Bespoke Partners Names Leadership Team to Expand Human Capital Advisory Services
January 14, 2021 – San Diego, CA-headquartered executive search firm Bespoke Partners has added a new president and chief operating officer to its leadership team as it seeks ways to drive and scale its human capital advisory service offerings.
Joining Bespoke as president is Eric Walczykowski, a technology industry veteran who has served in leadership roles in business development, sales and marketing. He is charged with driving Bespoke’s transformation from a pure executive search firm to a full-service human capital advisory firm. Mark Hood joins as chief operating officer, bringing decades of experience in operations, management, and capital market activities. Mr. Hood will be expected to build the firm’s talent and management infrastructure to scale its capacity across multiple service lines, while sustaining the firm’s track record of performance, quality, and client satisfaction.
“I could not be more excited to have Eric and Mark join our team,” said Bespoke CEO Kristie Nova. “We are at an inflection point where we see a gap in our clients’ human capital needs and the solutions in the market. Eric understands our clients and the services that will be most additive. Mark brings the professional management experience to successfully grow at an accelerated pace.”
Service Integration
Mr. Walczykowski most recently served as the CEO of College Baseball Match, a company that leverages big data and artificial intelligence (AI) to help parents and players with collegiate athletic recruiting. Prior to this, he was divisional president for the Recap business unit at Deloitte through its acquisition to Thomson Reuters in 2013. Mr. Walczykowski will be based in San Diego.
“I am thrilled to join the Bespoke team,” said Mr. Walczykowski. “We have a tremendous opportunity ahead of us in integrating a set of distinctive human capital solutions that will deliver exponential value to our clients. We know that in this market where multiples are higher than ever before, accelerating the maturation of a company’s talent and organizational development programs is essential to maintaining the types of returns our clients’ limited partners expect.”
Mr. Walczykowski said the firm will become “the one-stop shop for those solutions, allowing our clients to drive greater change and value creation, early in the hold period by integrating assessment at the front end of the search process,” he said. “The diligence and maturation of a company’s management, incentive programs, and leadership development will give our clients an edge and allow them to confidently underwrite higher returns.”
Mr. Hood most recently served as COO at GlobalSCAPE Inc., where he managed day-to-day operations until the successful acquisition by TA Associates-backed HelpSystems last August. Prior to this, he was executive vice president at Crossroads Systems, where he led business development, capital markets activities and investor relations. Mr. Hood will be based in Austin, TX.
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.”
“Bespoke has already established itself as a leader in services that produce executive leadership excellence in private equity firm portfolio companies,” Mr. Hood said. “I’m excited to work with the great team at Bespoke to expand that leadership position and create even more value for our clients.”
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 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.
Contributed by Scott A. Scanlon, Editor-in-Chief; Dale M. Zupsansky, Managing Editor; and Stephen Sawicki, Managing Editor – Hunt Scanlon Media
