Daversa Partners Extends Senior Management Team
February 1, 2024 – Daversa Partners, which helps build leadership teams for growth and venture-backed companies, has appointed Will Brewster as the firm’s newest partner. “With a track record spanning over a decade in executive recruiting, Brewster’s promotion to the company’s partnership indicates a significant milestone for the company,” Daversa Partners said. “The elevation of Will to our partnership is a pivotal moment for this firm,” said Peter Baiocco, partner at Daversa Partners. “It’s been an honor to guide Will over the past ten years, and witnessing his steadfast dedication, unwavering pursuit of excellence, and exponential growth has been nothing short of inspiring. His ability to face difficult challenges head-on coupled with his relentless drive for innovation has played a key role in propelling our firm’s fintech practice forward. With his wide-ranging expertise and visionary approach, there is no doubt that he will continue to sculpt the future success of our firm.”
Since joining Daversa Partners in 2013, Mr. Brewster has been instrumental in shaping the executive teams for global technology companies. His primary focus is searches for Daversa’s fintech practice, an internal initiative he helped cultivate and leads.
Mr. Brewster’s portfolio spans clients across a broad spectrum of the fintech landscape, from digital banking and payments to blockchain and lending, and financial infrastructure and security. He has helped recruit leadership teams at companies such as ConsenSys, Alloy, Blockdaemon, At-Bay, Upgrade, Stash, and Varo. Throughout his career, Mr. Brewster has worked across numerous functions including sales, product, marketing, finance, and operations. These placements range from VP to C-level positions for businesses at all stages – from those in their ideation phase to those commanding multi-billion dollar valuations on the public markets. His work extends from San Francisco to New York, and to London as well.
“The honor of stepping into the role of partner at Daversa Partners is truly humbling,” Mr. Brewster said. “My journey here has been an incredible one, filled with immense growth, endless learning, and unparalleled access to some of the most disruptive technology companies in the world. Over the past decade, the countless opportunities and challenges that have come my way have shaped my career, and the unwavering support from my mentors and colleagues continues to fuel me. This new role is a thrilling opportunity to continue pushing the boundaries of what we can achieve. I am excited to contribute even more to our firm’s success and continue to help build the most important companies of our generation in this next chapter.”
Talent Will Decide Who Wins in Today’s Tech Revolution
Technology has always been a major disruptor of business. Historically, innovations like electricity, the telephone, the typewriter, and of course computers have all resulted in work getting done more quickly and efficiently. In recent years, however, technological change has been faster and more expansive than ever before, reaching beyond just the tech giants and impacting all kinds of businesses. It has been so swift, in fact, that many leaders were caught short, only now grasping its significance and what it will mean for the future of their companies. So it is that finding talent in data, artificial intelligence, and software-defined products, among other areas, has become imperative across virtually every sector. And executive search firms that have been quick to capitalize on this need and develop expertise and establish deep relationships have become key players in ushering in this new era and helping determine what businesses will ultimately win the day.
“What’s happened is that there has been a seismic change in industry, but there has not been a seismic change in process,” said Paul Daversa, founder and chief executive officer of Daversa Partners, which helps build leadership teams for growth and venture-backed companies. “The executive search industry was founded in 1926. It’s almost a 100 years old. It’s $12 billion dollars in annual TAM and the parochial processes by what has been evolved for traditional companies has rarely if ever been changed.”
Daversa Partners was founded in 1993. Its global footprint spans two continents and eight offices, giving its teams visibility into the entirety of the market. Daversa is dedicated to developing meaningful relationships with entrepreneurs, executives, and investors across consumer and enterprise businesses. In addition to its primary location in Westport, Conn., the firm has offices in New York; San Francisco; Washington, D.C.; Orlando, FL; London; and Waterford, Conn. where the firm maintains a data and people analytics facility.
Recent Promotion
In December, Daversa Partners named Katie Fischer as a partner. Ms. Fischer has been a part of Daversa Partners since 2011, serving as a member of the firm’s expansive product and engineering practice in New York. Her portfolio includes the placement of over 250 product and engineering executives across the consumer and B2B landscape encompassing a diverse array of sectors such as healthcare, fintech and payments, insurtech, crypto, gaming, cybersecurity, climate and clean tech, ecommerce, and edtech. Ms. Fischer has worked with companies such as Octave, Onetrust, GlossGenius, Auctane, and Wealthsimple, among others.
“Daversa Partners’ success story would be incomplete without Katie’s unwavering dedication, commitment, innovative mindset, and transformative leadership that she has consistently demonstrated over the past 12 years,” said Laura Kinder, president of Daversa Partners. “From the moment Katie joined this firm, her spark was palpable; she possesses a charismatic presence that invigorates any room and continually inspires both her clients, candidates, and team to strive for excellence. As a mentor and a leader, Katie’s impact at Daversa has been profound. Her drive is relentless, her potential limitless, and I eagerly anticipate witnessing the remarkable heights she will reach in her new capacity as partner.”
Related: Meet the New Female Powerbrokers in Tech Recruiting
Contributed by Scott A. Scanlon, Editor-in-Chief; Dale M. Zupsansky, Executive Editor; Lily Fauver, Senior Editor – Hunt Scanlon Media
