Electric’s new CFO, Andy Lazarus, bolsters C-suite with over 20 years of experience driving successful high-growth for SaaS companies.

Electric turns five years old this year. In this milestone year, the company raised its Series C, picked up its first acquisition with SINU, more than doubled the business, and surpassed the 30,000 user mark. This latest move reminds followers that Electric has no intention to let up.

On Wednesday, July 21, Electric announced the addition of Andrew Lazarus to its already stacked leadership roster. Lazarus takes on the CFO role, putting him at the helm of a rocket ship growth strategy — a role that he brings over 20 years of experience into.

“I enjoy being in positions that allow me to prepare companies and to develop teams as they mature from one stage of evolution to the next. Every evolution has a completely new set of challenges and criteria for success,” says Lazarus. “Electric has a great addressable market and it has a highly valuable set of building blocks. Getting my hands on those building blocks is a great opportunity to help contribute to the team as we build a bigger, stronger growth platform.”

Andy is no stranger to steering a rocketship. He has notable experience scaling global financial infrastructure and teams, leveraging company IP, generating growth and shareholder value through strategic investment, organic growth, and M&A. His background reads like a masterclass in CFO-ing, having served as CFO of both private and public SaaS providers in cybersecurity, enterprise fraud prevention, MSSP, unified collaboration, and supply chain management. Most recently, he has served as CFO for BAE Systems – Applied Intelligence, SilverSky, and Genesys Conferencing.

This CFO is not just spreadsheets and compliance meetings. We sat down with Andy to get to know the person behind the title.

So, why Electric?

Andy: I joined Electric because I love to feed off the energy of others. Electric has a set of smart, dedicated people who share a passion for success. They are not afraid to put it all out on the field, building an environment where all of us get an opportunity to grow and develop.

Where is Electric in 5 years and how do your skills contribute to achieving that vision?

A: In five years:

• Electric is serving a significantly larger portion of our unbelievably large addressable market. There are over a million SMBs out there who can gain value from Electric – we’re just scratching the surface.

• We are fulfilling our ambitious goals by expanding our product portfolio, always focusing on customer outcomes to drive success.

• Our expansion will have continued through organic growth and strategic acquisitions of IT Managed Service Providers and related technologies.

I believe one of my strengths is to be able to see a company from multiple perspectives: as a capital provider or investment banker, as a leader and hands-on operator, and as an investor/board member.

I also know what it means to be a young employee looking to gain experience and growth, so it is equally important for my and Electric’s success that our people work to thrive in an environment that allows them to succeed.

My job starts with creating that environment to help the team and each individual to best achieve their goals. Developing teams that will be the next set of the company’s growth leaders is a huge part of ensuring our success.

What do most people misunderstand about the CFO role?

A: Most people don’t realize that CFO doesn’t stand for Chief “Fun” Officer…

Bad joke?

We are not just finance specialists. The role is much bigger. We do have to run world-class operations in a controlled and compliant manner. But, we also need to take the role of strategy development and being a catalyst of change.

The CFO is a strategic partner to the CEO, setting courses for growth and communicating the value of the business.

What do you do when you’re not building hyper-growth SaaS companies?

A: I have traveled a lot in my career, so I greatly value my free time at home with my wife and two sons. I often spend that time in national parks, exploring (and eating) my way through the neighborhoods of NYC, and golfing. Golf is so addictive! Playing, practicing, watching, and talking about golf fills a lot of my downtime.

Want to keep up with the latest from Andy and his team at Electric?

Follow Andy on LinkedIn here.

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