Bespoke Partners Names Leader of Product and Technology Executive Practice
June 30, 2023 – San Diego, CA-headquartered executive search firm Bespoke Partners has appointed Ned Lanphier as partner and leader of its product and technology executive practice. “Since day one at Bespoke, Ned has displayed an unwavering commitment to deepen our expertise in technology executive recruiting and grow the business,” said Eric Walczykowski, CEO of Bespoke. “Ned brings unmatched understanding of the technology talent market, and his leadership will ensure that our technology practice will reach new heights and deliver unparalleled value to our clients.”
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.
Mr. Lanphier came to Bespoke after an 11-year career in operating roles at Yelp, Intuit, and Growlabs (acquired by AdRoll Group). “I’m honored to be part of the amazing team of executive search professionals at Bespoke Partners,” he said. “It’s exciting to bring game-changing talent to our clients and help them to transform their portfolio companies and achieve their investment thesis. Technology leaders play such a pivotal role in software and SaaS companies and I’m extremely proud of our exceptional track record.”
“It’s because of top performers like Ned that we continue to exceed client expectations each and every day,” said Mr. Walczykowski. “Our dedication to accelerating search while delivering a tailored client experience is what makes Bespoke Partners the standout executive search firm for software and SaaS.”
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.
Related: Bespoke Partners Launches Strategic Resourcing Group to Serve PE Outfits
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 Eric Walczykowski, Bespoke Partners’ CEO. “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.”
Demand for Top Talent in the Private Equity Sector Continues
While financial engineering, inorganic growth, and market expansion remain important tools in the private equity toolbox, talent has emerged as key to growing companies and achieving the investment thesis, according to a newly released report from Bespoke Partners. Yet unlike strategic assets, intellectual property, or other resources that fuel growth, talent can be notoriously difficult to optimize. Bespoke Partners’ report is designed to help private equity partners and the leaders in their portfolio companies understand essential talent market trends based on granular data from the sector.
The private equity sector is on the downside of a historic surge in deal volume, according to the Bespoke Partners’ report. “The talent market for private equity portfolio companies has experienced profound impacts from that surge as well as the pandemic-induced disruption that immediately preceded it,” the report said. “As 2022 drew to a close, the Fed’s aggressive interest rate hikes and volatility in company valuations contributed to a sharp curtailing in private equity deal volume began to ease what was the tightest talent market in recent memory. These factors form the backdrop for the trends in the talent market for private equity portfolio firms in the software and SaaS sectors.”
To read Bespoke Partners’ full Private Equity Talent Benchmark report please click here!
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: Bespoke Partners Expands Go-to-Market Practice
Contributed by Scott A. Scanlon, Editor-in-Chief; Dale M. Zupsansky, Managing Editor; and Stephen Sawicki, Managing Editor – Hunt Scanlon Media
