AppDirect expands board of directors

AppDirect is a company that sits at the crossroads of business and technology. Founded in 2009 and headquartered in San Francisco, its purpose is simple to describe but ambitious in scope. It builds and operates a platform where businesses can buy, sell, and manage all sorts of recurring technology services in one place. That means software, cloud services, infrastructure, hardware, and even energy solutions can be handled through a single system rather than being scattered across different vendors and invoices.

What the Platform Does

Think of it like a trading post for modern digital tools. Companies come in looking for what they need, and AppDirect provides a marketplace where those services are cataloged, delivered, and kept in order. For sellers, it provides the shelves and the counter to put out their wares. For buyers, it provides clarity and consistency, especially in the messy world of subscription billing and partner management. It is a place where the often complex business of technology distribution is given a more understandable shape.

They have announced the expansion of its board of directors with the addition of Burt Podbere, CFO at CrowdStrike. AppDirect anticipates crossing the $1 billion threshold in gross annual recurring revenue over the next 18-24 months. AppDirect has been making waves across the tech ecosystem with recent platform acquisitions that fuel its vision to become the everything store for businesses through their partner channel. AppDirect’s vision and strategy is led by its CEO and co-founder Nicolas Desmarais who has been able to bring together some of the industry’s most accomplished minds, like Podbere, to help propel its growth and build its vision on how to revolutionize how businesses buy, sell, and manage technology.

Having worked previously at global industry leaders like EY, Vivendi, Amdocs, and OpenDNS, which was eventually acquired by Cisco, Podbere has firsthand experience scaling hypergrowth companies. His experience with pre-IPO and post-IPO technology companies and deep financial expertise allowed Podbere to successfully facilitate CrowdStrike’s debut to a $612 million IPO. His leadership will further solidify AppDirect’s position in the B2B commerce landscape.

"I’ve always been drawn to organizations and people that aren’t complacent in their industries, but are disrupting and redefining them. AppDirect is tackling and winning complex business problems in ways I’ve never seen before, which struck a chord with me,” said Podbere. “AppDirect is built on values with the vision and velocity to outpace its competitors — competitors that aren’t resting on their laurels, so neither can we. I’m fired up to help drive its next explosive chapter of growth."

Podbere joins an esteemed board that includes Laurence A. Tosi, Managing Partner and Founder of WestCap and former CFO at Airbnb and Blackstone, who has built tech-enabled marketplaces. WestCap, an operating equity firm with $6 billion in assets under management, is one of several investors behind AppDirect’s vision—a roster that includes long-term supporters like Inovia Capital, Mithril Capital, and strategic partners like La Caisse.

“With B2B commerce and marketplaces showing no signs of slowing down, AppDirect stands out as a transformative force that is uniquely positioned to create value by aggregating and automating technology solutions,” said Tosi. “For 25 years, our team has focused on leading marketplaces and has built a unique operating team around assisting our companies as they scale. We’re proud to partner with AppDirect as it continues to drive innovation through its leadership in these all-important, fast-growing segments of technology.”

AppDirect continues to differentiate itself through an agnostic, channel-focused model and by extending into sectors like energy following recent acquisitions, including Broker Online Exchangeand DNE Resources. AppDirect’s AI-first approach redefines how organizations procure and manage technology and uniquely enables its 14,000 partners to resell AI solutions through a single, unified platform. The upcoming launch of its “everything store” during its annual Thrive conference is expected to offer a futuristic experience for technology procurement and lifecycle management, all through a single, unified platform.