CHRIS MARESCA
San Francisco,CA
Summary
Operator and dealmaker with 9 successful exits totaling $1.5B+ across technology, healthcare, and professional services-including direct experience on both buy-side and sell-side of SME acquisitions. Led as CEO, COO, CTO, and Co-Founder through every stage of the acquisition lifecycle: building companies, preparing them for sale, navigating due diligence, and closing transactions. What I bring to Mergerin: I've lived the exact problem you're solving-from the inside. I've seen founders who weren't ready to sell, deals structured poorly, and buyers who didn't understand what they were acquiring. I've also structured clean exits, prepared organizations for institutional diligence, and positioned companies for strategic buyers. That direct operating experience-combined with a track record of thought leadership (CRN Magazine cover, eWeek cover story, industry standards authorship)-makes me uniquely positioned to speak with authority to founders, dealmakers, and acquirers about what separates professional acquisitions from amateur ones. For more insight on my views on SME exits, see my appearance on From Angel to Exit - https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:ugcPost:7430646408539709441/
Overview
25
25
years of professional experience
Work History
Managing Partner
C32 Advisory
01.2010 - Current
- Lead boutique advisory practice providing fractional CTO/COO leadership and M&A advisory to PE firms, corporate acquirers, and founder-led businesses. Core focus: preparing companies for strategic transactions and providing buy-side technical and operational diligence.
- Performed technical and operational due diligence across $500M+ in SME and mid-market transactions.
- Advised founders on succession readiness, governance improvement, and exit positioning.
- Prepared portfolio companies for institutional due diligence across finance, operations, technology, and team.
- Positioned 9 companies for successful exits through systematic operational and governance preparation.
- Served as primary interface between founders, buyers, investment bankers, and institutional investors.
- Developed repeatable due diligence frameworks identifying risks and opportunities across SME acquisitions.
- Built governance structures enabling clean ownership transitions without key-person dependency.
- Created operational documentation standards enabling institutional buyers to accurately assess SME assets.
Chief Executive Officer & Board Member
Pecos Data Systems
01.2019 - 01.2024
- Led founder-owned geospatial analytics company through full operating cycle and strategic acquisition. Directly managed every aspect of the sale process-from operational readiness through close.
- Built governance frameworks and institutional-quality financial reporting from early stage.
- Eliminated key-person dependency by developing leadership team capable of operating independently.
- Structured clean financial systems enabling straightforward institutional due diligence.
- Managed full due diligence process across development, engineering, operations, and finance.
- Interfaced directly with strategic buyers, investment bankers, and legal teams through close.
Chief Operating Officer & Board Member
Square 8 Group
01.2021 - 01.2024
- Led day-to-day operations for founder-led logistics SaaS platform. Built institutional governance frameworks, financial systems, and operational documentation enabling eventual transaction readiness.
- Built KPI frameworks and board-level reporting enabling institutional oversight of founder-led business.
- Implemented subscription accounting, revenue forecasting, and financial systems supporting clean transaction reporting.
- Reduced key-person dependency through distributed leadership development and process documentation.
- Aligned operational structure with institutional standards expected by strategic buyers and PE acquirers.
Co-Founder & Chief Strategy Officer
Olliance Group
01.2001 - 01.2010
- Co-founded management consulting firm advising Fortune 500 companies and venture-backed startups on technology strategy and M&A. Built professional services firm from zero to acquisition.
- Advised across 50+ transactions generating $500M in investor value.
- Worked directly with founders navigating succession, strategic sale, and institutional acquisition processes.
- Developed governance and operational frameworks enabling clean ownership transitions.
- Co-authored CDDL license and contributed to GPLv3-demonstrating ability to establish professional standards adopted industry-wide.
- Wrote open-source strategy playbooks for Facebook, IBM, Nokia, Accenture, eBay, Microsoft.
