Growth & Execution - CXO Partners

Ron Walker

October 29, 2026 by

Ron Walker is a highly accomplished, business-minded Human Resources executive with extensive global leadership experience in the Fintech sector. With deep expertise spanning HR Operations, Total Rewards, HR Technology, M&A integration, and HR Analytics, Ron specializes in designing and executing strategic human capital initiatives that drive measurable business outcomes.

Prior to joining the firm, Ron spent nearly three decades in progressive leadership roles at Equifax, culminating in his position as Senior Vice President of Global HR Operations and Benefits. During his tenure, he led transformative initiatives that redefined the company’s organizational performance. Most notably, Ron spearheaded the implementation of Equifax’s first global HR system across 21 countries, significantly improving data clarity and operational speed. He also partnered with Bain & Company to streamline the organization’s structure, implemented an efficient global HR shared services model, and directed the HR integration for numerous acquisitions, including two public transactions valued at over $1 billion.

A relentless executor and forward-thinker, Ron has consistently stayed at the forefront of HR innovation. Understanding the massive shift in how companies manage talent, he recently led a pivotal project to integrate AI solutions into global HR service delivery, navigating the complex implications of artificial intelligence while ensuring high service levels. His holistic initiatives have consistently yielded material cost savings, enhanced business-relevant analytics, and improved frontline customer service without sacrificing operational efficiency.

Ron’s comprehensive background across every facet of the HR function allows him to view organizational challenges from a remarkably broad perspective. Comfortable collaborating seamlessly with everyone from customer service representatives to the Board of Directors, Ron operates on a core philosophy: HR initiatives can—and must—drive better business performance. He brings this strategic, execution-focused mindset to every client partnership, helping organizations build highly efficient, future-ready HR infrastructures.

Ron received his BA in History from Virginia Tech, and currently serves as a Board Member for Virginia Tech College of Liberal Arts and Human Services. He’s also a musician and enjoys spending time in the North Carolina mountains.

Jeff Moriarty

September 17, 2026 by

Jeff Moriarty is an Operating Partner in CXO Partners’ Growth & Execution practice. As an innovative product and operational leader within the financial services and fintech industries, Jeff brings deep expertise in scaling complex, regulated platforms and business processes. As a Product Leader and General Manager, he excels at aligning product, technology, operations, finance, and risk considerations to drive strategic transformation across multi-business portfolios.

During his distinguished career, Jeff has led businesses that deliver critical operational and financial software solutions to more than 4,000 banks and credit unions. Additionally, Jeff has spearheaded growth and execution strategies for a $1B+ revenue financial services software division and directed the global redesign and relaunch of an enterprise-wide product innovation program for $3B+ revenue company. He has demonstrated an exceptional track record of driving scale and performance by leading business and digital transformations, including leveraging product innovation via generative and agentic AI.

Jeff has held pivotal executive positions at some of the world’s most prominent financial technology firms. At Fiserv, he served in executive roles in core account processing, enterprise payments, and other critical client solutions. He was notably responsible for driving the roadmap and delivery across the Financial Solutions Group’s enterprise performance management, enterprise content management, and CRM businesses.

Prior to this, Jeff held successive executive roles at Equifax spanning business strategy, product innovation, initiative management, and global sourcing. There, he led complex, cross-functional programs spanning new product development; enterprise execution; financial management; M&A due diligence and integration; and risk, compliance, and governance, driving cross-functional partnerships to ensure successful outcomes.

He began his career in top-tier consulting with PwC and KPMG, where he focused on large-scale finance and operational system/process transformation.

He holds an MBA in Corporate Finance and Marketing from the University of Georgia, Terry College of Business, and a BA in Economics and Political Science from the University of Kansas, Lawrence.

Sterling Metz

August 21, 2026 by

Sterling Metz is a Chief Product Officer and technology executive specializing in financial services, fintech, and digital advertising.

With deep expertise spanning risk, fraud, identity, and analytics, he leads rapid zero-to-one innovation and large-scale data platform transformations. Throughout his career, Sterling has partnered seamlessly across the C-suite to validate new revenue streams, modernize complex data ecosystems, and translate highly technical capabilities into shipped, market-ready products.

Currently, Sterling operates as a Chief Product Officer and strategic advisor to boards and senior leadership at middle-market and enterprise organizations. He guides companies in building visionary roadmaps—exploring embedded payment systems, alternative data bureaus, and next-generation deepfake detection analytics. He drives strategic transitions into AI and LLM technologies, combining the deep technical acumen required to evaluate emerging tools with the product rigor necessary to ship revenue-bearing capabilities.

