David Snider, Compass’ chief financial officer and one of the main architects of the brokerage’s venture-capital raising machine, is leaving the firm, The Real Deal has learned.
In his place, the venture-backed startup has tapped Craig Anderson, a former COO and CFO of the cycling chain Flywheel, who will assume the post Sept. 5. Anderson will report to CEO Robert Reffkin and will facilitate the startup’s “hypergrowth,” Compass said in a statement.
Snider, an alumnus of Bain Capital, was among the firm’s earliest hires, coming on board as head of finance and operations. He later became the company’s COO and CFO, roles he held until this year when Compass hired Maëlle Gavet, a top executive from Priceline, to be COO.
With Gavet on board, Snider moved into a pure CFO role. During his tenure, Compass raised over $225 million from investors, most recently at a $1 billion valuation. Snider was one of the key people involved in raising the rounds, according to sources familiar with the company.
Compass confirmed the CFO transition early Wednesday. “Robert and the board made the decision that we need an experienced CFO who is a fit with our culture,” said Julie Binder, Compass’ head of communications.
Anderson, who helped expand Flywheel to 40 locations, previously served as president and COO of Opt-Intelligence, an online advertising exchange. He also worked at the Blackstone Group in its restructuring and reorganization group.
In addition to Anderson, Compass has made several C-suite hires this year, including Gavet and Madan Nagaldinne who will be the company’s chief people officer. Binder joined the startup in January.
In a statement Snider said he was grateful to have worked with the company’s founding team for four and a half years. “Compass continues to achieve unprecedented growth and its future is bright,” he said. Snider plans to return to Bain, where he will be an executive in residence working on the venture capital team in New York.
Sources said that several weeks ago, Reffkin approached Snider to inform him that Compass had started looking for his replacement. “We were all shocked,” said a source at the firm, who added that Snider was “highly regarded” at the brokerage and among investors. The source cited tension between Snider and other executives — specifically Gavet — in recent months. “It was noticeable,” the source said. “She has very strong ideas of what needs to be done.”