Technology & IP Strategy
Nokia Firewalls Division
01.2006 - 01.2007
- Led IP strategy and platform modernization supporting $1B strategic sale to Check Point. Navigated complex multi-stakeholder transaction involving corporate leadership, investment bankers, and institutional buyers-at significant scale.
Chief Operating Officer
Inertia Systems
01.2017 - 01.2019
- Led operational transformation for founder-owned construction SaaS managing $15B-$23B in project volumes. Built institutional-grade governance, financial systems, and operational frameworks for founder-led business.
Co-Founder & CTO
Cybx
01.2020 - 01.2021
- Co-founded healthcare data platform. Built from concept to $2M in contracts in under 12 months in heavily regulated environment-demonstrating ability to build and operate with institutional discipline from day one.
Co-Founder & CTO
Sherbit
01.2014 - 01.2016
- Co-founded privacy-focused analytics platform. Built from zero through successful strategic acquisition-experiencing founder succession and ownership transition firsthand.
VP of Engineering
Candi Controls
01.2016 - 01.2017
- Led engineering operations for commercial IoT and building controls platform through acquisition-contributing to operational excellence enabling clean transaction execution.
Education
Master's Degree - International Environmental Policy
University of Amsterdam
Websites
Transaction Track Record
9, $1.5B+, Nokia Firewalls, Technology & IP Strategy, Prepared org for strategic sale to CheckPoint, $1B, Pecos Data Systems, CEO & Board Member, Prepared and executed strategic acquisition, Sherbit, Co-Founder & CTO, Built from zero through strategic acquisition, Candi Controls, VP Engineering, Drove operational excellence through acquisition, Olliance Group, Co-Founder, Built consulting firm from zero through acquisition, 4 additional exits across SaaS, healthcare, and data platforms, $500M+ combined
Thought Leadership - Highlights
- CRN Magazine Cover Story, 2006, Featured as industry thought leader at LinuxWorld San Francisco (40,000+ attendees)
- EWeek Cover Story, 2005, Enterprise standardization and professional standards development
- TIME Magazine, Featured for sustainability and business impact
- Co-authored CDDL, Industry standard adopted by major technology companies globally
- Contributed to GPLv3, Shaped how millions of developers operate
- Open-source playbooks, Written for Facebook, IBM, Nokia, Accenture, eBay, Microsoft
Public Authority Positioning
Why founder-owned businesses fail to sell-and what actually prepares them, What institutional buyers look for that most founders never build, How to structure deals that survive post-close integration, What due diligence should cover that most SME advisors miss, The governance frameworks that separate professional acquisitions from amateur ones, How to build succession-ready organizations that don't depend on the founder, What the $1B+ exit experience teaches you about what smaller deals get wrong, Industry forums and panels, Podcasts and long-form interviews, Written content (articles, frameworks, deal breakdowns), Direct ecosystem engagement with founders and dealmakers, Investment banking and institutional investor discussions
Personal Information
Title: M&A Operator
Skills
- Due Diligence
- Strategic planning
- Operations management
- Technology Strategy & Integration
- AI/ML Architecture
- Merger and acquisition strategy
- Executive leadership
- Process improvement
- AI/Digital Transformation
- Business consulting
- Operational analysis
Timeline
Chief Operating Officer & Board Member
Square 8 Group
01.2021 - 01.2024
Co-Founder & CTO
Cybx
01.2020 - 01.2021
Chief Executive Officer & Board Member
Pecos Data Systems
01.2019 - 01.2024
Chief Operating Officer
Inertia Systems
01.2017 - 01.2019
VP of Engineering
Candi Controls
01.2016 - 01.2017
Co-Founder & CTO
Sherbit
01.2014 - 01.2016
Managing Partner
C32 Advisory
01.2010 - Current
Technology & IP Strategy
Nokia Firewalls Division
01.2006 - 01.2007
Co-Founder & Chief Strategy Officer
Olliance Group
01.2001 - 01.2010
Master's Degree - International Environmental Policy
University of Amsterdam