Previously, Sterling drove significant product evolution at Cardlytics, a leading digital advertising and commerce media platform for financial services. Serving in key roles including Senior Director of Product Management, Director of Data Strategy, and Senior Principal Solutions Architect, he re-platformed the core merchant-transaction analytics layer, redesigned the advertising order management system, and established the company’s identity graph. His leadership bridged overarching product strategy and deep technical execution, bridging patented information systems, event-driven microservices, and high-volume, neural-network-powered transaction architectures. Notably, he delivered Cardlytics’ first ML/AI pipeline—mapping 6 million real-time transactions per hour to physical locations—and scaled agile offerings, including an offers product that drove a $50M pipeline and a CRM channel integration that generated $5M in its first six months.

At Equifax, Sterling anchored early strategic initiatives, acting as a core driver behind the company’s initial streaming vertical strategy and churn solutions. He was instrumental in establishing the fraud business unit, leading solutions architecture to solve customer challenges ahead of the traditional product roadmap. His proactive conceptualization of new product applications secured a patent and generated $1M in net-new ARR. Furthermore, he spearheaded the strategic onboarding and development for a massive connector initiative, unlocking access to differentiated data assets that accounted for 40% of Equifax’s traditional market footprint.

Sterling holds a Bachelor of Science from the Georgia Institute of Technology.

Patrick Davie

June 25, 2026 by

Patrick Davie is a senior financial services executive with more than 25 years of experience leading and transforming businesses across payments, card issuing, fraud, analytics, and financial technology. Throughout his career, he has been repeatedly selected to lead larger and more complex organizations, with responsibility for P&Ls ranging from $25 million to approximately $3 billion and global organizations comprising thousands of associates.

Patrick spent more than a decade in executive leadership roles at Fiserv. Most recently, he created and led Fiserv’s first enterprise Client Experience organization for its Financial Institutions business, establishing enterprise governance, client health analytics, executive KPIs, and operating disciplines designed to improve client retention, service, and growth.

Previously, Patrick led Fiserv’s U.S. Card Issuing and Debit Network business, with responsibility for strategy, growth, and operating performance across one of the company’s largest businesses. He led thousands of associates across product, engineering, technology, operations, client delivery, and commercial functions. Earlier at Fiserv, he led its fraud, analytics, and managed services business, driving significant growth and expansion of its capabilities and market presence.

Prior to these roles, Patrick held leadership positions with Equifax and Cortera, now part of Moody’s, spanning product leadership, fraud/AML, analytics, commercial growth, client management, and platform strategy.

Across his career, Patrick has developed a reputation for combining strategic thinking with disciplined execution. His experience includes enterprise P&L leadership, growth strategy, technology and platform modernization, organizational transformation, operational excellence, client experience, and building and leading high-performing teams. He has served as a trusted advisor to CEOs, executive teams, financial institutions, and fintech leaders navigating growth, transformation, and complex operating challenges.

Patrick is a graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point, where he was a Division I football letterman. Following graduation, he served in the U.S. Army’s 10th Mountain Division.

Patrick has been married for more than 30 years and lives with his wife in Northern New Jersey.

Glen Hasling

June 22, 2026 by

Glen Hasling is a change management, learning & development, process improvement, and organizational performance executive who helps businesses solve problems by enabling their most important assets — their people.

He began his career with Accenture as an Organizational and Human Performance Consultant. He has designed enterprise-wide programs for learning, knowledge management, process improvement, transformations, and other performance initiatives as an executive with Fortune 50 companies, including Honeywell, Equifax, The Home Depot, and Citi.

During his career he has created functional and technical training programs; built and implemented complex, enterprise-wide product management academies; strategic internal communications programs; content governance processes; and scalable knowledge management systems.

Glen’s expertise helps clients develop global organizational performance strategies that impact sales and service performance, improve work quality, increase product and solution knowledge, customer satisfaction, and employee success.

In addition, his targeted instructional design, change management, and process improvement methodologies and skills reduce overall expenditures while increasing overall performance.

Kerry Smith

May 28, 2026 by

Kerry Smith is a strategy, research, and customer success executive who turns data and insights into product innovations, compelling communications, and business growth.

She provides middle-market and enterprise-level financial services and consumer packaged goods companies with strategy development, consumer behavior insight, competitive and market intelligence, customer experience research, and Voice of the Customer expertise.

She is frequently called on to support clients as a research and insights leader, Chief Strategy Officer, and Chief Customer Experience Officer.

During her distinguished career, she has supported and grown iconic brands. She served as Head of Customer Engagement, Market Intelligence, and Strategy for Enova International, a publicly traded financial services company.

