Jeff Yabuki joins Motive Partners as Chairman and will Co-lead the Firm
Yabuki joins as Chairman and will co-lead Motive Partners with Founder and Managing Partner, Rob Heyvaert
Yabuki's appointment bolsters the Motive leadership team with renowned and extensive expertise on investing, operating and innovating in financial technology as the firm seeks to capitalize on the $9.6 trillion market opportunity over the coming decade
Yabuki joins Motive on the heels of the firm's strategic partnership with Apollo Global Management, supporting the firm's growth and integrated approach to investing in financial technology
New York and London, September 21, 2021 – Motive Partners ("Motive"), a specialist private equity firm focused on control-oriented growth equity and buyout investments in software and information services companies that serve the financial services industry ("financial technology"), announces the appointment of Jeffery W. Yabuki ("Jeff") as Chairman and Founding Partner. Jeff joins Motive having been Chief Executive Officer of Fiserv, Inc ("Fiserv"), a global payments and financial services technology company, enabling banking, commerce and the movement of money among financial institutions, businesses and consumers, from December 2005 to July 2020, and also served as Chairman from July 2019 to December 2020. Jeff led the company through a strategic transformation including significant acquisitions and divestitures almost tripling revenue, dramatically increasing operating margin and earnings, and delivered a 969% total shareholder return during his tenure as Chief Executive Officer.
Jeff joins Motive at a pivotal point in the firm's growth journey which follows Motive's strategic partnership with Apollo Global Management, Inc. (NYSE: APO). Motive's integrated operating model, combining investors, operators and innovators, is a core tenet of the firm's strategy and focus on financial technology. Jeff's appointment will see him working in partnership with Founder and Managing Partner, Rob Heyvaert ("Rob"), and the Motive team, to further scale the firm while capitalizing on the significant financial technology market opportunity over the coming decade, by combining capital with operating and innovating capabilities to transform and grow businesses to enhance performance.
Rob Heyvaert, Founder & Managing Partner at Motive Partners commented: "Jeff is one of the most respected and accomplished business leaders in our industry and we are excited to welcome him to Motive Partners. Jeff's ability to identify industry trends and execute against the opportunity, to drive growth at scale, and to identify and work with leading talent will be of tremendous value to our firm. The deepening of my partnership with Jeff is the continuation of our strategy; bringing world-class and proven leaders into our business as we continue to execute on our investment strategy at scale."
With Jeff's experience in scaling one of the world's most renowned financial technology business, including a career of extensive mergers, acquisitions and divestitures, complex integrations, organizational design and talent acquisition, product innovation, cost-saving programmes and capital allocation, Jeff will assume the position of Chairman and Founding Partner, working with the Motive leadership team to continue delivering on the existing investment strategy, while supporting the scaling and institutionalization of Motive's integrated operating model. The combination of Jeff's industry knowledge and access alongside Rob's expertise should enable even more success in the origination of proprietary dealflow and the execution of Motive's integrated investor, operator and innovator model.
Jeff Yabuki, Chairman and Founding Partner at Motive Partners commented: "We are in the early stages of a technology-based transformation which I believe will have a profound impact on the way people and businesses engage in financial services over the short, mid and long-term. The scale of innovation and change we will experience over the next 5 years will dramatically overshadow what we saw in the last decade. Having known and worked with Rob for more than a decade, I know that Motive brings a mindset of strategic differentiation, accelerated innovation and the focused leadership necessary to standout in this exciting time in financial technology. I am thrilled to be part of the team and look forward to driving results for the firm, our portfolio companies and their end-customers."
saar dietvorst
About Motive Partners
Motive Partners is a specialist private equity firm focusing on growth equity and buyout investments in software and information services companies based in North America and Europe and serving five primary subsectors: Banking & Payments, Capital Markets, Data & Analytics, Investment Management and Insurance. Motive Partners has offices in New York City and London, and brings differentiated expertise, connectivity and capabilities to create long-term value in financial technology companies.
More information on Motive Partners can be found at www.motivepartners.com
Biography - Jeff Yabuki
Jeff Yabuki is the Former Chairman and CEO of Fiserv, Inc. (NASDAQ: FISV), a global leader in financial services and payments technology, enabling banking, commerce and the safe and secure movement of money among financial institutions, businesses and consumers. Yabuki served as its’ Chairman from July 2019 to December 2020; and its’ Chief Executive Officer and a member of the Fiserv Board of Directors from 2005 through June 2020.
Under his leadership, the company transformed from a traditional holding company into an integrated operating company focused on driving purposeful innovation to deliver best-in-class financial and payments software, services and solutions that enable financial services and payments experiences at the point of thought.
A member of the FORTUNE 200, Fiserv had $14.4 billion in revenue in 2019, and was recognized in 2020 among FORTUNE® World's Most Admired Companies for an eighth consecutive year and twelve of the last thirteen years. Under Yabuki’s leadership the company nearly tripled revenue through the end of 2019 and achieved a total shareholder return of 969%.
Since 2005, the company has grown through a combination of internal investments and strategic acquisitions. Yabuki led the acquisition of First Data in 2019, expanding the company’s ability to deliver differentiated value to its clients through market-leading fintech and payments solutions for financial institutions, merchants, businesses and consumers.
Prior to joining Fiserv, Yabuki was Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer at H&R Block for more than six years. Before H&R Block, he held a progression of leadership positions during 12 years at American Express culminating in serving as CEO of American Express Tax and Business Services. Prior to that, he spent several years in public accounting and is a CPA.
Yabuki is currently a member of the Board of Directors for Royal Bank of Canada (TSX: RY and NYSE: RY), and is the Chairman of Sportradar, AG. He was previously a director of Petsmart and MBIA and is a trustee and member of the executive committee of the Milwaukee Art Museum.
Disclaimer
The information contained in this press release is provided for informational and discussion purposes only and is not, and may not be relied on in any manner as, legal, tax or investment advice or as an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any securities.
