BuildGroup Announces Craig Kennedy as Managing Director and Partner

Kennedy to apply private and public market expertise to drive firm growth

AUSTIN, Texas–(BUSINESS WIRE)–BuildGroup, a SaaS investment firm with $368 million in assets under management, announced today Craig Kennedy has joined the firm as managing director, where he is partnering with BuildGroup CEO Lanham Napier and team to invest in private and public SaaS companies while expanding assets under management.

Prior to joining BuildGroup, Kennedy spent 15 years at Allen & Company LLC, a privately-held merchant bank, where he served as managing director working with the firm’s most disruptive technology clients and serving as a long term board advisor to multiple clients. Before joining Allen & Company, Kennedy spent five years as director of Banc of America Securities’ Media and Telecom Group and four years as a merchant banker at Gleacher NatWest.

“Adding a partner is no easy task,” Napier said. “Successful investing is about the intersection of multi-decade, trusted relationships, capital markets expertise, operating knowledge and investing. Craig has all of that.”

Leveraging a 25-year career in the private and public markets, Kennedy brings his expertise and deep relationships to sourcing and growing BuildGroup’s private equity and PIPE investment portfolio of companies, especially in the southeastern U.S.

“At its core, BuildGroup is an organization of proven CEOs and operators that offers a unique investment strategy for SaaS entrepreneurs looking to scale their businesses with a thoughtful approach,” Kennedy said. “Our focus is on using our expertise, experience and long-term relationships, along with our proprietary playbook to help entrepreneurs build market-leading SaaS companies. Lanham’s superpower is in creating and managing hyper-growth SaaS companies, and his skill set and track record—growing Rackspace from $1 million to $1.5 billion in revenue—resonates with the billionaire owner-operators that I have been fortunate to work with throughout my career.”

“BuildGroup’s investment strategy focuses on driving growth and market opportunity for B2B SaaS companies leveraging digital marketplaces, data and AI,” Napier said. “Earlier this year, we saw an opportunity to bring our approach to the public market via our investment in Benefitfocus, and are excited to expand our current network of family offices with Craig as we grow our portfolio of companies.”

For more information on BuildGroup, visit www.buildgroup.com.

About BuildGroup

Led by former Rackspace CEO Lanham Napier, BuildGroup invests in SaaS companies with marketplace and data assets powered by AI. Backed by high-net-worth families, BuildGroup applies a long-term investment approach, unique operating skills, and its partnership with its network of successful business owners that have created billion-dollar companies. BuildGroup’s portfolio includes notable SaaS companies such as DigniFi, Anaconda, Fiix Software, Calytera, Cybrary, VidMob, Benefitfocus and Yonder. For more information on BuildGroup, visit www.buildgroup.com.