Susan Michaels, MBA, is a distinguished leader in the data and digital industry, renowned for her vision, experience, and exceptional ability to execute strategic initiatives in partnership with boards and leadership teams. She joined Presidio Investors as an Operating Partner on May 15, 2024, cementing her position as a transformative leader capable of delivering substantial value and growth. In this pivotal role, Susan continues to influence the strategic direction of high-growth companies, leveraging her extensive experience and expertise to drive success.
Throughout her career, Susan has demonstrated a remarkable capacity to build strategic alliances that unlock market potential and drive profitability. Known for her mentorship and decisive leadership style, she excels in accelerating sales growth and transforming profit and loss positions. Susan is also the Founder and CEO of Kensington Advisors, a consulting firm dedicated to helping clients transform and accelerate their go-to-market strategies.
Her board involvement includes serving on the Almaden Board of Directors since October 2023, contributing her expertise to a marketing supply chain company backed by Presidio Investors. Additionally, Susan is actively engaged with several non-profit organizations, reflecting her commitment to community service and leadership.
Susan’s career highlights include her tenure as Chief Sales Officer at Janes from May 2020 to October 2022, where she led the company’s global sales operations across 21 countries, achieving a remarkable 9% growth in just 12 months, increasing revenues to $94.4 million. Her strategic initiatives included the implementation of Salesforce.com, which streamlined operations and significantly reduced customer service resolution time. Susan’s leadership improved net retention rates from 94% to 102.6% and generated $3.5 million in new annual recurring revenue through innovative product offerings.
At Dun & Bradstreet, where she served from November 2015 to April 2020 in various senior roles, Susan drove significant growth and operational efficiencies, including a 4% revenue increase in under a year and a 26% expense reduction. She was instrumental in repositioning strategic products and enhancing sales productivity. Her roles included
Senior Vice President of Third Party Risk & Compliance Sales and Senior Vice President of Global Alliances.
During her tenure at LexisNexis from April 2007 to April 2015, Susan delivered $40 million in annual revenues and 20% growth by leading a global sales team and penetrating emerging markets. She transformed a $100 million business unit from negative to positive performance and established strategic alliances that significantly boosted revenue. Her positions at LexisNexis included Vice President of Global Alliances and Channels, Senior Director of Business Development, and Director of Segment Management.
Susan holds a Master of Business Administration from Harvard Business School and a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from Davidson College.
Presidio Board Seats: Almaden