SPMB Appoints New Partners
March 5, 2019 – The private equity sector can expect to see an expanding bidding war for top talent, according to a coming research report from Hunt Scanlon Media. Driving the trend is persistent global talent shortages across the C-suite. Nearly every industry and function is affected, particularly finance, healthcare and biotech, digital and technology.
To that end, SPMB, an executive search firm in Silicon Valley, recently named two new partners, Suzanne Heske and Bianca Moreno. “SPMB has been growing rapidly with both fintech and private equity clients,” said Kevin Barry, managing partner at SPMB. “Suzanne and Bianca each bring extensive experience and strong relationships in these markets that will accelerate our growth and enable us to be even more effective with clients.”
Ms. Heske has over 20 years of experience in financial markets, including 10 years in finance sales and marketing with Merrill Lynch and Fidelity, and 10 years in finance executive search with Broadreach Group and Caldwell Partners. She has placed over 100 senior executives at financial service and fintech companies, including Aptigon Capital, Greenoaks Capital and Ironchain Capital. She is an expert on emerging topics such as blockchain and cryptocurrencies.
“Suzanne knows everyone senior in financial services,” said Steve Baum, COO at Ironchain Capital. “She has helped to strategically build out our senior management team.”
Ms. Morenojoins SPMB from Bespoke Partners, where she focused exclusively on placing senior executives at private equity-backed software companies. She previously spent time as a human capital management and organization transformation consultant with Deloitte and Booz Allen Hamilton. Ms. Moreno has partnered with top private equity firms such as GTCR, Luminate Capital Partners, TA Associates, Thoma Bravo and Warburg Pincus.
Leadership Crisis Unfolding at Private Equity Firms
“Leadership is the new bottom line for private equity operating executives seeking top talent for their portfolio businesses,” said Scott A. Scanlon, Hunt Scanlon’s founding chairman and CEO. “The PE sector is in the crosshairs of a widening war for leadership.”
To help find solutions to the growing talent problem, Hunt Scanlon is convening 300 private equity leaders, chief talent officers and executive recruiters next spring to further explore the topic of “Private Equity Recruiting: Linking Talent to Value.” PE experts will present from General Atlantic, Bain Capital, Korn Ferry, TPG, McKinsey & Company, The Carlyle Group, Caldwell, Apollo Global Management, Egon Zehnder, Hellman & Friedman, Cerberusand JM Search among others.
“Bianca is a seasoned recruiter,” said Chris Caren, CEO of Turnitin. “I have had the opportunity to work with her across several executive-level searches and I have been very impressed with her understanding of the market, as well as the high caliber of candidates that she has placed.”
Serving Silicon Valley
Silicon Valley has a social and business ethos that supports innovation and entrepreneurship. The region accounts for 225,300 high-tech jobs and has the highest concentration of high-tech workers of any metropolitan area, with 285.9 out of every 1,000 private-sector workers. Silicon Valley has the highest average high-tech salary in the U.S. at $144,800. Largely a result of the high technology sector, the San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA, metropolitan statistical area has the most millionaires and the most billionaires in the U.S. per capita.
SPMB has over 40 years of experience in technology executive search. It is the top-ranked firm in Silicon Valley, according to Forbes’ “2018 Best Executive Recruiting Firms,” and one of the nation’s leaders focused on technology. The firm’s technology roots have attracted financial services and private equity firms looking to tap into innovative tech talent in Silicon Valley and beyond. Recent SPMB clients in finance and fintech include Capital One, Coinbase, Credit Karma, Ripple Labs, Stripe and TransUnion. SPMB has also placed dozens of senior executives at the portfolio companies of leading private equity firm partners including Blackstone, KKR and TPG.
Contributed by Scott A. Scanlon, Editor-in-Chief; Dale M. Zupsansky, Managing Editor; Stephen Sawicki, Managing Editor; and Andrew W. Mitchell, Managing Editor – Hunt Scanlon Media
