ON Partners is proud to have collaborated with SmartBear in finding the organization’s Chief Revenue Officer.
LastPass
CASE STUDY.
Amy Appleyard
Amy Appleyard joins LastPass as Chief Sales Officer
SETTING THE STAGE
LastPass, a $200M fast-growing security company privately backed by Francisco Partners as the global leader in zero-knowledge password management, recently built its executive leadership team through the guidance of new CEO, Karim Toubba.
A big priority in Toubba’s strategic plan included the addition of a new Chief Sales Officer to lead its sales organization into the next phase of growth, continuing to bolster global sales performance and contributing to customer satisfaction.
Key Client Contact
Karim Toubba
Chief Executive Officer of LastPass
THE ASSEMBLED TEAM
Aaron Clark
Partner
Tindall (Sewell) Hein
Partner
“This was a perfect example of teamwork and persistence,” said Aaron Clark, partner at ON Partners. “We identified the right candidate for the role and tried multiple times to engage her in conversation. Once she discovered Karim Toubba had joined as CEO, she quickly communicated her excitement as she had heard positive reviews of his leadership style and experience.”
CRAFTING THE SOLUTION
LastPass partnered with ON Partners in this CSO search based on the executive search firm’s long tenure identifying sales leaders for growing software and cybersecurity companies within the private equity space.
With over 100 executive sales search appointments for leading private equity funds completed by partners Aaron Clark and Tindall Hein, ON was positioned strongly in the market to identify, evaluate and filter through the most experienced candidates for the CSO role.
Through weekly check-in meetings with LastPass to ensure team alignment and direction, along with daily interviews and a thorough candidate vetting process, ON secured the best candidate for the role within 100 days.
The Result
Amy Appleyard, an strategic sales leader with demonstrated success overseeing cross-functional teams to improve the customer experience, drive sales, and increase retention in SaaS-based sales organizations, was selected for the Chief Sales Officer role.
Appleyard has held key roles in several cybersecurity companies, serving as Senior Vice President of Global Sales for Malwarebytes and Vice President of Sales for the Commercial division of VMware Carbon Black.
Additionally, she held Vice President of Sales roles at GoTo, formerly LogMeIn, first for the Identity and Access Management business unit, where she was responsible for the LastPass go-to-market organization, and then for the Communications and Collaboration line of business.
“Amy has a proven track record of unifying the customer journey across all inside and outside sales avenues while improving the customer experience,” said Karim Toubba, CEO at LastPass.
“Based on her experience in driving high-growth sales organizations combined with her passionate advocacy for diversity in sales and leadership teams, Amy will play an essential role at LastPass. We look forward to her contributions in elevating our brand and supporting our continued growth.”
Closing Word
“In this new role, I’m excited to work with LastPass’ seasoned leadership team to accelerate global growth and streamline solutions for our customers,” said Amy Appleyard. “With the cybersecurity industry rapidly changing, LastPass continues to elevate its offerings and adapt to new customer needs, and I’m committed to our mission of delivering digital security for all.”
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