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), has appointed Jeffery W Yabuki as Chairman and Founding Partner.
Yabuki 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 per cent total shareholder return during his tenure as Chief Executive Officer.
Yabuki 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 , and the Motive team, to further scale the firm while capitalising 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.
Heyvaert says: “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.”
Yabuki says: “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 five 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.”
