Clearco has also lost a co-founder as another becomes interim CFO.
Clio has secured a new CFO from another Canadian unicorn, marking an executive’s second departure in recent weeks for Clearco.
Curt Sigfstead joined Clio as CFO earlier this year as the legaltech firm draws up its shopping list for a possible public market debut.
The addition of Sigfstead follows an important year for Clio, which started in 2022 with 750 employees and has annual sales of more than $ 100 million.
“As we look to 2022, you can expect to see more daring moves in our offerings. “
– Curt Sigfstead, Clio
Sigfstead brings more than 20 years of experience in technology, finance and investments. Prior to joining Clearco as CFO in April 2020, Sigfstead (who is originally from Canada) spent 22 years in Silicon Valley with JP Morgan, in his technology investment banking team. Sigfstead has worked with publicly traded companies and private companies that he helped get public.
Sigfstead is the latest addition to Clio’s growing management team. The addition of Sigfstead follows the arrival of Ronnie Gurion, former Uber and Airbnb, as COO, former Director of Lightspeed and PointClickCare, Sarah Bettencourt, becoming Director of Human Resources of Clio. The startup also recently promoted Jonathan Watson and Reagan Attle to CTO and CMO respectively.
Clio CEO and Co-Founder Jack Newton spoke to BetaKit about the importance of strengthening the Clio leadership team and bringing in experienced leaders who understand later stage growth and IPOs .
While Newton was not adamant about Clio’s IPO plans, or a timeline, he called the move a possibility and noted that Clio had “a lot of these ingredients already in place” to be returned. public “at any time”. And it’s common wisdom that you don’t buy the ingredients unless you cook the meal.
Some of those ingredients include the revenue ladder, the makeup of Clio’s board of directors, as well as the fact that the company has spent time on compliance and reporting necessary for such an endeavor.
While Clio has the revenue and the “ingredients” to take the plunge, Newton noted that the company is currently well funded after its $ 136 million funding round in April of last year, and would only be released to the public. when the time is right.
“I think organizing at large and living up to the accountability and performance expectations of a public company is a good exercise for any private company to undertake,” said Newton. “So it’s the mandate Curt will undertake over the next year and beyond that lays the foundation for Clio to become a century-old company. But many of them have the same foundations and the same components as a public company. “
Sigfstead replaces Rob Froment, longtime CFO of Clio, who is retiring after more than seven years with the Vancouver-based startup. Froment helped Clio reach its valuation of US $ 1.6 billion through multiple increases, as well as lead its acquisitions, including Lawyaw and CalendarRules.
Newtown spent the last year looking for Froment’s replacement, speaking with what he called hundreds of candidates before moving to Sigfstead.
“Clio is truly building a generational business that will transform the legal experience for everyone in the future,” Sigfstead told BetaKit. “As we look to 2022, you can expect to see bolder actions in our offerings, how we operate and how we continue to innovate on behalf of our customers. “
Sigfstead’s move from Clearco to Clio comes as the former saw one of its five co-founders leave to start a new business. Charlie Feng helped create Clearco alongside CEO Michele Romanow, Andrew D’Souza, Ivan Gritsiniak and Tanay Delima.
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“Charlie’s leadership at Clearco over the past six years has been instrumental in building the thriving business we have today,” Romanow told BetaKit. “We are delighted to see Charlie build his next startup. “
Gritsiniak, who served as vice president of finance for Clearco, took on the role of interim CFO as the company seeks a permanent replacement for Sigfstead.
“Curt was an invaluable member of our finance team, growing the department to over 20 members and helping us close two very successful fundraising rounds,” noted Romanow. “His new role shows the great strength of the Canadian technology ecosystem.
Like Clio, last year was also a major year for Clearco, which changed its name to Clearbanc and passed a valuation of $ 2 billion after two major increases. The startup also broadened its portfolio, expanded to new product lines, verticals and markets, in addition to adding new leaders, including Ruma Bose as chief growth officer in June to lead its strategy of international growth.
While not as large as Clio, Clearco’s employee count is close, with over 500 people. As of October, the company had invested more than US $ 2.5 billion globally in more than 5,500 startups on three continents.
Clio’s addition of Sigfstead comes shortly after the legaltech company expanded into the FinTech space with new payment products. At launch, Newton called Clio Payments “one of the biggest engineering and product investments” the startup has made to date.
Clio continues to hire and plans to grow to 1,000 employees by the end of 2022. Newton told BetaKit that the company is now focused on expanding its leadership team and plans to hire 200 people to all levels in the first quarter of this year only. .
Sigfstead’s addition to the Clio squad was also reported on Thursday by The Globe and Mail.
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