Company

Bob Morse

Board Member

Bob Morse founded Strattam Capital in 2013 and serves as Managing Partner. Previously, Mr. Morse was a Partner at Oak Hill Capital Partners, where he led the Technology Vertical and was a member of the Investment Committee. He also worked at GCC Investments, a growth private equity firm based in Boston, and Morgan Stanley Capital Partners. Bob has served on numerous private and public boards over time.

He is currently a director of Acendre, Contegix, NETSTOCK, Rock Solid Technologies, SSB Data, and Trax Group. His former directorships include: Doxim, Intermedia, Telecity Group, and ViaWest. He is also a member of the Advisory Board of the HMTF Center for Private Equity at McCombs School of Business at the University of Texas at Austin and a Board Member at Austin PBS, producer of Austin City Limits. Bob received an MBA from Stanford Graduate School of Business and a BSE from Princeton University.

Tom Tinsley

Board Member

Tom Tinsley retired as a Managing Director with General Atlantic LLC at the end of 2016 where he had served from 1999. Prior to that he was the CEO of Baan Company, NV (a General Atlantic portfolio company), and a Director at McKinsey & Company from 1978-1995.

Mr. Tinsley has served on numerous public, private, and non-profit boards. Currently, he is on the boards of 55ip, Bridgeway Capital Management, and Strattam Capital. Additionally, he is on the boards of Life Flight of Maine and the Island Institute of Maine. Mr. Tinsley earned an MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business and a BA in Politics and Theology from the University of Notre Dame.

David Grayce

Board Member

With expertise in strategic planning, operating improvement, corporate governance, and finance across sectors, David Grayce is a highly respected private equity professional and effective fundraiser with significant private equity investing and corporate governance experience in Australia, the United States and Europe.

Mr. Grayce joined Pacific Equity Partners originally in 1998 and then returned in 2007 after spending approximately a decade in the USA. Prior to Pacific Equity, David worked with Bain Capital based in the USA and focused on control investing in sectors including communications, financial services, FMCG, food, health, manufacturing, media, retail and technology. Prior to Bain Capital he worked with Bain & Company in the United States, South Africa, the United Kingdom and Australia. David currently serves as a Non-executive Director of companies including Hoyts Cinema Group, Val Morgan Advertising and ASX listed Energy Developments. He holds a law degree from Stanford University.

Jeffrey Neal

Board Member

Jeff Neal is the founding Principal for ChiefHRO, LLC. He served as a Senior Vice President for ICF from 2011 to 2019. Previously, Mr. Neal served in the Obama/Biden administration as Chief Human Capital Officer for the Department of Homeland Security and previously served as Chief Human Resources Officer (J-1) for the Defense Logistics Agency, and Deputy Chief Human Capital Officer for the Department of Commerce.

Mr. Neal is a Fellow and Director of the National Academy of Public Administration and previous Chair of the NAPA Board of Directors. He is also a Strategic Advisor to Government Executives (SAGE) for the Partnership for Public Service where he serves on the faculty for the Ready to Govern initiative, training more than 2,000 new SES members over the past several years. Mr. Neal is a widely recognized thought leader, and the author of ChiefHRO, a blog which regularly addresses federal human capital issues.

Neil Willis

Board Member

Neil Willis joined Strattam Capital in 2019 where he currently is a Principal focused on deal-sourcing, new investment activity, and portfolio company oversight. Previously, Mr. Willis worked as a Vice President at GTCR, a Chicago-based private equity firm, where he focused on cybersecurity, information services and government services and defense investments. Prior to joining GTCR, he was an Associate at Clayton, Dubilier & Rice in New York and before that, worked at Morgan Stanley.

Mr. Willis currently serves on the board of Acendre and previously served on the board of EaglePicher Technologies during his time at GTCR. He earned his BA in Economics from Dartmouth College where he graduated phi beta kappa with high-honors and his MBA from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania where he graduated as a Palmer Scholar.

Otto Berkes

Board Member

In 2019 Otto Berkes joined Acendre as CEO after serving as one of the company’s Independent Directors.  Previously, Mr. Berkes was EVP and CTO at CA Technologies where he was responsible for Operation Tensor, a three-year, company-wide business transformation initiative aimed at shifting the majority of the company’s revenues to a subscription-based model. Prior to CA Technologies, he was the EVP and CTO for HBO where he spearheaded the company’s digital transformation and was responsible for the development of the HBO GO platform. Before joining HBO, he had an 18-year career at Microsoft where, in addition to co-founding Xbox, he drove groundbreaking hardware and software innovation in computer graphics, home entertainment, mobile devices, and cloud services.

Mr. Berkes earned a BA in Physics with a minor in Music Performance from Middlebury College and an MS in Computer Science and Electrical Engineering from the University of Vermont where he is currently a trustee.  He also serves as an Advisor to Airtime and CoLabs. Otto is based in New York.

Otto Berkes

CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER

In 2019 Otto Berkes joined Acendre as CEO after serving as one of the company’s Independent Directors.  Previously, Mr. Berkes was EVP and CTO at CA Technologies where he was responsible for Operation Tensor, a three-year, company-wide business transformation initiative aimed at shifting the majority of the company’s revenues to a subscription-based model. Prior to CA Technologies, he was the EVP and CTO for HBO where he spearheaded the company’s digital transformation and was responsible for the development of the HBO GO platform. Before joining HBO, he had an 18-year career at Microsoft where, in addition to co-founding Xbox, he drove groundbreaking hardware and software innovation in computer graphics, home entertainment, mobile devices, and cloud services.

