Mach49, the growth builder for global businesses, has announced the appointment of Chris Tacy as Chief Strategy Officer. Mr Tacy will lead the company’s new Venture Strategy practice, which is designed to help businesses achieve growth in increasingly fast-changing markets.
The Venture Strategy practice combines traditional strategy rigor with lean, customer-focused design thinking. It is aimed at boosting the strategic capacity and readiness of Mach49’s clients, and is led by a team of experienced entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, and executives.
Commenting on the development, Mr Tacy said: “Everything we do is grounded on logical, smart strategy. Traditional business strategies struggle to generate growth in a disruptive, ever-changing environment. Companies need strategic guidance that’s adaptive and flexible.”
The practice is helping clients use AI as a growth-driving tool, refining decision-making processes and optimising growth strategies. Chris Fisher, Chief Strategy Officer for Xerox and Managing Partner for Xerox Ventures, said: “The Mach49 team was fantastic to work with. They quickly brought to bear a tremendous amount of subject matter expertise and market data.”
Linda Yates, Mach49 Founder and CEO, said that Mr Tacy’s background and experience makes him the perfect link between global boardrooms and Silicon Valley. “Chris understands what our clients are going through because he’s gone through it too,” she remarked.
Mr Tacy has over 25 years of experience blending business, innovation, strategy, and entrepreneurship. He has launched or led four successful startups and managed a $325M corporate venture fund. He has also played a role in many M&A deals and closed more than $2B in partnerships.
Mach49 was founded in 2017 and is headquartered in Silicon Valley, with offices in Redwood City, Boston, London, and Amsterdam. The company focuses on venture building, venture investing, venture transformation, strategic partnering, and targeted M&A, helping clients to disrupt existing markets and create new ones.
Derick is an experienced reporter having held multiple senior roles for large publishers across Europe. Specialist subjects include small business and financial emerging markets.