UPSTACK, a platform that transforms the way businesses design and select cloud and internet infrastructure solutions, announced it has acquired Lunada Partners, an IT consulting firm advising global enterprises on network infrastructure and data center solutions. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
UPSTACK’s acquisition is part of the company’s strategy to accelerate the growth of its platform, which combines the industry’s leading internet infrastructure advisors with proprietary software and dedicated support resources.
As part of the investment, Lunada Partners founder Monica Sanchez (pictured) will join UPSTACK as a partner and true equity stakeholder. She will serve as an advisor to business customers that are sourcing data center, cloud, network connectivity and other technology solutions through the UPSTACK platform.
UPSTACK CEO Christopher Trapp said, “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. We’re honored that she’s entrusted those valued relationships to UPSTACK, and we look forward to supporting and growing them together.”
Sanchez founded Lunada Partners in 2010 when she returned to telecom after a short hiatus during which she attended law school, became a civil rights attorney and started her family. Sanchez was excited to reunite with her former colleagues, also childhood friends, who had formed a thriving technology services brokerage several years earlier.
“Becoming an agent was an opportunity to get back to something I loved and to work with great people,” said Sanchez. She hit the ground running, learning from other agents, leveraging former client relationships, and then putting Lunada Partners on the leaderboard year after year.
After a decade of fast growth, Sanchez began thinking about ways to continue to support her growing base of clients – many of whom she calls friends. A peer introduced her to UPSTACK and Trapp.
“The UPSTACK vision and platform is what I wanted and needed to support my clients’ infrastructure growth and demands,” said Sanchez. “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.”
In other news, UPSTACK also announced the hiring of Allison Jessee has joined the company as Vice President of Customer Success.
In her role, Jessee will oversee the expansion of UPSTACK’s strategic account management team with a focus on further strengthening customer relationships through the delivery of optimized solutions designed to meet the rapidly evolving needs of our customers.
“Allison has a keen understanding of the buying process, which will enable her to align our customer success strategy with client needs and feedback,” said Christopher Trapp, CEO at UPSTACK. “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.”
Jessee has more than 20 years’ experience in the technology sector, and previously supported strategic objectives surrounding technology integrations for major national agent partners at AT&T.
Directly prior to joining UPSTACK, Jessee built and led a team focused on cultivating and maintaining strong customer relationships within the legal industry for techfocused HBR Consulting.