She also served as the Marketing Insights Lead for MillerCoors, where she was focused on developing innovation and growth strategies for the economy, emerging markets, and Mexico. She also held market research and analytics leadership positions with Kraft Foods, Allstate Insurance, and Information Resources, Inc.

Kerry holds a B.S. in Psychology from Loyola University and a Master’s in Industrial/Organizational Psychology from Xavier University. She has also completed Data Analytics studies at the University of Chicago.

Ken Goins

April 15, 2026 by

Ken Goins is a global finance, supply chain, operations, and shared services executive with more than 40 years of experience leading high-impact initiatives across consumer durable goods manufacturing and financial services companies. He builds scalable organizations that deliver significant cost savings, drive revenue growth, and improve process performance.

Through his expertise in shared services strategy, BPO sourcing, contract negotiation, and operational transformation, he turns support functions into strategic value drivers that fuel business growth.

Ken draws on decades of leadership across finance, service operations, and shared services. Among his career highlights, he has:

Led Global Shared Services at Equifax, growing the organization from 300 to over 1,100 FTEs across 5 years, expanding a Costa Rica center from customer service to a multi-process hub supporting Operations, Application Development, Accounting, and Security Monitoring—delivering annual savings exceeding $30 million.
Developed and executed a global BPO strategy at Equifax, successfully transitioning processes for over 2,000 FTEs through a multi-vendor approach, generating savings exceeding $10 million annually.
Led a team of 8 negotiators supporting Equifax Sales in closing large customer contracts across business units, generating over $1.5 billion in revenue, while training 75 sales team members on the Deal Team Playbook.
Negotiated Philips Consumer Electronics‘ $300 million, 5-year outsourcing deal with IBM—the largest BPO transaction either company had executed at the time—encompassing call centers, service engineering, parts operations, and field service centers.
Directed North American Service Operations for Philips Electronics, overseeing call centers, service parts, warranty support, field service centers, refurbishing operations, and service contracts, generating revenues exceeding $100 million.

Ken’s career includes 20-plus years in finance and accounting leadership roles—including VP of Finance, Director of Financial Planning, and Controller—at consumer durables manufacturing companies with revenues ranging from $50 million to $2 billion. In recent years, he has served as an independent business consultant and worked with several nonprofit organizations.

Ken holds a Bachelor of Science in Accounting and Finance from the University of Colorado.

Shawn Holtzclaw

May 21, 2025 by

Shawn Holtzclaw is the Managing Partner of CXO Partners’ Growth & Execution Practice, which focuses on helping businesses strategically scale from one stage to the next, taking advantage of assets and opportunities that exist today with aggressive yet manageable growth plans for the future. He also leads the firm’s Compliance & Fraud Prevention and Fintech/Financial Services groups.

He helps companies, their investors, Boards, CEOs, and senior management teams as a strategic advisor and embedded executive with strategy, profitable growth initiatives, global expansion, go-to-market execution, commercial deal-making, and operational plans.

He has deep domain expertise in global sourcing, supply chain solutions and vendor management. During his time at the public $5B+ global data and analytics company Equifax, he created and led a global supply chain matrix organization responsible for all outsourcing, vendor management, procurement, and real estate across all business units and geographies with over $500M in spend, recognized by Gartner for its innovative approach.

During his diverse career, Shawn has led strategy, operations, and P&L for businesses from start-up to $500M+ in revenue or cost responsibility, in multiple leadership roles, business models, sectors, geographies, and company valuations.

Most recently, he has worked closely with private companies as a trusted advisor, consultant, and embedded executive with a particular emphasis on a deep understanding and collaboration with existing owners and leaders to effectively execute through change.

During his tenure as an executive with global public companies, Shawn led the strategic transformation of a portfolio of legacy businesses, as well as an enterprise-level fincrime and fraud prevention go-to-market strategy for the $15B+ fintech and payments company Fiserv. Shawn held numerous executive positions over 15 years at Equifax, including leading all U.S. retail banking and financial enterprise sales channels, leading a $150M+ credit marketing services business, and, as Managing Director with full P&L, operational, and geographic responsibility, leading a 4-year successful turnaround of a $160M business in the UK & Ireland, based out of London.

He has also served as a global technology and IP attorney, and began his career as a commercial attorney in Atlanta; he retains his GA law license and leverages his legal experience in solving complex deal negotiations.

Shawn believes life is short and we have an obligation to make a difference; he is passionate about protecting vulnerable people around the world subject to exploitation from financial crime, and applying for profit principles for non-profit growth and compliance. He lives in Atlanta, GA with his wife of over 30 years, three children, daughter-in-law, and three grandchildren.