Crisp Appoints John McConnell as CFO to Support Company Growth Plans

BENTONVILLE, Ark.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Crisp, the leading collaborative commerce platform for retail data, has announced John McConnell as Chief Financial Officer. McConnell has more than two decades of experience in private equity management and corporate finance. The appointment comes as Crisp is in accelerated growth mode, focused on both organic growth and growth through M&A activity.

McConnell joins Crisp with over 20 years of investment and corporate management, most recently serving as CFO at Zinnia, a leader in the life and annuities insurance technology and services industry and previously serving in corporate finance at Zinnia parent company Eldridge Industries since its founding in 2015. While at Zinnia, McConnell positioned Zinnia for its next growth stage through strategic acquisitions and capital raises from leading investors.

Prior to Eldridge Industries, McConnell was a member of the investment team at Guggenheim Partners. Additionally, he served in various investment management and finance roles at Chartwell Investments and J.P. Morgan. McConnell earned his BSBA in Finance and International Business from Georgetown University McDonough School of Business.

“Crisp’s investment partners are dedicated to the company’s rapid growth, and they see the potential for large-scale cost savings, waste reduction and revenue acceleration through the world-class technology the team has built,” said McConnell. “The company is well positioned to expand its leadership position and build the largest, most effective data platform that empowers CPGs and retail channels. It’s an exciting time to be part of Crisp’s growth story.”

“Crisp is on an accelerated growth trajectory. Part of that journey is bringing on an experienced CFO to help us navigate the path forward successfully,” said Are Traasdahl, CEO and founder of Crisp. “John brings an important background in private equity, as well as hands-on experience as a CFO for fast-growing technology companies.”

In the last 12 months, Crisp’s customer base has grown exponentially from 660 to nearly 6,000. In the past year, Crisp has also acquired five companies as the organization expands its ability to provide end-to-end supply chain data to CPG brands and their retail channel partners. These include Minneapolis-based Lumidata and SetSight, Seattle-based Shelf Engine, and two separate UK-based entities: Atheon Analytics (SKUtrak) and ClearBox Analytics.

By curating, normalizing and visualizing massive amounts of operational data into actionable insights, manufacturers and their retail partners can optimize production, logistics, inventory and marketing efforts and make near-real-time decisions on operational changes that reduce food waste, cut costs and ensure ideal product availability at retail channels to maximize profitability. Crisp is the only company poised to empower brands and channels with the technology and information they need to compete in an increasingly complex supply chain environment through its unique data and growth strategy.

About Crisp

Over $15T in goods flow through global supply chains annually. But the data required to optimize movement of goods is disconnected and siloed. As the leading retail data company, Crisp leverages AI to facilitate the integration, access, and exchange of data between CPG brands, retailers, and distributors, providing unprecedented visibility to optimize retail sales and the supply chain infrastructure. Trusted by 6,000+ brands representing more than $2.5T in retail sales across over 250K stores, Crisp transforms retail data into a competitive advantage. Learn more at gocrisp.com.