Stephen Ufford, the co-founder and CEO of global identity verification startup Trulioo, is stepping down from his leadership position, with Steve Munford taking on the roles of CEO and president.
Ufford had served as CEO of the company since he co-founded it in 2011. He is now set to assume the role of chairman of Trulioo’s board of directors as Munford steps into the executive leader role on March 30.
“The smartest thing a founder can do during a period of dramatic growth is to step aside.”
Under Ufford’s leadership, Trulioo raised $70 million CAD last year from a number of large financial institutions, including Goldman Sachs Growth Equity, Citi Ventures, and American Express Ventures. Vancouver-based Trulioo has raised a total of $96.6 million to date.
Prior to starting Trulioo, Ufford co-founded and led three consumer data-driven companies, two of which sold to Irish multinational consumer credit reporting company Experian. As chair, Ufford joins fellow co-founder Tanis Jorge, who also serves on Trulioo’s board. The startup noted that Ufford remains as a major shareholder of the company.
Regarding his departure as CEO, Ufford stated that he believes this to be the optimal time for the company to transition to a new CEO. “The smartest thing a founder can do during a period of dramatic growth is to step aside and hand over the reins to someone with a successful track record of driving exponential business growth with integrity and assurance,” he said.
“It has been a tremendous privilege to watch Trulioo grow into the success that it is today,” he added. “I am extremely confident in [Munford] and look forward to working closely with him as he takes on this role and delves deeper into how best to globally scale Trulioo’s products and operations.”
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Prior to this role, Munford served as interim CEO of United States-based data protection company Carbonite, where he led the company through its sale to OpenText. In 2018, Munford was the interim CEO at Absolute Software, which he led the company through a restructuring and recruitment of a permanent CEO. He has also led and supported companies through a number of acquisitions, including cybersecurity company Sophos.
“The board conducted a thorough search to identify a strategic leader with specific skills and experiences to lead the company in the next phase of its growth, and we unanimously agreed that person is Steve Munford,” said Mark Midle, managing director at Goldman Sachs Growth Equity and Trulioo board member. “Munford has shown outstanding leadership and a proven ability to deliver strong results. His expertise and drive will help focus on new levels of strategic growth and expansion as the company is well-positioned for long-term success.”
With offices in Vancouver, San Francisco, and Dublin, Trulioo offers global identity verification for five billion consumers and more than 250 million business entities in over 195 countries. In November, the company transitioned former general manager Zac Cohen to COO. Cohen was tasked with overseeing the startup’s senior leadership team, spearheading global growth, and more.
“I am extremely proud of what my team and I have built over the last decade here at Trulioo,” said Ufford. “Steve’s hire marks an important milestone for me at Trulioo, as it’s the beginning of even bigger and better things for our company, employees, customers, and stakeholders. There is no doubt in my mind we are creating an iconic brand in the identity space, and an anchor tenant of the Canadian technology sector.”