Summit Partners Expands Portfolio Service Resources With Appointment of Donald K. Allen as Director of Portfolio Technology

MENLO PARK, CA--(Marketwired - Feb 16, 2016) - Summit Partners, a global growth equity investor, today announced that Donald K. Allen has joined the firm's Peak Performance Group as Director of Portfolio Technology. Summit's Peak Performance Group offers hands-on, tactical support to Summit's portfolio companies at an operational level, identifying and executing growth strategies that build long-term value. In this new role for the team, Allen will work closely with the technology leadership of Summit's portfolio companies to drive infrastructure, security, and scalability initiatives to support rapid growth.

Allen joins Summit Partners from zulily, where as Director of Technical Operations he worked directly with the CIO to scale the infrastructure and technical compliance areas of the business as it grew from a startup to a public company valued at more than $1.0 billion. Prior to zulily, Allen served as Chief Technology Officer for drugstore.com (acquired by Walgreens) and has held similar technical leadership positions with ONYX software (acquired by Consona) and Costco. He began his career in the United States Navy. 

"Don brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise gained during his roles as an operator in numerous growth companies," said David Averett, a Managing Director and Head of Summit's Peak Performance Group. "We are excited to broaden the resources available to our portfolio companies, many of whom are seeking ways to optimize their technology infrastructure as they scale."

"Summit has an impressive history of supporting entrepreneurs who are navigating the challenges of rapid growth. Through their dedicated portfolio services teams, Summit offers committed resources that have made a real and meaningful impact many of these businesses," said Don Allen. "I'm delighted to join the team, roll-up my sleeves and help our portfolio companies avoid obstacles and ensure that their technology systems and processes keep pace with their growth trajectories."

Summit's Peak Performance Group (PPG) is a flexible resource for portfolio companies, providing on-demand, tactical support across diverse functional areas -- from sales to operations to infrastructure. Working collaboratively with management teams, the PPG identifies and helps to prioritize initiatives to drive performance improvement. In the last year, PPG engagements have included: developing a proprietary algorithm to optimize referral patterns at a healthcare services company; developing a predictive model to identify at-risk customers at a SaaS business; leveraging best practices to establish an organizational structure and a compensation plan for inside sales teams; and providing post-merger integration support for an educational services company. 

In addition to the Peak Performance Group, Summit offers portfolio companies expertise in structuring and financing transactions through its Capital Markets Team and dedicated recruiting resources through its Talent and Recruiting Team.

About Summit Partners
Founded in 1984, Summit Partners is a global growth equity firm that is currently investing more than $6.5 billion into equity and fixed income opportunities. Summit has invested in more than 430 companies in healthcare, life sciences, technology and other growth sectors. These companies have completed more than 135 public offerings, and more than 160 have been acquired through strategic mergers and sales. Summit maintains offices in North America and Europe, and invests in companies around the world. For more information, visit www.summitpartners.com or follow on Twitter at @SummitPartners.

In the United States of America, Summit Partners operates as an SEC-registered investment advisor. In the United Kingdom, this document is issued by Summit Partners LLP, a firm authorized and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Summit Partners LLP is a limited liability partnership registered in England and Wales with registered number OC388179 and its registered office is at 20-22 Bedford Row, London, WC1R 4JS, UK. This document is intended solely to provide information regarding Summit Partners' potential financing capabilities for prospective portfolio companies.