Former Navy lieutenant, Cisco exec to oversee Tampa investment fund

Longtime technology executive Chris Rivera has been named president of SCP & CO, a Tampa-based private investment fund and management firm that has handled $2.2 billion of aggregate transaction volume in the past 20 years.

Rivera replaces Bryan Crino, who co-founded the firm and was president for 22 years, according to a statement. Crino has moved into the new role of executive chair, where he will oversee the firm’s global strategy. Scott Feuer, who also co-founded the firm, will continue to serve as CEO, the release adds.

Rivera will oversee the firm’s next phase of growth and expansion, according to the statement, “as it evolves from a strong regional investment group to a global private investment and fund management business, with an enhanced focus on investments in technology platforms, software and digital transformation.”

The firm will be announcing additional executive appointments and new technology-focused direct investments and managed funds over the coming months, the release adds.

“Chris is an extremely talented business leader and technology executive, with an outstanding track record for delivering strong growth and profitability,” says Crino in the release. “His expertise will play a key role in the firm’s evolution to a more technology focused and global oriented investment strategy. The dramatic pace of technological change, from AI and automation to Web3, will not only redefine major industries, but promises to fundamentally change the human experience."

Prior to joining SCP & CO, Rivera was president and general manager of the Enterprise Messaging SaaS business at Tampa-based Syniverse, a global mobile services company and a portfolio company of the Carlyle Group. In just over two years, he led the business to achieve over two times revenue growth on a nearly $400M average recurring basis, the release states, while expanding profit margins to 25% and landing some of the largest financial, healthcare and consumer goods companies in the Americas and Europe. He also led and completed a $1.09 billion investment and minority ownership stake sale to Twilio and preferred investors in May 2022. In his previous role as chief technology officer of Syniverse, Rivera led the digital and cloud transformation of the company, reducing operational expenses by 34% year over year for three straight years, the release states. 

Rivera also spent 16 years in global executive roles in product and sales at Cisco Systems in San Jose, as well as holding product and marketing leadership roles at DSC Communications and Cerent Corp. He has served on the Board of the IBM Blockchain Initiative, the Carlyle Group CIO Council and other groups. Rivera began his career in the U.S. Navy, where he served as an operations and communications officer lieutenant in the Asia/Pacific Operations Theater with a top-secret government clearance, the release states.

Over the last 20 years, SCP & CO has completed more than 100 transactions, totaling $2.2 billion of aggregate transaction volume. That includes over $255 million of principal and advisory transactions in the technology industry alone.