Venbrook Group has named Kenneth W. Ward (pictured) chief financial officer. He takes on the role effective immediately, joining the leadership team at the privately held insurance brokerage, claims, and risk management consulting firm.
Ward will be based in Milton, GA.
He specializes in enterprise-level integrations, from initial due diligence through to optimizing working capital and identifying financial and operational synergies. He has worked as a strategic partner to C-suite leadership teams across multiple sectors, with a focus on operational efficiency, cost-cutting initiatives, and scalable growth.
He arrives at Venbrook from Centerline Communications, LLC, a provider of telecommunications infrastructure services for next-generation networks, where he served as CFO from August 2024. Before that, he held the same title at National Parts Warehouse, the largest independent distributor of aftermarket auto parts in the US, from April 2022 to August 2024.
His earlier roles included a stint as CFO of SUZOHAPP, a $280 million cash handling and self-service technology company, where he was brought in to finalize a worldwide integration spanning 14 European countries, five Asia-Pacific markets, and North America. He also led consolidation of financial, accounting, HR, treasury, and IT functions across that footprint, managing a team of 90 personnel.
At SUZOHAPP, Ward's team delivered $12.9 million in annual cost savings by consolidating production and distribution functions across four countries into centralized locations in Poland and China. He also realized $6.2 million in annual tax savings through a legal organization restructuring and transfer pricing initiative, and directed a project that carved out an $110.0 million global gaming business for sale.
Ward also managed post-merger accounting integration tied to a $1 billion acquisition at AGCO Corporation, where his responsibilities included financial leadership for a $300 million component of that deal and oversight of a $15 million reorganization budget.
"We are excited to have Ken join our leadership team," said Jason Turner, founder and CEO of Venbrook Group. "He has great energy and a wealth of financial experience to help support future growth at Venbrook."
Ward's integration-heavy background is a closer fit for Venbrook's ownership structure. Parthenon Capital, a Boston-based private equity firm, has held a majority stake in Venbrook since 2020, and in 2024 deepened that position further, buying out the interest of then-chairman Bill Lopatin. The transaction valued Venbrook as high as $150 million, at roughly 10 times EBITDA, though Venbrook and Parthenon declined to confirm terms at the time.
Ward's appointment also follows several other senior hires at Venbrook tied to growth and integration.
In March, the firm named Tom Sleeper president of its retail property & casualty division, tasked with unifying the division's operations into a single national platform. The previous month, Venbrook appointed Awais Farooq as chief claims officer, bringing in an executive with a background spanning Crawford & Company, State Farm, Chubb, and Berkshire Hathaway GUARD to lead a modernization of its claims division.
The firm has also expanded its product offerings in recent months, including the June launch of an enhanced commercial property program for multi-use and habitational property owners.
