instrumental in building out the firm’s technology practice. The firm has placed more than 200 executives in top technology, product, and related operational roles. Bespoke specializes in recruiting executives for private equity backed software and SaaS companies and Mr. Lanphier has overseen numerous searches for clients including Thoma Bravo, Clearlake, PSG, and many others. He has orchestrated dozens of placements of chief product officers, chief technology officers, chief information officers, and many more technology leaders.
Ms. Larson and Mr. Sommi join Bespoke Partners as the firm recently launched its Strategic Resourcing Group (SRG), providing curated access to a talent network of the software industry’s most accomplished executives. The service cuts months off the time to recruit world-class leadership by supplying real-time visibility into the leadership talent market and on-demand introductions to actionable executives. 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 Mr. Walczykowski. “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.
Related: Demand for Top Talent in the Private Equity Sector Continues
Contributed by Scott A. Scanlon, Editor-in-Chief; Dale M. Zupsansky, Managing Editor; and Stephen Sawicki, Managing Editor – Hunt Scanlon Media
