Bespoke Partners Expands Executive Team

Bespoke Partners, a leading provider of retained executive search and leadership advisory services, today announced the addition of two senior executives to its executive team.

Joining Bespoke as President is Eric Walczykowski, a technology industry veteran who has served in leadership roles in business development, sales, and marketing. Eric will drive Bespoke’s transformation from a pure executive search firm to a full-service Human Capital Advisory firm, helping to solve their clients’ most pressing talent and organizational challenges.

Mark Hood joins Bespoke as Chief Operating Officer, bringing decades of experience in operations, management, and capital market activities. Mark will build the talent and management infrastructure to scale the firm’s capacity across its service lines, while sustaining the firm’s strong 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.”

Eric most recently served as the CEO of College Baseball Match, a company that leverages big data and artificial intelligence 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. Eric will be based in San Diego.

“I am thrilled to join the Bespoke team,” Eric said. “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. We 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. 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.”

Mark most recently served as Chief Operating Officer at GlobalSCAPE, Inc. (NYSE American: GSB), where he managed day-to-day operations until the successful acquisition by TA Associates-backed HelpSystems in August 2020. Prior to this, Mark was EVP at Crossroads Systems, where he led business development, capital markets activities, and investor relations. Mark will be based in Austin.

“Bespoke has already established itself as a leader in services that produce executive leadership excellence in private equity firm portfolio companies,” Mark 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.”

About Bespoke Partners

Bespoke Partners is a retained executive search and leadership advisory firm dedicated to partnering with leading private equity firms, including Thoma Bravo, Francisco Partners, Clearlake Capital, WCAS, Insight Partners, GI Partners, Apax Partners, 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. In 2020, Bespoke Partners conducted 125+ searches and has completed 600+ searches since inception. Their search expertise includes all C-level searches, as well as Board of Directors and internal private equity Operating Partner searches. Bespoke’s leadership advisory expertise includes organizational due diligence as well as executive assessment, onboarding, and coaching. Bespoke Partners has offices in San Diego, Austin, and New York City. For more information, please visit: www.bespokepartners.com.