After spending the first decade of his career as an investor with a private equity firm, Alex Triplett decided he had a knowledge gap: operations. Eager to learn more about running a business, he applied his investor experience to a corporate development position at fintech provider ION Group, one of his previous employer’s investments.
Initially planning to stay only a few years to broaden his experience, Triplett remained for a dozen as the business “caught lightening” and started scaling rapidly. That growth allowed him to take on challenges beyond (but in addition to) his role as global head of corporate development, including co-running one of ION’s major divisions, ION Corporates, as CFO and managing the company’s captive private equity vehicle.
When growth plateaued, the high-energy leader was ready to rinse and repeat. Now, as both CFO and COO of Appfire, he’s helping grow and scale the provider of next-generation software that enhances, augments, extends, and connects leading platforms that include Atlassian, Microsoft, Salesforce and monday.com.
Alex Triplett
CFO and COO, Appfire
- First CFO position: 2012
- Notable previous employers:
- ION Group
- TA Associates
- Citigroup Global Markets Inc.
This interview has been edited for brevity and clarity.
SANDRA BECKWITH: What made you the right person for the CFO position at Appfire, and why are you also COO?
ALEX TRIPLETT: My experience building and scaling a company was a key factor. When I joined ION Group, my previous employer, we had about 600 people and $150 million in revenue. When I left 12 years later, we were 12,000 people and $3 billion in revenue. That caught Appfire co-founder and CEO Randall Ward’s attention because, at the time, Appfire was planning to scale with 500 people and $125 million in revenue, so it was roughly the same size as when I joined ION.
In addition, when you're in a fast-growing tech company, there's a lot going on that requires a certain energy level. I thrive on complexity.
I’m the COO, as well, because when scaling a business of our size, all foundational operational functions need to work together. If they are harmoniously sharing information, data, and systems, you've got a better shot at scaling efficiently. I have experience with that.
Why and how did you acquire operations experience?
TRIPLETT: When I worked at a private equity firm in my 20s, I realized I could be a better investor if I knew more about how business works.
I was good at evaluating markets and business quality, pattern recognition, trendspotting, assessing team talent, and parsing information. But I’d never hired or fired people, sat in front of a customer, built a product or executed what we talked about in the boardroom.
"Don’t be afraid to make the leap to the operating side. If it doesn’t work, you can come back to finance, but you’ve still got that experience that many others lack."
Alex Triplett
CFO and COO, Appfire
That’s why I left investing to join ION to run corporate development. I began to get into operations as we integrated acquisitions.
How does your background affect how you do your job at Appfire, and how might it differ from someone who came to the CFO role with a different background?
TRIPLETT: I bring an investor’s mindset that includes a big-picture and long-term perspective, a value-drivers approach, and a focus on tangible validation and evidence for decision-making.
For example, I'm constantly thinking about what levers we need to pull to move the needle and make the numbers happen. It’s great that I can report the numbers, but how do I make the numbers happen? How do I help the company become more efficient so it grows faster?
Was becoming CFO always your career goal?
TRIPLETT: Interestingly, it wasn’t. I see a career as a set of accumulated experiences, so when I left investing for a corporate role, I wanted to build this awesome set of experiences. I hoped that would allow me to pursue anything else I was interested in.
"I quickly learned that running a business is complicated, but also quite simple. It comes down to three words: people, product and customers."
Alex Triplett
CFO and COO, Appfire
I became a subsidiary CFO almost by chance because of a unique set of circumstances when ION acquired a company. That translated well to what I’m doing now. My long-term goal is running a business.
Looking back on your entire career, what do you think was the most pivotal moment … or what “aha” has had a significant impact?
TRIPLETT: It happened with that first CFO position just mentioned. ION acquired a U.K.-based business with a subsidiary focused on U.S. equities trading. I was the only person at ION who really knew that industry, so I was dispatched to run that business for about a year as CFO while still doing my corporate development job.
I quickly learned that running a business is complicated, but also quite simple. It comes down to three words: people, product and customers. I discovered that you can apply those words to just about anything, whether you're selling lemonade, automobiles, or software.
What advice would you give to others in finance hoping to become CFOs?
TRIPLETT: Don’t be afraid to make the leap to the operating side. If it doesn't work, you can come back to finance, but you’ve still got that experience that many others lack.
And get mentors. This is a big one. I have two outside mentors now, people who have done what I'm doing before and will answer questions. Sometimes we talk about very specific tactical things. Other times, it's about high-level, strategic topics.
Finally, always seek knowledge.