Portfolio Events| September 2024
People, Legal, and Finance Leaders Gather for 2024 Summit
This September, over 60 Finance, People, and Legal leaders gathered for the 2024 Spectrum Equity Leadership Summit, a biennial event where Finance, People, and Legal leaders from the portfolio come together to share insights, collaborate, and enjoy each other’s company. Over the two days, the group participated in panels and breakout sessions with their peers, and heard from outside experts on timely topics. (They also found time to socialize over rounds of pickleball, hiking, golf, and yoga.)
If the post-event surveys (and photographs) are to be believed, the most valuable aspect of the summit was the opportunity to connect: leaders attended from 27 different companies, representing a range of size, stage, and past experiences to draw from. Below is a summary of the event’s panels, sessions, and discussion topics, all brought to life by the group’s dynamism and curiosity.
Panel: Scaling Leadership with Lucid Software
Founded in 2010 as a self-serve internet business with a big vision, Lucid Software has grown into a fully fledged enterprise software company. Three of Lucid’s senior leaders — Kat Judd (Chief People Officer and Associate General Counsel), Seamus Hennessey (Chief Financial Officer), and Cara Frisbie (General Counsel) — sat down with Spectrum Managing Director, Ben Spero to share the strategies guiding Lucid’s evolution. Read their insights here.
Ben Spero, Cara Frisbie, Kat Judd, and Seamus Hennessey on stage at Spectrum's Leadership Summit.
Expert Talks: Crisis Management & Radical Candor
Nick Shapiro of 10th Avenue Consulting drew from his extensive experience navigating high-stakes situations in “How Effective Crisis Management Can Build Trust,” fielding a range of questions from the audeince; Dan Greene from Radical Candor offered actionable advice on fostering open, constructive communication to strengthen teams and drive success in “Radical Candor: Creating a Culture of Feedback.” (Dan also joined the People leaders for a separate session on managerial development.)
Panel: Lighthouse Talks Global Growth
Lighthouse, a commercial intelligence platform for the hospitality industry, is the definition of a “global business,” serving customers in more than 185 countries, with over 700 employees in eight offices across Europe, the US, South America, and APAC. Co-founder and CFO Matthias Geeroms, General Counsel Eva Metsu, and Chief People Officer Peter De Moor took the stage with Spectrum Managing Director Steve LeSiuer to share their insights on scaling a company with intention. Read the write-up here.
Lighthouse's Matthias Geeroms (on screen), Peter De Moor, and Eva Metsu on stage with Steve LeSieur at Spectrum's leadership summit.
“Between Two Palms” with Netcraft’s Ryan Woodley
In a lively stage interview, Spectrum’s Parag Khandelwal sat down with Ryan Woodley of Netcraft to explore his unique perspective as an investor-turned-operator. Ryan reflected on his transition from the investment world, how his experience as an investor shaped his decision, and how both executives can foster productive relationships with their investment partners.
Ryan Woodley and Parag Khandelwal answer audience questions
Break-out sessions
Smaller breakout sessions addressed function-specific challenges and topics. For the Finance leaders, breakouts included a session on AI/ML, led by George Casey of RSM, offering pragmatic guidance on leveraging emerging technologies, and a spotlight on innovative finance tools used by the leaders in attendance. Legal leaders explored high-stakes issues like antitrust with Joshua Holian of Latham & Watkins and gained boardroom perspectives with veteran tech executive Kathleen Philips and Spectrum MD and General Counsel Leah Palmer. People leaders dove into benchmarking data and discussed emerging priorities, guided by insights from Emily Markmann of The Knot Worldwide, Nikki Facchini of Origami Risk, and Spectrum Head of Talent Coley Florance.
Thank you to everyone who joined us for the 2024 Spectrum Equity Leadership Summit — as always, it was inspiring to see such a dynamic exchange of ideas and experiences. We’re excited to keep the momentum going and look forward to connecting throughout the year via our portfolio communities, roundtables, and workshops.
Content contained in this blog post is not intended to and does not constitute investment advice. Your use of the information in this blog post and materials linked is at your own risk. Spectrum Equity does not make any guarantee or other promise as to any results that may be obtained from using this content. No one should make any investment decision without first consulting his or her own financial advisor and conducting his or her own research and due diligence. Past performance is not indicative of future results, and there is a possibility of loss in connection with an investment in any Spectrum Fund. To the maximum extent permitted by law, Spectrum Equity disclaims any and all liability in the event any information, commentary, analysis, and/or opinions prove to be inaccurate, incomplete or unreliable, or result in any investment or other losses. The specific companies identified above does not represent all of Spectrum’s investments, and no assumptions should be made that any investments identified were or will be profitable.