Edison Partners Appoints Kelly Ford as its First Chief Operating Officer

Edison Partners, a leading growth equity firm, announced today the promotion of its general partner, Kelly Ford, to chief operating officer (COO). This newly created position is the first of its kind in the firm’s 36-year history. In Ford’s new role, she oversees the firm’s operations, including the Edison Edge value creation platform, investment development, finance, portfolio operations and marketing. Her role is critical to the continued, consistent growth of Edison’s assets under management (AUM), Edison Edge capabilities and the Edison team.

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Kelly Ford, COO of Edison Partners (Photo: Business Wire)

In her more than eight years at Edison, Ford has worked with more than 55 portfolio companies, been involved in 15 financings, served as director at 11 companies, and pioneered the Edison Edge operating platform. Promoting Ford, a technology industry veteran turned growth equity investor, aligns with Edison’s belief that investing and operating experience is critical to growth-stage investing.

Ford’s appointment fulfills the need to increase the breadth and depth of the Edison senior team’s capabilities as the firm’s AUM increases. It is also a continuation of Edison’s momentum in 2022, which includes the final close of the Edison X fund; continued investment in underserved geographies such as Texas, Alabama and North Carolina; and the addition of five operating partners to support portfolio company growth and execution.

“This well-deserved promotion recognizes Kelly’s tremendous contributions to Edison thus far. Expanding our executive team by promoting Kelly will help us scale, and acknowledges the excellence and value we expect from the Edison Edge platform and best-in-class portfolio operations,” said Chris Sugden, managing partner, Edison Partners. “Kelly’s 20-plus years of leading management teams to successful outcomes make her the ideal person for the new COO role. She understands how to unlock the potential of great people by creating amazing teams through execution and process excellence.”

“With our vision for the firm, and its 36 years of success, I am thrilled to step into this role and take our operations to the next level,” said Ford. “This is a high-performing, high-commitment team that does whatever it takes to build value with our portfolio companies and deliver great outcomes for our limited partners. It’s in this spirit that we’ll also continue to innovate and scale how we support our portfolio companies.”

About Edison Partners

Edison Partners is a leading growth equity firm providing the financial and intellectual capital that CEOs and their executive teams need to grow and scale their companies. The firm’s team brings more than 275 years of combined investing, operating and sector experience to each investment, accessible via the Edison Edge value creation platform, which is tailored to each business’ strategy, stage and operating needs. Edison targets high-growth financial technology, healthcare IT and vertical SaaS and marketplace companies located outside Silicon Valley with $10 million to $30 million in revenue. Investments also include buyouts, recapitalizations, spinouts, and secondary stock purchases. Edison’s active portfolio has created aggregated market value exceeding $10 billion. Edison Partners manages $1.6 billion in assets. For more information on Edison Partners, please visit edisonpartners.com and follow on LinkedIn.

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