Listen to this article 3 min
After two decades in business, SCP & Co. founders Bryan Crino and Scott Feuer said their firm is ready for its next era of growth with fresh talent and plans to transform from a regional to a global investment platform.
The Tampa-based investment firm appointed a new president, Chris Rivera, a former executive at Tampa telecommunications giant Syniverse and the power broker behind the company’s $750 million deal with Twilio and $1 billion capital raise last year. The firm also appointed veteran cyber intelligence executive and international cyber threat expert Karim Hijazi as a managing director and general partner.
The addition of Rivera and Hijazi follows a considerable expansion of SCP & Co.’s talent roster in recent years, according to Feuer and Crino.
“At this point in our firm’s history, we’ve got a great team with a lot of talent, and we want to take [the firm] to the next level and institutionalize this machine we’ve created,” Crino said.
SCP & Co. is placing more emphasis on formal fund management versus its traditional operations through direct investments in portfolio companies, or using its own balance sheet to fund deals, Crino and Feuer said.
SCP & Co. has completed more than $2.2 billion worth of transactions since its founding 20 years ago, which includes $255 million of principal and advisory transactions in the tech industry. They said the firm now has roughly $175 million in assets under management.
Rivera and Hajazi’s appointments coincide with the recent launch of SCP & Co.’s $50 million Authenticity Fund, which will focus investments in the fast-growing realm of artificial intelligence. The firm also sponsors Druid Ventures, a fund launched in April 2022 with a focus on early-stage companies in the Web3 sector. It has already attracted many internationally domiciled investors, according to Crino.
Hijazi, whose 25-year career in cyber intelligence spans federal contracting and cyber threat analysis for the global oil and gas industry, will work closely with Managing Director Chris Pizzo to build a new investment strategy around emerging Web3 technologies. Hijazi also formerly served as director of intelligence for Google cybersecurity subsidiary Mandiant and founded multiple cybersecurity ventures, according to the firm.
SCP & Co. expanded beyond direct investments in 2020 when it raised a $230 million special purpose acquisition company, or SPAC. However, Crino and Feuer, like many other executives, made the tough decision to shut down the fund late last year after market conditions deteriorated.
Crino and Feuer said they’re throwing their weight behind Druid Ventures and the Authenticity Fund and that other executive appointments are coming later this year. Rivera and Hijazi, in particular, are major recruitment wins and will play key roles in shaping the firm’s expansion strategy, Crino said.
Rivera formerly served as the president and general manager of Syniverse’s enterprise messaging division, as well as its chief technology officer. Rivera also held executive positions at Cisco Systems in San Jose, California and served on the board of the IBM Blockchain Initiative and the board of the Carlyle Group CIO Council, the private equity firm that backs Syniverse.
Crino will take the role of executive chairman, while Feuer, who co-founded the firm with Crino two decades ago, will continue to serve as CEO.
Crino and Feuer left Tampa-based investment firm Communication Equity Associates in 2002 to launch Skyway Capital Partners, the precursor to SCP & Co., which included an investment banking business. The duo eventually sold the investment banking business in 2016, still in Tampa as Skyway Capital Markets.