Upstack Buys Lunada Partners, Hires AT&T, Intelisys Alums

Upstack is buying Lunada Partners as part of its ongoing agent acquisition strategy.

New York-based Upstack didn’t say Wednesday how much it’s paying for California-based Lunada. The deal makes Lunada founder Monica Sanchez a partner and equity stakeholder in the company. She will continue to help business customers with their technology decisions.

Sanchez was a civil rights attorney before founding Lunada in 2010. She said she turned to Upstack as a means to support her customers better.

Upstack’s Monica Sanchez

“The Upstack vision and platform is what I wanted and needed to support my clients’ infrastructure growth and demands,” Sanchez said. “Now, I have a whole team of people behind me, so I can get back to strategizing and engaging with my clients. Having teams to support my clients in both the pre- and post-sales processes for life is what my clients deserve.”

Upstack CEO Christopher Trapp thanked Sanchez for bringing her customer relationships to Upstack.

Upstack’s Christopher Trapp

“Monica has built Lunada Partners on trusted relationships, including many that span decades, supporting some of the fastest growing technology companies in the Bay Area,” Trapp said.

Upstack has been buying partners using a $50 million investment from Berkshire Partners that it announced last April. Most recently it announced more than $100 million in financing from two other investors. Upstack last week announced the purchase of Texium, in addition to a new supplier.

Consolidation has hit the agent channel in full force. Bluewave Technology Group has acquired five agencies and counting, thanks to a $75 million investment from Columbia Capital. Upstack itself has bought upwards of 20 companies.

New Hires

Upstack also announced the hiring of Allison Jessee as vice president of customer success. The job puts her in charge of Upstack’s strategic account management team.

Jessee most recently directed client engagement for HBR Consulting. Most notably, she served as AT&T program execution manager. She supported some AT&T national agent partners in their technology integrations during her nine-year tenure at the carrier..

Upstack’s Samantha Jacks

“I am excited to join a company that recognizes the importance of culture and communications in business operations and success,” said Jessee. “Upstack is giving me an amazing opportunity to leverage my diverse technical and client success background to develop a strong team that provides a best-in-class customer experience.”

“Allison has a keen understanding of the buying process, which will enable her to align our customer success strategy with client needs and feedback,” Trapp said. “She also brings extensive leadership experience in integrating several units of business post-acquisition, which will be valuable as we continue to grow our team of leading advisory partners.”

Upstack’s Allison Jessee

In addition, the company last week announced the appointment of Samantha Jacks as vice president of commissions operations. Jacks spent the last 15 years at Intelisys, where she most recently served as senior director of commissions operations.

Now she’ll lead Upstack’s commissions team and oversee other duties, such as onboarding suppliers and escalations.