PitchBook COO Honored with Seattle Business Magazine's Executive Excellence Award

Rod Diefendorf Recognized for His Leadership Philosophy, Which Prioritizes People, Culture, and Professional Development

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PitchBook

Feb 04, 2020, 09:00 ET

SEATTLE, Feb. 4, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- PitchBook, the premier data provider for the private and public equity markets, today announced Rod Diefendorf, COO of PitchBook, has been selected as an honoree of Seattle Business Magazine's Executive Excellence Award. The award recognizes Washington executives who have demonstrated extraordinary, consistent leadership in guiding their companies or nonprofit organizations to success. Diefendorf was selected for his role in successfully scaling PitchBook's business throughout a period of hyper-growth and introducing programs to encourage employee engagement, professional development and community outreach. His efforts have allowed the company to increase employee count by 150% (500 in 2016 to 1,200+ today) and increase revenue by more than 250% since 2016. Honorees were recognized at an award celebration on January 23, 2020 at the Museum of Flight.

Since joining PitchBook in 2016, Diefendorf is credited for implementing critical structural improvements and building the company's internal communication function, which have enabled PitchBook to effectively scale across nine global offices. He also played an instrumental role in helping PitchBook navigate operational, financial and cultural changes following the $225 million acquisition by Morningstar in December 2016. For employees, Diefendorf has accelerated and expanded PitchBook's professional development initiatives as well as introduced new programs to enrich PitchBook's unique company culture and the local Seattle community. For example, PitchBook has added a dedicated team of trainers offering educational courses on management best practices, personal branding and department-specific skills. Under his leadership, PitchBook has also launched several affinity groups to promote and advocate for diversity and inclusion as well as community service.

To be recognized, executives participated in a rigorous application process overseen by Seattle Business Magazine's judging panel, made up of leading executives across the Pacific Northwest. This year, the magazine received a record number of entries, including some of the region's most distinguished business leaders and executives. Diefendorf received one of just sixteen Executive Excellence Awards at the magazine's event on Thursday, January 23, 2020 in Seattle. Other honorees include, Kieran Snyder, Cofounder & CEO of Textio, Jeremy Wacksman, President of Zillow Group Inc. and Amy Nelson, Founder & CEO of The Riveter.

"When John Gabbert started PitchBook in 2007, he did so with five core values in mind, including, customers are king, excellence is a state of mind, focus on focus, embrace and drive change and make it fun. These values really resonate with me and they help drive everything we do at PitchBook. As a result, we've been able to create a pretty special culture that encourages employees to try new things, learn new skills and make new connections. Our team is really deserving of this recognition and it's this team that will continue to take us to progressively higher levels."

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About PitchBook
PitchBook is a financial data and software company that provides transparency into the capital markets to help professionals discover and execute opportunities with confidence and efficiency. PitchBook collects and analyzes detailed data on the entire venture capital, private equity and M&A landscape—including public and private companies, investors, funds, investments, exits and people. The company's data and analysis are available through the PitchBook Platform, industry news and in-depth reports. Founded in 2007, PitchBook has offices in Seattle, San Francisco, New York and London and serves over 37,000 professionals around the world. In 2016, Morningstar acquired PitchBook, which now operates as an independent subsidiary.

SOURCE PitchBook