ABOUT US

Crespo’s career began in NYC where he worked in investment banking for UBS & then Lazard, focusing on Technology M&A.

James joined Accel-KKR as an Operating Associate on their internal management consulting team, which collaborates with portfolio companies to address critical problems & growth initiatives. Working directly with executive teams, he led various value creation strategies, including GTM & sales strategy, product roadmap development, M&A integration & cross-sell/synergy strategy, pricing, cost-saving initiatives, & the professionalization of financial reporting practices.

James then joined Diversis Capital’s PE deal team as one of two initial associates at an operationally intensive, growth-oriented, software-focused PE firm’s inaugural fund, where he was actively involved in deploying ~60% of the fund’s capital & leveraging his Accel-KKR experience to help lead value creation initiatives post acquisition—the performance of which helped them 3x the size of their next fund.

After Diversis, James joined Peak Rock Capital as their first ever non generalist hire as a Senior Associate to help spearhead their software investment initiative. He led their thematic sourcing strategy, solely developed their software deal review process, & quarterbacked their software deal flow, reporting directly to a Managing Director. Upon closing Peak Rock’s largest deal in firm history, James received an accelerated promotion to Vice President. However, family circumstances required him to relocate to Atlanta.

James then joined TAP Investment Holdings, an Atlanta-based independent sponsor, as Vice President. In this role, he was the sole diligence & execution investment professional, where he sourced & executed their first non-US transaction.

Inspired by the independent sponsor model, James founded Ally Engage Strategic Partners. Due to a non-compete, however, he launched Ally Engage Consulting Group in the interim, a professional services firm offering strategic advisory & value creation services. He grew the business to $200k in annual revenue, working with key clients including FM Dashboard, Trakref, & Fexa.io (PE-backed by Mainsail), where he served as Head of Strategic Finance.

Outside of his professional endeavors, Crespo is very much the guy next door. He cherishes the time spent with friends & family & never misses a chance to cheer on the UGA Bulldogs on Saturdays & is actively involved in his local church & the Faith Driven Entrepreneurship organization.

James Scharnikow’s career is defined by a strong track record of driving growth and operational excellence across the technology and software sectors. He began his professional journey at Fortune 500 companies including CRH and PwC, where he led the architecture, training, strategic development, and deployment of Salesforce solutions. While at CRH, James played a key role in developing the GTM best practices playbook—an asset that remains in use by the organization today. In his final engagement he was the product owner for a contact center & customer engagement product that led OSIsoft/Aveva to draw a 20% reduction in contact center handle time & 15% reduction in inbound case volume.

Joining Salesforce, James quickly progressed through several key roles, including Lead Solution Engineer, Principal Solution Engineer, & Enterprise Account Executive. His exceptional performance culminated in his former position as Global Account Director for Caterpillar, a 60M book of business. In ‘23, James was recognized as one of the top enterprise sales representative at Salesforce based on bookings, where in ‘23 he booked $4.8M in revenue (190% quota attainment), in ‘24 $5.7M in revenue (188% quota attainment) & in ‘25 booked $8M in revenue leading the global CAT team. He also led the successful negotiation of a $125M, 5-year contract with Caterpillar OEM.

Salesforce’s success within the Caterpillar account is a direct result of James Scharnikow architecting and executing a world-class go-to-market engine. Under his leadership, the account was transformed into a highly scalable, revenue-generating powerhouse. James spearheaded a complete reorganization of the customer engagement model, strategically aligning all CAT dealers under a unified global team to drive consistency, collaboration, and scale. He co-developed a differentiated product strategy in partnership with leading systems integrators, aligning Salesforce solutions to Caterpillar’s most complex operational needs. To amplify reach and resonance, he launched a targeted marketing program tailored to Caterpillar’s ecosystem, significantly increasing pipeline velocity and brand relevance.

Perhaps most notably, James orchestrated the buildout of a high-performance global sales organization—80+ representatives operating in sync across regions—to deliver seamless execution and accelerated revenue growth. This GTM transformation not only unlocked new levels of enterprise value for Caterpillar but also positioned Salesforce as a strategic partner at the highest levels of the organization. Under his guidance, his account not only expanded in size but also grew in its strategic impact, demonstrating his capacity to scale business operations effectively. This growth positioned CAT as the largest MFG customer at Salesforce.