Mews announces SaaS IPO icon, Steve Cakebread, to join its board

NEW YORK, Oct. 9, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Mews , a cloud SaaS and fintech platform that serves the hospitality industry, has announced today the appointment of Steve Cakebread to the company's board.

Cakebread is famed for leading the financial teams that took Salesforce, Pandora and Yext to IPO and is the author of "The IPO Playbook: An Insider's Perspective on Taking Your Company Public and How to Do It Right." 

Cakebread serves on the board of Bill.com, which went public in December 2019, and sat on the boards of SolarWinds and eHealth. Earlier in his career, he served as CFO for Autodesk, VP of Finance for Silicon Graphics (now SGI), and Director of Finance at Hewlett-Packard.

Matt Welle, CEO of Mews, commented, "Steve's capital markets experience is renowned, having led Salesforce, Pandora and Yext through IPOs and beyond. He has a deep understanding of building teams, governance and accountability, which will be instrumental in our growth journey. We are delighted that Steve joins the board at such a crucial time in our growth."

Mews founder, Richard Valtr, added, "Steve is a seasoned leader with phenomenal experience leading financial teams to success. His invaluable knowledge and strategic oversight are exactly what we need to navigate Mews' next chapter, support our aggressive growth plans, and cement our position as the market leader in cloud hospitality."

Cakebread's appointment comes as Mews experiences exponential growth. In the last 12 months, Mews has reached unicorn status with a valuation crossing $1.2 billion, seen a 250% increase in customers in North America, and achieved over 25 million check-ins at hotels worldwide. Mews recently announced $100m in new financing from Vista Credit Partners to further fuel its organic growth and M&A program through its investment arm, Mews Ventures.

Steve Cakebread commented, "Mews has a colossal opportunity in the hospitality software and payments markets, sized at over $20 billion, driven by widespread adoption of cloud-based technology. Mews has achieved market penetration in core geographies, serving more than 5,500 hospitality brands worldwide, and is well poised to become the market leader. A key enabler of the company's success is its marketplace which sees over 1,000 integrations on its platform, offering hoteliers the best solutions to build tailored tech stacks for their needs."

He added, "Mews has the people and the passion to deliver on its mission and transform hospitality and beyond. The team is driving impressive product development and flawless execution, powering its growth trajectory. I am excited to be a part of Mews' continued success and to work with the leadership team to accelerate the company's next phase."

About Mews

Mews is the leading platform for the new era of hospitality. Powering over 5,500 customers across more than 85 countries, Mews Hospitality Cloud is designed to streamline operations for modern hoteliers, transform the guest experience and create more profitable businesses. Customers include Generator-Freehand, Strawberry, The Social Hub and Airelles Collection. Mews was named Best PMS (2024) and listed among the Best Place to Work in Hotel Tech (2021, 2022, 2024) by Hotel Tech Report, as well as World's Best Hotel PMS Provider (2023) and World's Best Independent Hotel PMS Provider (2022, 2023) by World Travel Tech Awards. Mews has raised $335 million from investors including Goldman Sachs Alternatives, Kinnevik and Revaia to transform hospitality.

For more information, please contact Katie Halfhead ( [email protected] )

SOURCE Mews