Mr. Berkes earned a BA in Physics with a minor in Music Performance from Middlebury College and an MS in Computer Science and Electrical Engineering from the University of Vermont where he is currently a trustee.  He also serves as an Advisor to Airtime and CoLabs. Otto is based in New York.

Alex Khakbiz

Managing Director

Alex joined Acendre in 2021, following the acquisition of Vacancy Filler, which he founded in 2008. He has achieved over 30 years recognition in the IT Industry, heading up development strategies for innovative and emerging technologies, leaving behind a legacy of continued growth for highly respected brands.

Alex studied for a BEng degree in Mechanical Engineering at Birmingham University and then a MSc in Robotics and Automation at Coventry University. His passion for automation took him to Loughborough University for his PhD studies in Robotics, where he invented and secured worldwide patents as well as published many research papers. He resides in Loughborough, Leicestershire UK.

Richard Thomas

Sales Director

Having over 25 years of experience in the IT sector, Richard joined Acendre in 2021. Prior to joining, Richard led sales, marketing functions for number of leading technology providers covering solutions including the Talent Management, CRM and ERP.

He spent 10 years leading sales and marketing for one of the UK’s leading HCM providers, delivering UK sales growth and also set-up the North American division and global channel programme. Richard’s passion for driving growth is equally matched by his commitment to delivering for his customers.

Based in Nottingham, Richard holds a Computer Science Degree from Nottingham Trent University and also Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM) qualification.

Scott Mitchell

Chief Financial Officer

Scott Mitchell has over 25 years of experience spanning corporate finance, accounting, financial planning, and corporate development. He joined Acendre in 2020 from Community Brands, a software and payments solution provider for non-profits, most recently serving as Vice President of Finance. Prior to Community Brands, Scott held leadership positions in various roles at Verizon, Blackboard, comScore and WealthEngine. Before moving into Finance, Scott started his career with Ernst & Young as a CPA.

He holds a BBA in Accounting from the College of William & Mary and lives in Ashburn, Virginia.

Mike Walker

CHIEF TECHNOLOGY OFFICER

Mike Walker joined Acendre in 2020, bringing over 25 years of experience in software engineering and technology leadership. Prior to Acendre, Mike held Distinguished Engineer and Senior VP titles at CA Technologies, where he worked for 10 years. During his tenure there he oversaw Data & Analytics Services, Data Architecture, and was the Chief Architect for APM. Mike also spent 17 years at Sun Microsystems and Cassatt Corporation where his roles spanned software engineering focusing on OS development and large-scale compute problems.

He holds a BS in Computer Science from California Polytechnic State University and lives in Los Altos, California.

Georgina Swann

Marketing Director

Georgina joined Acendre in 2021 and comes with over 25 years of experience in leading creative, high performance marketing teams build brands and achieve growth. Working alongside Apple, IBM, Microsoft and SAP, Georgina has been responsible for developing strategic marketing programmes to the enterprise, SMB, education and creative sectors.

She brings with her commercial and strategic know-how, coupled with a strong background in channel development, product marketing, customer-centricity and communications.

With a Diploma in marketing from University of Westminster, Georgina resides in the heart of Nottingham, UK.

Anessa Fike

GLOBAL VICE PRESIDENT, HUMAN RESOURCES

In 2021 Anessa Fike joined Acendre, bringing extensive experience creating excellent workplace cultures, strengthening employee engagement, and increasing company productivity in high-growth private equity environments. Anessa has led more than 70 companies worldwide through scaling efforts, including 15+ tech organizations.

Anessa holds an MA in English from National University and a BA in Journalism from Penn State University. She resides in Raleigh, North Carolina.

Liam Ackland

GM, APAC & Head of Global Sales Operations

Liam Ackland joined Acendre in 2003 in business development after starting his career as a recruitment consultant. He has more than 20 years of human capital technology experience and has been instrumental in the company’s successes. In addition to business development roles, Liam has served as President of North America and is currently the Managing Director of APAC and head of Global Sales Operations.

Now based in Melbourne, Liam leads the APAC region and global sales operations for the company. He holds a Business degree in Marketing and Human Resources Management from Charles Sturt University.

Mac Mirchandani

GM, Learn & Head of Global Product

In 2019 Mac Mirchandani joined Acendre to lead product strategy and management, bringing over 20 years of experience launching great software and information products and leading global product and go-to-market teams. Prior to Acendre, Mac held product management roles at PwC, Blackboard, and Corporate Executive Board (now Gartner).

Mac earned an MBA at Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business and a BS in Computer Science at University of Pittsburgh. Mac lives in Arlington, Virginia.

Dawn McAvoy

SENIOR DIRECTOR, GLOBAL MARKETING

Dawn McAvoy joined Acendre in 2021. She has more than 20 years of experience building dynamic brands and robust marketing teams that drive growth for SaaS companies. With a reputation for driving positive change, Dawn helps transform brands—not just externally—but internally as well. Prior to Acendre, Dawn led marketing for Apex Learning, Xello, and Rosetta Stone’s B2B division.

She holds an MBA from East Carolina University and a BA in English & Linguistics from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. Dawn is based in Toronto, Ontario.