Less than three weeks after announcing that it is being acquired and split up, global IT training and certification vendor CompTIA is starting the process of finding and bringing on a new CEO who will head CompTIA’s soon-to-be-separated non-profit IT trade association.
The acquisition was unveiled on November 4 and will split the organization into a for-profit business unit that retains the CompTIA identity and a separate non-profit 501(c)(6) trade association that will be given a new name. CompTIA’s for-profit business is being acquired by two private equity firms in the deal, H.I.G. Capital and Thoma Bravo. The transaction is expected to be completed in 2025.
The new CEO for the trade association will succeed Todd Thibodeaux, CompTIA’s current president and CEO, who will move over to lead the for-profit certification and training company that is being acquired by private equity buyers.
“The association is looking for someone who can connect with members and leaders in the broader industry to define and implement an impactful vision for the future of the organization,” Thibodeaux told ChannelE2E as the CEO search begins. “They could come from either the IT channel, the association world, or a combo of both. In either case, they will need to be a great leader, have experience building and growing communities, embrace change and challenges, and have experience leading and managing a Board of Directors.”
Thibodeaux declined to comment on his new role piloting the certification and training part of the business, but added that he is helping in the search for a new CEO for the trade association as it is split off.
“I am assisting the committee in their work, coordinating the collection and evaluation of candidates, but the ultimate decision rests solely with the search committee,” said Thibodeaux.
The CEO Search Committee Gets to Work
The committee to find the new CEO for the non-profit trade association is being chaired by Scott Barlow, who serves as the vice chairman of the existing CompTIA Board and as the global vice president of MSP and Cloud Alliances for security software vendor Sophos. Barlow has been a member of the CompTIA board since 2015. Interestingly, Sophos was acquired in March 2020 by Thoma Bravo, one of the private equity companies involved in the CompTIA acquisition.
Also on the search committee is Jason Magee, the former CEO of ConnectWise, which was acquired by Thoma Bravo in 2019. Magee worked at ConnectWise for almost 14 years in roles ranging from CEO to president, chief operating officer, vice president of worldwide channels and alliances, and vice president of worldwide channel sales.
Other search committee members are Toni Clayton-Hine, who has been a member of the CompTIA board since May of 2016 and is the chief marketing officer for professional services accounting firm EY, and former CompTIA Member of the Year John Tippett, who has worked since 2021 as the chief operating officer for Cytracom, which provides SMB communications services for MSPs. The search is being administered by Association Strategies, Inc., of Alexandria, VA.
The committee is searching for CEO candidates who possess a proven ability to lead and drive consensus, who have a global perspective and curiosity, and who can create consistent, sustainable visions and strategies for engagement. Also important to the committee are candidates who are strongly motivational and outstanding communicators while also showing a bias toward outreach and building relationships. Candidates must also demonstrate the capacity to turn complex challenges into simple strategies while possessing an awareness of maintaining momentum toward outcomes and showing the ability to thrive in a constantly changing environment. Experience with charitable giving and philanthropy is also being sought in the right candidate, the committee said.
CompTIA’s Rich History
CompTIA began in 1982 and was originally called the Association of Better Computer Dealers (ABCD), according to Wikipedia. The name was changed later to the Computing Technology Industry Association.
CompTIA calls itself a powerful voice and advocate for the $5 trillion global information technology ecosystem and for the estimated 75 million industry and tech professionals who work in the industry. CompTIA provides vendor-neutral education, training, certifications, philanthropy, and market research on a wide range of technology topics, including cybersecurity, new and emerging technologies, legislation and policies affecting the industry, and more. CompTIA also maintains a robust partner program worldwide, working with thousands of academic institutions, not-for-profits, job corps centers, and other organizations to advance the technology industry.
ChannelE2E and MSSP Alert are media partners of CompTIA.
