Namely Hires New CEO, Raises $60M In Funding

Human resources (HR) and benefits software platform Namely has found a new CEO — and $60 million in venture capital (VC). According to New York Business Journal, Elisa Steele is the New York-based company’s new CEO, replacing Matt Straz.

Steele was previously president and CEO of Jive Software and has held senior positions at Microsoft, Skype, Yahoo!, NetApp, and Sun Microsystems. She had been part of the Namely board of directors since 2017.

In addition, the company recently raised a $60 million investment, which will be used to expand its reach. GGV Capital, a Menlo Park, California-based firm, led the round alongside Tenaya Capital. Namely’s other major investors — Sequoia Capital, True Ventures, Matrix Partners, and Scale Venture Partners — also participated.

“Throughout my career, I’ve seen firsthand how leadership has the power to transform workplaces for the better,” Steele said. “Namely is the leading all-in-one platform in the mid-market for a reason — it empowers HR, enables employees and drives strategy at the leadership level.”

She added, “This strong market position enables us to seize the vast opportunity across mid-sized companies [that] have traditionally been underserved in the market.”

Namely is a reflection of how demands for payroll technology are changing across the mid-market, with its clients using both paper checks and direct deposits. The company has, so far, processed $12 billion in payroll.

Last year, Namely secured $50 million in funding, with Altimeter Capital and Scale Venture Partners leading the Series D round. According to reports, several other existing backers participated, including Sequoia Capital, Matrix Partners and True Ventures.

Analysts are expecting big things from the company. While sources say it has not yet hit the $1 billion “unicorn” valuation, there have been reports that the company will soon go public. Reports also said Namely has some high-profile parties interested in a takeover, including Google, though the firm said it will look to remain an independent firm.